Genesis 14: “Mel” and Mel(chizedek)

And I am back after a day of traveling and feeling very, very tired but very, very excited to be in St. Louis with Andrea. I just want to say that I dominated our game night with her small group. Trust me, you want me on your Catch Phrase team.

So Genesis 14, yes? Let’s do it.

I had to read through this chapter a few times before I finally understood what was happening. It is not an easy one to get right off the bat. There are no less than 24 different places and 21 different people named. So I went through and summarized the plot to make it a little easier to grasp.

The Plot

Team 1 makes war on Team 2. This happens because Team 2 has served Team 1 for 12 years and they have had enough! Well, Team 1 is not a fan of this and tries to squash the rebellion. They choose a valley full of sludge pits as the battleground. It proves to be a good move. As a result, Team 2 is defeated and Team 1 gets all their stuff.

Included in this stuff is our old friend Lot. Bummer.

Abram hears of this and decides to mount a rescue effort. He takes his own men and defeats Team 1 and gets all the stuff back. Then Team 2 comes and asks for the stuff that was originally theirs. Abram obliges.

Got it? I think I did but feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Don’t Mess With Mel Gibson’s Family

There are two movies I would like you to consider: Braveheart and Braveheart 2: The Patriot. In each of these movies the British are making war on some people and Mel Gibson’s family gets caught up in it. This causes him to go crazy and then he single-handedly defeats the entire British Army and wins freedom for his people.

Abram: Circa 1300 Scotland.

This is exactly what happens with Abram. If King Chedorlaomer had just left Lot alone he would have been fine. But noooooooooo! He had to go and mess with Abram’s family. And we know what happens to people who mess with Abram right? Does the phrase: “The one who curses you I will curse” ring a bell? Chedorlaomer . . . you got CURSED! Boom!

Speaking of Mel . . .

There is this baffling epilogue to the story. After Abram defeats Team 1 a certain King Melchizedek (Mel) drops in for a visit. He is a priest of God Most High.

Where did this guy come from? Who is he? How is there a priest of God Most High?

I am not sure if I can answer any of those but if he is a priest of the same God that Abram is following then we have a very interesting development taking place with regards to our understanding of this God.

He is at work in other people. Even as he is creating a nation of his own, He is clearly at work in other nations and peoples.

And Mel seems to know one of the most important things about this God: His blessing. As I have said before, you may recall, God has a fondness for blessing people. God blessed humanity. God blessed Noah. God blessed Abram and said that Abram would be a blessing. Mel jumps right in and says three blessings of his own.

Do you think there are Melchizedeks around today? Who are they and what are they doing?