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This article was written by Hayley Mizell, producer of Bible Book Club.
Before this chapter, I always pictured Abraham as a strong man but not really a fighter. I saw him as peaceful more than mighty, but here we go, another chapter that flips the script on what I thought I knew. Here, in Genesis 14, we see Abraham lead an army of 318 trained men, strategically defeat multiple kings and their armies, and (spoiler alert) rescue Lot. Yes, now instead of picturing Abraham as an older wise man, I picture him more like Aragorn, the mighty man from the Lord of the Rings movies fighting the enemy to get a hobbit (or in this case, Lot) back. You can blame Susan for the Lord of the Rings references. She started it with her comparison of Melchizedek to Gandalf.
HAYLEY’S BIBLE BENDER:
Speaking of Melchizedek, you guessed it. He was my Bible bender. The whole order of Melchizedek was mind-blowing. How God knew to have Melchizedek referenced in both Abraham and David’s stories would have been huge for the Jews. I didn’t think about how the law would have caused the Jews to struggle with understanding that Jesus, not from the line of Levi, could be both King and Priest. That whole section of Hebrews deserves another day of review-it was all so interesting and revealing. I agree with Susan, Abraham would have probably been pondering the mysterious Melchizedek for the rest of his life.
What part of this story excited you? Did it change your view of Abraham? What did you learn from it and the humility of Abraham?
