In Genesis 13 Abram leaves Egypt after Pharaoh gave him more silver, gold, sheep, goats, cattle, camels and male and female servants, including Hagar the daughter of one of his concubines. Abram had 300+ of Nimrod’s servants (men with their families) who came with him out of Babylon (including Eliezer, who Nimrod had given him after he was saved from the furnace), and 72 more men that came with him out of Haran and all the souls which were born to his household. Lot too has many servants, tents and livestock.
In a very real sense, the camp of Abram and the camp of Lot are like two traveling cities and require a large “footprint” in the land to sustain them; and because of this, Lot needs to leave. There is just not room enough for the two of them; and he chooses to go down to Sodom which by the sea, a land described in Yasher as “the garden of Yehovah.”
But not long after he is there Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, Nimrod (Amraphel) king of Shinar, and two other kings come raiding from the North with 8oo,000 men. And on their way back north they raid the city that Lot and all his people are in and take them as slaves.
When Abram receives the word about Lot being taken captive, he fields 318 trained servants who were born in his house. Think for a moment. How many families must Abram have in his camp to have 318 men who are trained and ready to fight?
Abram rescues Lot
Woo whoo! Abram rescues Lot and he and his 318 servants destroyed 800,000 men (that is a 1:2516 ratio); everyone but the 4 kings themselves died. And Abram recovered all the servants, all the booty which they had collected in their raiding all the way down to Elath (on the Gulf of Aqaba), what a huge plunder that must have been! I’m sure Abram needed the servants he rescued just to carry the loot.
On the way back home Abram finds a friend; Shem, the king of Salem. He gives a tithe (10%) to this man who raised him and taught him to know Yehovah and to serve Him with all his heart. Makes perfect sense to me, we tithe to those who teach us how to serve Yehovah.
Yasher 16:11 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech.
12 And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before Elohim.
Please listen to teaching. I can not begin do it justice with less than 500 words which I have written here. But here are 2 articles that I also put together that helps tell this story in a written format. Abram and Nimrod
I love hearing about the strong-arm of Yehovah working on behalf of His called-out people. All the men who joined themselves (and their families) to Abram were blessed. Here is the story.
Here is the YouTube video on this very important understanding.
Abraham Rescues Lot
2G18 Genesis 14:1-18
[Click here to download this audio mp3]
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