I was surprised to find Abraham in another valley, the Valley of Shaveh (Genesis 14:17-20) right after his victory over King Chedorlaomer.  Why was he there and not back up in the mountains since valleys are taken as low points in our lives?  Only after giving it some thought did it seem reasonable. God had given Abraham a great victory, but the victory came with a price. The Bible calls what happened in the last valley, the Valley of Siddim, a “slaughter”.  Abraham had been at war. He had blood on his hands.  He had killed many. And he had made enemies.  Would the sons or relatives of those enemies seek revenge?  These things had to weigh heavily on his mind. No wonder he had no peace.

But here’s the good part, while he’s lingering in this low point, Melchizedek, priest of the most high God and King of Salem, the very King of Peace—for Salem means peace—comes to Abraham bearing bread and wine, and blesses Abraham.  And by this blessing he assures Abraham that God was still with him, thus restoring his peace.  And who is this Melchizedek?  The pre-incarnate Jesus, the ever-existing One, who appears many times in the Old Testament.  In Hebrews 5:6, speaking of Jesus, it says, “Thou are a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec”, and Hebrews chapter 7 goes into more detail.

Oh, there is so much in these passages of Genesis! It would take a proper Bible study to lay it all out.  But suffice it to say, that after we have been in a valley of conflict, and the conflict is now over, it still may be difficult to regain our peace.  So many unpleasant things happen during a conflict.  People are wounded, relationships may be destroyed, and this could leave us still trapped in a valley of remorse, despondency, or fear of the unknown.  But praise God! Jesus is willing and able to meet us there like He did Abraham.   And if we commune with Him (symbolized by the bread and wine brought by Melchizedek); if we spend time in fellowship with Jesus, He will restore us back to a place of peace, and bless us going forward.  What a gracious God we serve!

Until next week,

Sylvia

We have left the valley of rebellion (Shinar) only to find ourselves in the valley of strife. And as I mentioned last week, it is reasonable to assume that if we are not at peace with God, we will not be at peace with our fellowman, either.  So, is it any wonder that in the very next valley named in the Bible, the Valley of Siddim, the first recorded war in scripture takes place?  Many years have passed since the Tower of Babel and people have spread out in all directions. In this particular area there are now nine kings with the head honcho being King Chedorlaomer.  For twelve years the other kings have been serving Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14). Finally, in the thirteenth year five of the kings rebelled, including the King of Sodom and the King of Gomorrah, and within a year, Chedorlaomer marched against them with his army and the army of his three allies. So it was four kings against five. 

The four kings were able to vanquish the others and took them as spoils of war along with their goods, livestock, children, and wives. Among those taken was Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who had, some time before, left Abraham to live in Sodom.

And where was Abraham all this time?  Safely by the mountain of Mamre.  Abraham, called by God to separate himself from the world, is the fountainhead of the twelve tribes of Israel, but he’s also a wonderful picture of the believer.  We too are called by God to be separated; to refrain from the world’s sin and strife. 1 John 5:19 says “the whole world lieth in wickedness”. Romans 12:2a cautions us to “be not conformed to this world”.  And 1 John 2:15 admonishes us to “love not the world neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” But James 4:4 goes even further and tells us that to be friends with the world is to be an enemy of God. But like Abraham, who, when he heard about Lot’s capture, was forced to take up arms and rescue him, sometimes we too are pulled into the war and conflict around us. There will always be someone who causes strife in our world, someone who wants to rule, to control, to subjugate. In the larger sense we can think of people like Hitler or Bin Laden, but on a smaller scale it could be that difficult boss or abusive spouse or impossible neighbor or co-worker.

So there will be times when we will leave our mountain of peace for the valley of strife, pulled there by war or discord not of our making. But in the end, Abraham and his men prevailed and rescued Lot and the other captives.  And in the end, if we faithfully follow God’s leading, we will prevail too.

Until next week,

Sylvia