Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

14: 17-24
natilral exception must be made: soinething of that which
was taken from the vanquished e, had to be used to
feed the deliverers. Abram want understood that he
felt justified in having appropriated. this much. His con-
federates, Aner, Eschol and Mamre, were, o
be bound by his own conscientious’ scruples. These men
were at liberty to make whatever adjustm
with the King of Sodom” (EG, 469.) .‘ There is little doubt
that Abram knew what kind of a character he was dealing
with in the person of the King of Sodom; hevknew full well
that this king would later distort the facts of ’the case in
such a way as to make the claim that. he had made Abram
wealthy, and the patriarch was not going to have any of
this. (3) The oath itself: “I have lifted up my hand to
Yahweh.’’ A common form of oath-taking (Deut. 32:40,
Ezek. 20:5-6; Dan. 12:7; Rev. 10:5, 6; cf. Virgil’s Aeneid,
12, 195). Oaths have been employed from earliest times;
the purpose of an oath is explained in Heb. 6:16, “For
men swear by the greater; and in every dispute of theirs
’ the oath is final for confirmation.’’ Under ancient cus-
tomary law, the oath was rigidly held to be sacred, and
perjury was one of the most heinous crimes a man could
perpetrate. (HSB, 25): “In the Old Testament they were
employed for (1 ) confirming covenants (26:28; 3 1:44,
53) ; (2) resolving controversies in courts of law (Exo.
22:11, Num. 5:19) ; (3) guaranteeing the fulfillment of
promised acts or sacred duties (24:3, 4; 50:25; Num.
30:2, 2 Chron. 15:14). Believers have always been for-
bidden to take oaths in the name of idols or created things
(Josh. 23:7, Matt. 5:34-36, Jas. 5:12). God Himself used
an oath to show His immutability (22:16; Num. 14:28;
Heb. 6:17). But the Lord Jesus admonished believers to
fulfill their promises without the need of resorting to any
oaths, so their word would be as good as their bond (Matt.
5 : 3 4-3 7) .”
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