Genesis 14:14: Three hundred and eighteen men, and a hundred and thirty miles
Read it →Commentary on Genesis 14:14
Abram was living at the oaks of Mamre, well away from the war between the kings, when word reached him that Lot had been carried off. The man Lot had walked away from now arms his household to go after him — and only he could.
Note: where the ESV says "his kinsman," the older translation these writers use says "his brother." Several comments below turn on that word.
Faith that woke at a brother's name
Abram had watched the armies march past without stirring. What moved him was not the war but the man inside it.
But this was the very moment for Abram to show himself in the powerful activities of love. Until now he had watched these movements of "kings and their armies" with calm indifference. Yet the same faith that made him indifferent to the quarrels of men made him quick to notice a brother in distress. Faith not only purifies the heart from worldly and fleshly desires; it also "works by love." Abram's case shows this with power.
The record calls Lot a brother here, and the timing of that word is not accidental.
Now notice this. In the hour of distress and difficulty, the relationship of brother takes the prominent place. In days of untroubled peace Abram might know Lot as "his brother's son." But now Lot was in sorrow, so the claims of brotherhood act — and act with power and effect. True, he had argued over a piece of land — he had turned away from his old companion and settled at Sodom, but what of that? He was now in trouble, and so everything is forgotten except that they were brothers.
No word about the past
Abram could have said Lot brought this on himself. He said nothing of the kind.
There was no doubt about Lot's failure in testimony. But Abram thought nothing about his faults now. What he looked at was a righteous man swept away by the clashing powers of earth. Lot, despite everything, was truly righteous. This drew out his feelings of loving desire for Lot's rescue.
His motive puts a question to us.
Do we have such energy of faith to seek to recover saints of God who have been ensnared by falsehood? It was not anger against the enemy that moved Abram, but love for his brother.
Trained before the crisis, not during it
Two words describe the men: trained, and armed. Both were true long before the news arrived.
Suppose Abram had gone into battle against the enemy without servants trained to bear arms. He and they would most likely have been overcome. But they were both trained and also armed. Training assumes a long and varied discipline in the house. Arms mean the right weapons of attack and defence for the moment. Lot had neither. Comfortable and settled, he imagined no enemy, so the attack caught him off guard and left him defenceless.
Their birthplace matters as much as their training: Abram's own house.
There is a lovely picture here of those born again in the house of God, the church of the living God. They have not needed the training of worldly wise men or of theological schools. God has trained them in His own house, the assembly of the living God. The best training happens there, in the fellowship of the saints of God. There He is free to teach in His own way, through every gift He has given to His saints.
Three hundred and eighteen
The odds were hopeless on paper.
Scripture gives us no idea of the number of his opponents, but it does tell us the small number of Abram's forces — 318 besides himself. We believe it tells us this to show that Abram's action came from very extraordinary faith. The army he attacked must have been far stronger than his own, and it was flushed with victory at every point up to then. Yet he did not hesitate, and God was with him.
Free to rescue
Two believers stand side by side here. Each outcome traces back to an earlier choice.
One man grasped at the world with its outward prosperity and pleasures. Even though he was "righteous," he lost everything and found himself a captive. The other gave up the world and walked with God. He alone in the whole region could act in faith, and the power of God answered that faith and gave him the victory.
The same fight, different weapons
Our own fight is not fought with swords.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Even so, the Christian conflict is very real. We contend for the truth. We seek to deliver those in danger of falling into the religious world, and those it has already taken captive in its snares.
Summary
- Brother — trouble promotes the relationship. Once Lot was in distress, the old argument over land counted for nothing.
- Love — not anger at the enemy but love for one failing believer moved Abram, and he never raised Lot's faults.
- Trained — the discipline happened in the house, long before the emergency. An untrained, unarmed household has no defence when the enemy comes.
- Few — Scripture records the 318 against a victorious army so we see the faith, not the arithmetic. Abram did not hesitate, and God was with him.
- Free — only the man who had already let go of the world could go in and pull out someone the world had swallowed.
