Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

ABRAHAM AND LOT 14:17-24
to enhance the generosity of the King of Sodom in this
case. . (2) Abram’s oath and conuequent reply, vv. 22-24.
I have lifted up my hand unto Yahweh, God Most High
(El-Elyon), ccpossessor of heaven and earth,” that I will
not take anything, not even a thread or a shoe-latchet
“that is thine”? Why not? “Lest thou shouldest say, 1
have made Abram rich.” Abram was not entirely averse
to accepting presents from heathen kings (cf. l2:16), but
in this case the patriarch could not consent to sharing in
the slightest measure the wealth of the impious Sodomites.
What a striking contrast to Lot’s selfish acts! No one
could deny that Abram had the privilege of keeping these
chattels as his due. “Abraham, however, cannot do such
a thing. He is not covetous; the thought of the acquisition
of wealth never entered into the undertaking of the ex-
pedition. But another weightier consideration enters into
the case: Abram desires to stand out clearly as a man who
prospers only because of God’s blessings. Hitherto this
status of his had been unmistakably clear; Abram had never
sought wealth, nor resorted to questionable methods of
getting it; nor had anyone contributed to his wealth.
Least of all could Abram accept a generous bestowal from
a man of the calibre of the King of Sodom, a purely sensual
materialist and idolater. The acceptance of the gift would
have impugned Abram’s spiritual standing. Consequently,
Abram summarily rejects the proposaly’ (EG, 467). Critics
have attempted to make contradictions here where every-
thing harmonizes, by contending that Abram who dis-
claimed a right to the spoils for his own use could not
therefore have bestowed a tenth on Melchizedek. “The
least bit of effort to understand would show that a religious
tenth reveals the same spirit as the refusal for personal
use.” As a matter of fact, the tenth belonged to Yahweh
at all times: to have kept it would have been robbing the
One who is the “possessor of heaven and earth.” “One
133