Genesis 15:1-3
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
After what?
In chapter 14, we have “The Battle of the Nine Kings.” We actually have quite a few options for dramatic titles. “The Fall of Kedorlaomer.” “Uprising: 13” “Taken: Lot Edition” featuring Liam Neeson in period Biblical dress as Abram. Take your pick. In an epic war of four kings against five, Lot and everything he owned were part of the spoils of war taken from Sodom as the five kings were victorious. Until Abram and his “army” of 318 men showed up anyway.
Scripture tells us that in one night Abram and his fighting force “routed them.” After the victory, there’s the scene that sets up the vision above. Abram meets with one of the defeated kings and a new character, Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a “priest of God Most High” and we have the basis for most of our understanding of tithe. Of all the spoils that Abram and his men took from their victory, they first give ten percent to Melchizedek. There’s a quick barter of how the victors should divide the winnings and Abram basically leaves it all there. He’s the only reason they’re still standing and he doesn’t take anything, quoting an oath he made to God. The king of Sodom was ready to give him everything. He was entitled to it, after all.
All he wanted was Lot’s safety. The only reason he went out with his men and risked all their lives, was to rescue his nephew. He was still living near the altar he built in 13. He was faithfully living according to the original call and promise of God. He was offered more and he turned it down. “God is enough,” he seems to say. And after this, God speaks the same thing back to him.
And that’s all I’ve got for today. That’s a hard place to land. It’s a hard place for me to be right now. I thought I’d proven myself. I thought I showed what I could do. I thought I’d said the right things and done the right things for the right reasons and it didn’t go the way I thought it would. I thought I was meeting and exceeding expectations. I thought I’d shown I could handle more. I thought I earned more, deserved more. So this lesson, “God is enough” is hard for me.
But He is. And He was. And He will be.
Reflect:
On the verses. On the commitments you’ve made to God over the years.
Journal:
On the promises God once revealed to you that maybe you’ve drifted from or lost sight of.
Pray:
For faithfulness. For awareness of the ways that He has been enough for you. Listen to hear His voice echo the same words to you, “Fear not, child. I am your shield. I am your very great reward.”