DAILY READING
REFLECTION
God Cares
by Kathleen Serio
I struggled with this passage and ended up going down a very interesting rabbit hole looking into the history and importance of Lot, Abram, and this period in the Bible. Eventually I felt overly stuck and stepped away. Coming back to read the passage again I felt so silly because what God wanted me to see became so clear. The point was not for me to look deeply into Abram, Lot, and the history, but to look at Abram’s relationship with God. I can forget how often the Bible is truly teaching us about relationships even when relationships don’t appear to be the focus of the passage. After all isn’t our relationship with God the most important aspect of our faith?
Abram and Melchizedek both praise God, knowing that the victory over Kedorlaomer belonged to God. But where Melchizedek wishes to reward Abram and his men with worldly goods, Abram denies anything gained from the battle. He keeps faith in knowing that God will take care of him in all things. Abram wants it to be clear that all of the success, possessions, wealth, and good fortune that he has comes from God and God alone. By denying anything from the battle, Abram is acknowledging his faith in the covenant God made to him to care for him and his descendants (Genesis 12). Abram refuses to give credit to anyone but God, so that no one can lay claim to the glory that God will bring forth though him. By this point, Abram knows that he is to play a large part in God’s plan and his faith allows him to hold strong and deny the temptation from Melchizedek. Oh, to have a faith that so quickly allows us to deny worldly goods, to deny things that we feel we have earned, to deny such gifts that come with hidden strings attached.
PRAYER
God give us the strength to have faith like Abram – to be so sure knowing that you will keep each promise you make to us. God help us to turn from things in this world that you have told us to deny despite the appeal they may have. God help us keep our relationship with you at the forefront of our mind and let all of our actions be guided by our faith and trust in you and your promises. Amen
I always thought it was the king of Sodom and not Melchizedek the king of Salem who wanted to divide the plunder with Abram