“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,”
Genesis 14:22 (NIV)
Genesis 14 is an outline of the game called Age of Empires my sons loved to play, you could even chose to be the king of Elam in the game.
This chapter is fascinating because it gives us a glimpse of another side of Abram, for he trained his men for war, and led them in war, and it also gives us a glimpse into his journey of faith.
There is no record of Abram swearing this oath, only the record of Abram keeping his oath.
Things happened so fast, for once the man who escaped reported the defeat to Abram, allies were notified, troops were armed and the chase began. Somewhere in the midst of this activity Abram prayed to the LORD, asked for His help and made an oath not to keep any of the possessions of the king of Sodom. Abram’s only concern was his beloved nephew, he didn’t mobilize as a way of enriching himself. I wonder if you have a memory of a time like this in your life, where you mobilize to help someone, and while on the way you ask for God’s help - and He brings questions to our minds about our motives and we make assurances to God and ourselves about our motives. Abram kept his oath, he didn’t talk himself out of it, even though the riches were great, for Abram trusted God for his future. Abram’s attitude of trust and faithfulness recorded in Genesis 14 paves the way for God’s oath to Abram recorded in Genesis 15, in which Abram is declared righteous by faith. Hebrews 6 tells us that this oath God swore to Abram should give each of us a hope that is an anchor for our soul. It is a blessing to be able to see into Abram’s journey of faith, we all have our own different journey, but the steps are similar- cries for help, motives checked, assurances given, oaths kept, and faith grows and grows until we see our Lord face to face.
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