Randall Fisher Posted October 15, 2004 Report Share Posted October 15, 2004 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the king of Sodom offers him? Abraham didn't want to take the items from the King of Sodom because he was an evil man, and he didn't feel that God would want him to have these things. What does this tell us about Abraham's character? That Abraham was a man of God and a man of trememdous integrity. What is the lesson here for us to learn? Our true blessings come from God. There is nothing that man can give us, or do for us, that can come close to the blessings that we receive from God. We need to stay focused on God, and receive the blessings He has for us, and forsake worldly treasures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennLady01 Posted October 19, 2004 Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Abraham knew that God was the source of all that he had. He did not want King of Sodom to say he had made Abraham rich. He knew all that he had and would have came from God. Abraham is a man of honor but almost one that knew God is where all good things come from. So today if we are wise we know that all good things come from the Lord. Not from man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kas Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 The King is wicked and Abraham doesn't want any future ties to such a man. Why get mediocre from a human king when you can get gold from THE King. Abraham is focused on honoring God. Abraham trusts God enough to reject everything that is not from God. Lesson learned: don't store up treasures on earth that rust and decay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obnubilate Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 What strikes me is tat Abraham had an oath with God not to receive from the king of Sodom. So Abraham was merely honouring his word with God. It could be tat God has told him not to put himself under obligation wit the king...as He has plans to destroy the city later. Here we see Abraham becoming a faithful servant of God, sensitive to His word and obeying them. So it is with us, to distance ourselves from evil and not to tempt ouselves unnecessarily. This is a personal lesson for me to learn. To be separated unto God means separated from the world. Seemingly harmless tempations like certain entertainment are to be avoided at all costs, so we might not under its obligation when its time to meet our Joy of Salvation. Amen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Q4: (a) Abraham refuses to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him because this King is a wicked king and Abraham do not want to give him any credit for anything that have made him rich. He had taken an oath to this and he wants all the praise to go to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. ( This tells us about Abraham's character is he is a man of his word. A faithful, trusted man. Someone who is not tossed about and willing to get rich from just anyone but he knows who his High Priest is. © The lesson here for us to learn is know who we are serving and faithful too. Think before we leapt. Just because something sounds good, we must stop and talk to God first and know if it is from God. Amen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrior Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abram had always trusted God to supply all his needs and God had made him wealthy, he did not need what this King ordered but more important he did not want any pagan thing from an evil king but preferred to keep himself seperate from such worldly things and faithful to his God. His high moral character refused to compromise to become rich or important in the worlds eyes. If we will keep ourselves a seperate people and trust God our riches will be far greater that the material wealth the world calls riches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjb Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Abraham did not want to be "beholden" to the King of Sodom. The king's moral values were suspect, and if Abraham had taken from him, it would have put him into a relationship with the king that Abraham did not want. The King of Sodom had benfited from Abraham's military expertise as a neighbor, but more importantly, through his relationship with Abraham's nephew Lot. There is often a fine line between "inclusiveness," and "exclusiveness." My pastor preached a sermon not too long ago in which he told us that we had to keep ourselves separate. All during that sermon, I wanted to scream: "That is not what Jesus taught." Jesus said of his treatment of people like Matthew and Zacchaeus that it is the people who are sick who need the physician. Perhaps the King of Sodom was not convicted of a stricter code of morals or claim Abraham's God as his own after their encounter, but Abraham had treated him with dignity. I think that is the lesson that we all should learn. There are people who have different values than I. I do not have to like those values, but they are my neighbors, and I must love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanharmelink Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abrahaam did not want to feel obligated to the king. He was willing to take goods for his fellow men, but had an unselfish attitude in taking anything that would make him more wealthy. There are thos that you give an in ch and they will take the entire hand. Abraham did not want anything that would be giving gain to him personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJeff Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 Having no fellowship with the unfuitful works of darkness Abraham refused to be connected to the wicked king rather, he kept his trust in Adonai as a faithful provider. In so doing Abraham displays that he is Yahweh's, exclusively. Abraham is a man of integrity and as we can plainly see after all of these thousands of years, a man richly rewarded by God for being so. Not a bad act to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewell Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 He refuses the war spoils because he didn't want any indication that the King of Sodom had made him rich. He did not want to be associated with the wicked king thereby assuming guilt by that association. A person is assumed to be the same as the company they keep - guilty or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaus Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 Abraham didn't want the King of Sodom to be able to say he had helped make Abraham rich. Also Abraham didn't want it to look like he had done this for money or wealth. He wanted God to have the glory and it be known that he depended on God to provide for his needs. The lesson is that we can trust in God to supply our needs if we obey and trust in him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted August 27, 2007 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? Abraham's reasoning was that he would continue to look to God for his blessing so that no man may say that he gave him to increase. Also, the king od Sodom was an idolater and Abraham wanted no part in that. What does this tell us about Abraham's character? Abraham's actions tells us that he is a man of God who is concerned that all of his actions were in line with his living a life of worship to the Living God. What is the lesson here for us to learn? We should be careful to live holy and to wait on God to bless us, because he will do just that only if we are obedient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refuses to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him because the king is evil. Abraham has aligned himself with the King of Salem. A king of righteousness and a High Priest of Yahew. This act reveals the righteousness of Abraham. The lesson here is not to compromise with evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
servant for Christ Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refused the spoils because he knew the king was evil and did not want anything to do with him. Abraham believed in the Lord God for everything, he had everything he needed because God provided it. The lesson for us to learn is to depend totally on God and do not look to the world for our needs to be met. When we put God first, our money needs or what ever we need will be taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masika Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the king of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? He did not what to boast that he made Abraham rich. Abraham was a man who feared God, and he did not what to have nothing to do with pagan gods, that King didn't fear God. Abraham recognized that Sodom was a corrupt and godless city. Any association with the city was bound to lead to a compromised faith. Even in this seemingly harmless relationship Abraham knew that there is always a price to be paid when we unite with the world. This is the same principle the Apostle Paul was thinking of when he told the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked together. We must be careful who are friends are, who we associate with, and what kinds of values we embrace. There is always a price when we unite with the world * we water down the truth so as not to offend. * we compromise our reputation and witness. This was Abraham's concern. He didn't want people to think that he had been blessed by the King of Sodom. He wanted the world to know that his blessing was from the Lord Almighty. * we lose our spiritual sharpness. As we dabble with the things of the world our spiritual sharpness is dulled. Sin doesn't bother us as much. We aren't as affected by the immorality, the vulgarity, the violence, the disrespect shown to God. As we develop an appetite for the things of the world we dull our appetite to things of God. Any connection with the world will distort our thinking. * If we allow our culture to define riches . . . we will become obsessed with the material * If we allow our culture to define love . . . .we will find ourselves embracing perversion * If we allow our culture to define worship . . . we will focus on external feelings rather than inward humility * If we allow our culture to define self-image . . . we will end up with an arrogance that refuses to submit to God's authority. * If we allow our culture to define what is appropriate to feed our minds (e.g. in the media)... we will end up compromising our pursuit of that which is holy. * If we allow our culture to define God . . . we will end up worshipping a reflection of ourselves Abraham refused to run the risk of compromise. He gave up what he was "entitled to" in order to retain his purity before the Lord. It's a vitally important lesson in our day of constant compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo621 Posted July 14, 2008 Report Share Posted July 14, 2008 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the king of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refused to take the spoils of war from a sin-sick country, whereby if he partook of them, he would be compromising himself and what he professed to believe. He knew that it was important to make a stand and not take things from those who lived such wicked and sinful lives. The same thing applies to us today as Christians that we can't compromise with this world either. We must live in a total Christlike manner, avoiding all ties to those things that could cause us to trip up in our daily walk with the Lord. It's a daily walking close to God that will guide us and keep us close to Our Lord. The enemy of our souls is very subtle, and loves nothing more than to entice the child of God by trying to disguise the things of this world and make them appealing to us. Even if we don't take part in evil things, it's important that we separate ourselves from those things of questionable values, and remain on our guard. It's not that we are any better than they are, but we are just "saved by grace" and only God can and will keep us in His care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjrides4God Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? Abraham took an oath with God promising to take nothing belonging to the King of Solomon so the king could not take credit for Abraham's wealth What does this tell us about Abraham's character? This action by Abraham is just another example of his strive to be on the side of righteousness and his trust in God What is the lesson here for us to learn? One lesson is to separate ourselves as much as possible from the wicked...not necessarily from people who are different. As Christians we need to set an example for others as Abraham did for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Abraham didn't want the King of Sodom being able to use this against him by being able to claim that it was he (the King of Sodom) who had made Abraham rich. Abraham knew that the King of Sodom was wicked, and therefore probably fully expected that he would have acted in this way given the chance. On the other hand, he had no hesitation in giving the one tenth share to God because Abraham knew that the riches had come from God in any event. The lesson for us is that like Abraham, we should not compromise ourselves with wicked people. Give to them what is rightly theirs, as Abraham did to the King of Sodom, but never put ourselves in a position where we can be accused of relying or depending on them. Instead, we should put all our trust in God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy Crans Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refused because he didn't want to give the King of Sodom any glory for his wealth. He had taken an oath to God that he would take nothing from the King of Sodom. It tells us that Abraham stands by his word. He is faithful to the word he has given to God. He can be trusted and he is steadfast. When he says something he means it. We should learn to be trustworthy, true to our word, faithful and to stand up for what we know God's word says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionbait Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 What a difference it makes to a man when he walks with God. Abraham did not want anyone to misunderstand that his wealth and welfare came only from the hand of God. But look at the great humility he also displays when he asked for the wealth to be given to those in need. Grace and humility when we walk close to the Master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah43 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? The king of Sodom is evil. Abraham knows this and understands that to accept riches from an evil man allies him with evil. By Abraham's refusal, he is refuting the concept of "the ends justifies the means." We learn here that we should disassociate ourselves from evil people although we might gain from them somehow. Abraham knows that he does not need evil profit. God will take care of him. We should have the same knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking His Face Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Abraham refuses because he was a wicked king, and he did not want the king of Sodom to have any claim to him and what would happen in his future. Abraham was faithful to his relationship(covenant) with God. You can't have 2 masters, because you will end up serving one.... All kinds of lessons here, unequally yoked, giving evil authority over you by association or indebtedness.If you hang out with ugly it will eventually get on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the king of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? He does not want to have anything to do with the king of wickedness or with different pagan religions. He does not want to feel obliged to them either. We must also be careful not to associate with various sects that can lead us astray and feed us false doctrine. Abraham is obviously a man of integrity, loyal only to our God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foofee's Nana Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? He does not want to be aligned in any way with the evil that King Bera represented, nor for him tobe able to say that he made Abranham wealthy. What does this tell us about Abraham's character? I think that Abraham was a moral man because he did not want the taint of eveil around him at all. He said the men who were with him could take what was theirs but he would take not even the thong of a sandal. What is the lesson here for us to learn? It would be a lesson to not concern ourselves with our wealth, especially if it somes to us in a bad way. We need to separate ourselves from wrongdoing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? Because Abraham did not want to associate himself with an evil leader. This tells us that Abraham was a man who walked in integrity. We learn just as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 "evil communications corrupt good manners." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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