Today’s Reading: Genesis 14:14-24

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

Genesis 14:22-23

Meditation: In order to rescue his nephew Lot and his family, Abram (who will later be known as Abraham) comes to the military aid of two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, to defeat those who have captured Lot and his family. (These are the same cities that are later destroyed by God because of the wickedness of their people.) With the help of Abram’s battle prowess as well as his 318 servant fighters, the cities’ captives and possessions are restored completely and the cities Sodom and Gomorrah are indebted to him for his help.

To repay Abram, the king of Sodom decides to reward him richly. He offers to give Abram all of the livestock and possessions of the two cities that he has restored, and that only the people of the city are returned, including Lot and his family. This is an extravagant offer. But Abram refuses to take anything from the king, in order to avoid the idea that his wealth was given to him by anyone other than God. Now, there is a hint of Abram’s wealth in the passage. When going to battle, Abram gathers 318 battle-ready servants to fight on his behalf. It can be assumed that his entire household and staff consisted of additional men and women who did not go to battle. The need for this amount of servants, and the finances required to run this type of household speaks to Abram’s great wealth before he was offered this reward from the king of Sodom. God had already blessed Abram richly, and Abram knew that his riches came from God. He refused to have anyone misunderstand its source.

Abram knew that God blessed him richly because He allowed God to be his sole provider. But could he have been so sure to proclaim God’s provision to others if he put his trust in anyone or anything else? The more we trust in God for supplying our every need, the better the position we are in to declare what He has done in our lives. What a wonderful truth it is that the more God blesses us, and the more we rely on Him for those blessings, the more testimony He puts at our fingertips to share with the world what He has done for us!

Prayer: Loving God, You are the God from Whom all blessings flow. Thank You for all that You do for me. Thank You for the countless examples You’ve given of Your grace and faithfulness. Please show me new ways to rely on You and proclaim to others what You have done for me. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com): Luke 8:26-56; Genesis 13:1-14:24; Psalm 7