There are many warring nations – four kings against five kings.

1. King Amraphel of Shinar
2. King Arioch of Ellasar
3. King Chedorlaomer of Elam
4. King Tidal of nations (Goiim in The Message Bible)

against

1. King Bera of Sodom
2. King Birsha of Gomorrah
3. King Shinab of Admah
4. King Shemeber of Zeboiim
5. The king of Bela (Zoar) – I wondered why this king’s name isn’t given, but another name for the region is stated instead. So, I googled. I found that Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states that Bela was a small city and the king was a person of no great note and importance (Source – Biblehub.com). *John Gill (November 1697 – October 1771) was an English Baptist Pastor, Bible scholar and theologian. (Source – Wikipedia)

The second group of kings joined together in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea). They had served (paid tribute to) King Chedorlaomer for 12 years and in the 13th year, they rebelled. It must have taken about a year for King Chedorlaomer to get his allies together because the attacks on cities took place in the 14th year. Below is the list of people and cities attacked.

1. The Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim
2. The Zuzim in Ham
3. The Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim
4. The Horites in their mountain of Seir as far as El Paran by the wilderness
5. The aggressive kings turned back and came to En Mishpat (Kadesh) and attacked all of the country of the Amalekites
6. Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar

The Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits. I wonder why they would gather in a place full of “tar” pits. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled. Some fell there and others fled to the mountains. The four kings and their armies took all the goods and provisions of Sodom and Gomorrah. They also took Abram’s nephew, Lot, who lived in Sodom and his goods. One person escaped and went to tell Abram what happened. Abram was living near allies, Mamre the Amorite, who was also the brother of Eschol and Aner.

The Rescue – When Abram heard what happened to Lot, he armed 318 of his trained servants, born in his house and went as far as Dan to get Lot. He divided his servants by night and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He got all of the goods back along with Lot and his goods, and the women and the other people. It’s a good thing that Abram and Lot separated on good terms. How far would you go to rescue a loved one physically or even, spiritually?

After Abram’s victory, The “chicken” King of Sodom went to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (the King’s Valley). King Melchizedek of Salem, brought bread and wine and blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” This priest of God Most High recognized who gave Abram the victory. The “scaredy cat” King of Sodom now thinks he has some power. He tells Abram to give him the people back, but he could take the goods for himself. Abram told the King of Sodom that he told the Lord God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth that he would not take anything from him, not even a thread or sandal strap. He didn’t want the King of Sodom talking about how he made Abram rich. The only thing he was willing to take was what his men had eaten and those who came with him. However, he suggested that he could give Aner, Eschol and Mamre their portion. This indicates that these three brothers (allies) went to help Abram get his nephew, Lot. This also represents God blessing those who blessed Abram just as He promised. So, it was Abram and three “ride or die” friends with their “troops” against the kings of four nations and their armies. Do you have any “ride or die” friends? If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you do have at least one “Ride or Die” Friend. Jesus proved it literally when He bled, suffered and died on the cross for all of us. Because He rose from the dead, we can have eternal life with Him. “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in Prayer.”

We will be making the next stop at Genesis 15.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!