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Ver. 3. The salt sea.] So it was afterwards called. [See Trapp on “Ge 19:25”] See Plin., lib. v. cap. 16.
Ver. 4. They rebelled.] Which they ought not to have done, if they had promised fidelity, unless in case of extreme necessity: and then also, at first, to have been on the defensive only. Alsted.
Ver. 5. Chedorlaomer.] King of Persia; he was commander in chief; and upon his sword might have been written, as was upon Agamemnon’s, ουτος μεν φοβος εστιν ανθρωπων, this is the common terror. Pausan.
Ver. 6. And the Horites in their mount Seir.] Their Seir could not secure them, when once they fell into the hands of these Ardeliones, (Ezekiel 21:31) burning or “brutish men,” skilful to destroy.
Ver. 7. And smote all the country.] Great is the woe of war. [See Trapp on “Ge 14:2”] Great also was the goodness of God to Abram, in giving so many, and so victorious, nations into his hands.
Ver. 8. And there went out the king of Sodom, &c.] These five neighbouring kings were combined against the four kings that invaded them. It was not then a civil dissension, that worst of wars, such as was that of France (and is now, alas, of England), wherein the sons fought against their fathers, and brothers against brothers; and even women took arms on both sides for defence of their religion. That was not more monstrous, that the Suevian women threw their young children at the Romans, their enemies, instead of darts, than that other was piteous between the Romans themselves, those that were for Vitellius, and the other for Vespasian; that, when the women brought the Vitellians food by night, into the camp, they not only refreshed themselves, but their adversaries also, with food and drink. Each man called to his adversary by name, and said, Accipe, mi commilito, ede: Non enim tibi gladium proebeo, sed panem. Accipe rursum et bibe: Non enim tibi scutum, sed poculum trado: ut, sive tu me interficias, sive ego te, moriamur facilius: atque ut ne me, enervata atque imbecilla manu occidas, aut ego te. Hae nostrae sunt exequiae, nobis adhuc viventibus. Thus they greeted over night, and the next day despatched one another; they gave wounds, and took wounds; they slew, and were slain, as the same author hath it. Which as oft as I think on, I cannot but highly commend that speech of Otho the Emperor to his soldiers, a little before he took his end: I hate civil wars, though I were sure to overcome. I know not why any Englishman should love it, that shall call to mind, that in the civil dissensions between the houses of York and Lancaster, there were slain (ere the quarrel ended) fourscore princes of the blood royal, and twice as many natives of England as were lost in the two conquests of France. War is easily taken up, saith the wise historian, but not so easily laid down again; neither is the beginning and the end of a war in any one man’s power. If the Scots should come in on the one side, and the French or Irish on the other, what an Aceldama should we soon become! what an Ireland, a seat of wrath, because a seat of war! It is never to be forgotten by us, that the dissension between England and Scotland consumed more Christian blood, wrought more spoil and destruction, and continued longer than ever quarrel we read of did between any two people of the world. Our Edward I adjured his son and nobles, that, if he died on his journey into Scotland, they should carry his corpse about Scotland, and not suffer it to be interred, till they had absolutely subdued the country. A desire more martial than Christian; a design of revenge beyond his life. Such spirits are raised in men “that delight in war”. (Psalms 68:30) “Oh! pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” So saith David. (Psalms 122:6) And so doth David in the next verse, “Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.” The Athenians, when they had gotten the better at sea of the Lacedemonians, were so overjoyed, that they then first set up altars to the public peace; and appointed a cushion to be laid thereon, for that goddess to rest upon. Oh, would the Lord but once more grant us, that “righteousness and peace might kiss each other, and mercy and truth meet” in our land, (Psalms 85:9,10) how happy should we hold ourselves; how infinitely obliged to sing, Servati sumus, ut serviamus! (Luke 1:74) How should we prize our restored peace, and improve it as Abram did here, to the paying of tithes, in token of thankfulness; yea, to the setting up of altars, not to public peace, as those heathens, but to the God of peace, as Abram after this did, when he had concluded a peace with King Abimelech, and his general, Phichol! (Genesis 21:32,33) Hist. of Counc. of Trent, 647. Heyl. Geog., p. 289. Dio in Vita Vitellii. ετιτρωσκον ετιτρωσκοντο: εφονευον, εφονευοντο.—Dio. Μισω πολεμον εμφυλιον, καν κρατων.—Dio in Vita Othonis. Daniel’s Chron. continued by Trussel., fol. 249. Omne bellum sumitur facile, caeterum aegerrime desin it. Non enim in eiusdem potestate est initium belli, eiusque finis.— Salust, in Jug. Tum primum arae Paci publicae sunt factae, eique Deae pulvinar institutum.— Cornel. Nepos.
Ver. 9. Four kings with five.] These five were but free princes of cities, petty kings, such as we had here of old in this island; which is therefore said, by Jerome, to be tyrannorum fertilis, fertile of tyrants.
Ver. 10. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits.] Chosen therefore on purpose by the five kings, who fled and fell there; or (as some understand the text) made haste to fall down there; skulking and scouting, till their enemies should pursue them, and so perish in those pits. But their cunning failed them; for as they had travailed with iniquity and conceived mischief, so they brought forth a lie. They “made a pit and digged it, but fell into the ditch that themselves had made”. (Psalms 7:15) The way of this world, saith one, is like the vale of Siddim, slimy and slippery, full of slime pits and pitfalls, springs and stumbling-blocks, laid by Satan to maim or mischieve us, to procure our ruin or ruth. To defeat him therefore (as these four kings did the five), let us tread gingerly, step warily, lift not up one foot till we find sure footing for the other: let us look ere we leap. Alioqui saliens antequam videat, casurus est antequam debeat, as St Bernard hath it. Celeriter se deiecerunt.— Piscat. Eo consilio ut hostes ignari locorum,& c.— Idem. Bern. De Bon. Deser.
Ver. 11. And all their victuals] “Fulness of bread” (Ezekiel 16:49) was a part of their sin; and now “cleanness of teeth” (Amos 4:6) is made a piece of their punishment, in God’s just judgment. “ Per quod quis peccat, per idem punitur ipse. ”
Ver. 12. And they took Lot.] God passeth not by the sins of his dearest saints, without a sensible check. Lot, for his affecting the first choice, had soon enough of it. Strong affections bring strong afflictions; as hard knots require hard wedges. Earthly things court us, that they may cut our throats: these hosts welcome us into our inn with smiling countenance, that they may despatch us in our beds. Beware of the world’s cut-throat kindnesses; consort not with Sodomites, lest ye partake of their plagues. Hamath lies nigh to Damascus in place, and fares the worse for its neighbourhood. (Zechariah 9:2) Lot loseth his goods and liberty; Jehoshaphat had well-nigh lost his life, for “loving those that hated the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 18:31 19:2).
Ver. 13. And there came one that had escaped.] A Sodomite likely, but a servant to God’s good providence, for Lot’s rescue. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver his,” &c. (2 Peter 2:9) He that “led captivity captive,” (Ephesians 4:8) can “turn our captivity as the streams in the south”. (Psalms 126:4)
Ver. 14. He armed his trained servants.] Or, catechised; such as he had painfully principled both in religion and military discipline, tractable and trusty, ready pressed for any such purpose. It is recorded to the commendation of Queen Elizabeth, that she provided for war, even when she had most perfect peace with all men. Speers foreseen are dintless. Camden’s Elis., fol. 164.
Ver. 15. Smote them, and pursued them.] Abram came upon them as they were, -secure, sleepy, and drunken, as Josephus writeth. So did David upon the Amalekites, (1 Samuel 30:16) and Ahab the Syrians. (1 Kings 20:16) The division of his company, and taking benefit of the night, teacheth the use of godly policies and stratagems.
Ver. 16. And he brought back all the goods.] The five kings were deprived of the whole victory, because they sparest not a man whom they should have spared. One act of injustice oft loseth much that was justly gotten. Beware, saith a reverend writer hereupon, of swallowing ill-gotten wealth; it hath a poisonful operation; and, like some evil simple in the stomach, will bring up the good food together with the evil humours. And also brought again his brother Lot.] Many a crooked nature would have thought of the old jar, and let Lot taste of the fruits of his departure. In a friend’s distress, let former faults be forgotten, and all possible helps afforded. And the women also, and the people.] The hope of this might haply move that officious messenger to address himself to the old Hebrew, (Genesis 14:13) little set by, till now that they were in distress. General Vere told the King of Denmark that kings cared not for soldiers (no more did the king of Sodom for Abram, and his soldiers) until such time as the crowns hang on the one side of their heads. Mr Whateley’s Archetypes. Spec. Belli Sacri, 253.
Ver. 17. The king’s dale.] So called here by way of anticipation. (2 Samuel 18:18)
Ver. 18. Melehizedek king of Salem.] Who this Melchizedek was is much controverted. Some would have him to be the Holy Ghost. Others, the Lord Christ in the habit of a king and priest. The Jerusalem Targum saith, Hu Shem Rabba: this was Shem the Great. And of the same opinion are not a few of the Hebrew doctors, and others. But what should Shem do in Canaan; which country fell not to him, but to his brother Ham? To this they answer—That by the instinct of the Holy Ghost, he left his own posterity now fallen away, for most part, to idolatry, and came to the land of Canaan, a type of heaven, and the place from whence peace and salvation should be preached to all people. If this were so, it might very well be that Amraphel, who was of Shem’s lineage, and his fellow-soldiers, moved with reverence of this their great-grandfather Shem, might forbear to molest him at Salem, or invade his territories, when they wasted and smote all the neighbour nations. But then, on the other side, if Melchizedek were Shem, 1. Why doth not Moses call him so, but change his name? 2. Why did not Abram, dwelling so near, visit him all this while, that was so near allied to him, and so highly respected by him, as it was meet? 3. Why did Melchizedek, the grandfather, take tithes of his nephew, to whom he should rather have given gifts and legacies? (2 Corinthians 12:14) Most likely, Melchizedek was a Canaanite of the Canaanites; yet a most righteous king and priest of the most High God, and so a pledge and firstfruits of the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge and obedience of Jesus Christ, of whom he was a lively type. (Hebrews 7:2) Brought forth bread and wine.] This he did as a king; as a priest he blessed Abram; which latter therefore the apostle pitcheth upon, (Hebrews 7:1) as being to treat of Christ’s priesthood. The Papists think to find footing here for their unbloody sacrifice in the Mass. Melchizedek, say they, as a priest offered bread and wine to God; for he was a priest of the living God. So they render it, or rather wrest this text, to make it speak what it never meant. Cadem Scripturarum faciunt ad materiam suam, they murder the Scriptures to serve their own purposes, saith Tertullian. Where can they show us in all the Book of God, that the Hebrew word Hotsi here used, signifieth to offer? But anything serves turn that hath but a show of what they allege it for. A Sorbonist finding it written at the end of St Paul’s Epistles, Missa est, &c., bragged he had found the Mass in his Bible! So another reading John 1:41, ” Invenimus Messiam,” made the same conclusion, A third, no whit wiser than the two former, speaking of these words I now write upon, Rex Salem panem et vinum protulit, fell into a large discourse of the nature of salt! Agreeable whereunto Dr Poynes writes, that it was foretold in the Old Testament that the Protestants were a malignant Church, alleging 2 Chronicles 24:19 Mittebatque Prophetas, ut reverterentur ad Dominum, quos Protestantes illi audire nolebant. Dr Prideaux Lect. de Melchls., p. 95. Tert. de Proescrip. advers. Haeret. Beehive of Rom. Church, chap. iii. fol. 93. Melancthon. Orat. de encom, eloquentiae. Pref. to his Book of the Sacraments.
Ver. 19. And he blessed him.] Lo, here an instance of the communion of saints: Melchizedek doth all good offices to Abram (a believer, though a stranger), not of courtesy only and humanity, but of charity and piety.
Ver. 20. And he gave him tithes of all.] Not of the Sodomites’ goods, which he restored wholly, (Genesis 14:23) but of the other lawful spoil he had taken from the four conquered kings; in testimony of his thankfulness to God, the giver of all victory.
Ver. 21. And the king of Sodom said.] He that a few days since faced the heavens, and cared not for four kings, can now become suppliant to a forlorn foreigner. Affliction will tame and take down the proudest spirits; they buckle in adversity that bore their heads on high in prosperity. “In their month you may find these wild asses.” (Jeremiah 2:24) Give me the persons.] Abram did so, and yet they were no whit amended by their late captivity, or former servitude; from both which now they are freed by Abram, but still held captive by the devil, who owes them yet a further spite, as we shall see, Genesis 19.
Ver. 22. I have lifted up my hand.] A swearing gesture. (Daniel 12:7 Revelation 10:5,6) Neither doth he this rashly, but for very good reason first, that by this oath, as by a buckler, he might fence himself against all covetous desires of the spoil; secondly, to show that he did seriously remit of that which was his right, and went not to war for wages; thirdly, hereby to profess his faith and religion in opposition to their superstitious vanities, &c. The possessor of heaven and earth.] The true and rightful proprietary, whose tenants-at-pleasure we all are, as Philo from this text well observeth. And here take notice how Melchizedek and Abram concur in the very terms of professing their faith, “The most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.” Whereunto Abram adds “Jehovah,” by which name Melchizedek haply knew not God as yet; like as Apollos was ignorant of many needful truths, till better instructed by Aquila and Priscilla. (Acts 18:26)
Ver. 23. That I will not take from a thread.] Melchizedek, from God, had made Abram heir of all things; for, saith he, I am the priest of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, who hath sent me with this bread and wine, as by turf and twig, as by an earnest and a little for the whole, to give thee possession of both. Now, therefore, when the king of Sodom presently after offers him the goods he had taken, Abram would none; he was grown too great to accept of such an offer; God was his “exceeding great reward”. (Genesis 15:1) Aquila non captat muscas. Lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich.] Occasion must not be given to any to speak the least evil of us, lest Christ be dishonoured: for every Christian quartereth arms with Christ. And if Abram do anything unbeseeming himself, Abram’s God shall be blasphemed at Sodom.
Ver. 24. Let them take their portion.] In things indifferent, we may abridge ourselves; we may not prescribe to others, as if they must needs be just of our make. “My brethren, be not many masters,” (James 3:1) as Magistri nostri parisienses. See 1 Corinthians 9:14,15.