In today’s YouTube video, Rudy Ross does an excellent job summarizing the War of the Kings (Genesis 14:1-12). Four kings went against five kings to gain victory and find freedom.
You’ll note, if you watch the video, that I enjoyed a great ice cream cone at Miami Ice while he worked to explain the war. I’m sure none of the combatants were eating ice cream during this challenging time in history.
When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan (Genesis 14:14).
Rudy is excellent with Hebrew numerology, and so he has a good explanation of what 318 means in today’s video.
In his commentary on Genesis, Victor Hamilton has an interesting insight: “Abram’s servant, Eliezer, has a numerical equivalent of 318. All of the prime numbers are 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, which equals 318.”
Abram and his forces turned the tide of the war among the kings.
He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
Then he brought back all the goods and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods and the women and the people (Genesis 14:15-16).
Blessings and Curses
When God called Abraham, He promised both blessing and cursing depending on how people related to the patriarch.
“I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
The kings who captured Lot, his family, and his servants in the war representing a curse. Abram’s defeat of these kings and the liberation of the captives represent a blessing.
Abram’s actions were backed by the full power and authority of God’s blessing and curse. The battle was won not because of Abram’s 318 skilled warriors, but because God intervened in fulfilling His promise to the patriarch.
You may have heard the story of an elephant and a flea crossing a giant swinging bridge in Africa. The flea was riding on the back of the elephant as the bridge struggled under their weight. Once off the bridge, the flea whispered to the elephant, “We really rocked them, didn’t we?”
If we think that we humans have the power to win battles against the enemy, we need to realize that we’re the flea riding on the back not just of an elephant but of the greatest Being in the universe.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 