Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
hoi taken Prisoner. GENESIS XIV, XV, XVI, Bestovment of Hagar.
, . . built . . . an altar—grove of Mamre—the renewal of the promise was acknowledged by Abram by a fresh tribnto of devout gratitude.
the Lord—a phrase used, when connected with a vlsioii, to denote a prophetic message. Fear not, Abram—When the excitement of the enterprise was over he had become a prey to despondency and terror at the probable revengd that might be meditated against him. To dispel his fear, he was favoured with this gracious announcement. Having such a promise, how well did it become him, and a 1 God's people who have the same promise, to dismiss their fears, and cast their liurdens on the Lord (Psalm 27. 3). a. liord God, tvhat wilt thou give!—To his mind the declaration, "I am thy exceeding great reward," had but one meaning, or was viewed but in one particular light, as bearing on the fulfilment of the promise, and he waa
CHAPTER XIV.
Ver. 1-24. War. 1. And it came to pass—Tliis chapter presents Abram in the unexpected character of a warrior. The occasion was this: The king of Sodom and the kings ol the adjoining cities, after having been tributaries for twelve years to the king of Elam, combined to throw off his yoke. To chastise their rebellion, as he deemed it, Chedorlaomer, with the aid of three allies, invaded the territories of the refractory princes—defeated them in a pitched battle, where the nature of the ground favoured his army (v. 10), and hastened in triumph on his homeward march, with a large amount of captives and booty, though merely a stranger. 13. they took Lot . . . and Ills goods, and departed—How would the conscience of that young man now upbraid him for his selfish folly and ingratitude in withdrawing from his kind and pious relative! "Whenever we go out of the path of duty, we put ourselves away from God's protection, and cannot expect that the choice we make will be for our lasting good. 13. there came one that had escaped—Abram might have excused himself from taking any active concern in his still experiencing the sickness of hope def Hrred. Eliezer of Damascus . . , one born in my Iionst; is mine lictr —According to the usage of Nomadic tribes, his chief confidential servant would be heir to his possessions -iiid honours. But this man could have become his son only by adoption; and how sadly would that have come short of the parental hopes he had been encouraged to entertain ! His language betrayed a latent spirit of fretlulnoss, or perhaps a temporary failure in the very virtue for which he is so renowned—an absolute submission to God's time as well as way of accomplishing His promise.
4r. Tills shall not be thine heir—To the first part of his address no reply was given; but having renewed it In a spirit of more becoming submission, "whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it," he was delighted by a most explicit promise of Canaan, which was Immediately confirmed by a remarkable ceremony. 9-12. Take ine an heifer, &c.—On occasions of great Importance, v/hen two or more parties join in a compact, they either oliserve precisely the same rites as Abram did, or, where they do not, they invoke the lamp as their witness. According to these ideas, which have been from time immemorial engraven on the minds of Eastern people, the Lord himself condescended to enter into covenant with Abram. The patriarch did not pass between the sacrifice, and the reason was that in this transaction he was bound to nothing. He asked a sign, and God was pleased to give him a sign, by ^Yhich, according to Eastern ideas, he bound himself. In like manner God has entered into covenant with us; and in the glory of the Only Begotten Son, who passed through between God and us, all who believe have, like Abram, a sign or pledge in the gift of the Spirit, whereby they may know that they shall inherit the heavenly Canaan.
" brother," i. e., nephew, who little deserved that hesliould Incur trouble or danger on his account. But Abram, far from rendering evil for evil, resolved to take immediate measures for the rescue of Lot. 14. And when Abram heard that his brother wa« taken cajitive, lie armed his trained servants—domestic slaves, such as are common in Eastern countries still, and are considered and ti-ei Ued as members of the family. If Abram could spare three liundred and eighteen slaves and leave a sufficient number to take care of the flocks, what a large establishment lie must have had. 15, 16. he divided himself . . . by night—This war between the petty princes of ancient Canaan is exactly the same as the frays and skirmishes between Arab chiefs in the present day. When a defeated party resolve to pursue the enemy, they wait till they are fast asleep—then, as they have no idea of posting sentinels, they rush upon them from diiierent directions, strike down the tent poles—if there is any fight at all, it is the fray of a tumultuous mob—a panic commonly ensues, and the whole contest is ended with little or no loss on either side. 18. Melcliizedck—This victory conferred a public benefit on that part of the country; and Abram, on his return, was treated with high respect and consideration, particularly by the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, who seems to have been one of the few native princes, if not the only one, who knew and worshipped, "the Most High God," whom AbrarA served. Tills king who was a type of the Saviour (Hebrews 7. 1), came to bless God for the victory which had been won, and in the name of God to bless Alsram, by whose arms it had been achieved—a pious acknowledgment which we should Imitate on succeeding in any lawful enterprise. 20. hi gave him tithes of all—Here
CHAPTER XVI.
Ver. 1-16. Bestowment OF Hagar. 1. 5ro%vSarai . , . had a handmaid—a female slave—one of those obtained in Egypt. 3. Saral . . . gave her to . . . Abram to be his wife—wife is here used to describe an inferior, though not degrading relation, in countries where polygamy prevails. In the case of these female slaves, whicli are the personal property of his lady, being purchased before her marriage or given as a special present to herself—no one can become the husband's secondary wife without her mistress' consent or permission. This usage seems to have prevailed In patriarchal times ; and Hagar, the slave of Sarai, of whom she had the entire right of disposing, was given by her mistress' spontaneous olfer, to be the secondary wife of Abram, in the hope of obtaining the long-looked for heir. It was a wrong step—indicating a want of simple reliance on God—and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device. 5. And Sarai said
Is an evidence of Abram's piety, ps well as of his valour; for it was to a prie.st or official mediator between God and him, that Abram gave a tenth of the spoil—a token of his gratitude and in honour of a Divine ordinance (Proverbs 3.9). iil. the King of Sodom said . . . Give me the persons—According to the war customs still existing among the Arab tribes, Abram might have retained the recovered goods—and his right was acknowledged by the king of Sodom. But with honest pride, and a generosity unlinown in tliat part of the world, he replied with strong phraseology common to tlie East, " I have lifted up mine han<l {i.e., I have sworn unto the Lord), that I will not ake from a thread even to a sandal-thong—that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich."
. . . My wrong be upon thee—Bursts of temper, or blows, as the original may bear, took place, till at length Hagar, perceiving the hopelessness of maintaining the unequal strife, resolved to escape from what had become to her In reality, as well as In name, a house of bonrtnge. 7. And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain—This well, pointed out by tradition, lay on the side of the caravan road, in tlie midst of Sliur, a sandy desert on the west of Arabia PetraMi, to the extent of 1511 miles, between Palestine and Egypt, By taking that direction, she seems to have Intended to return to her relatives in that country,
CHAPTER XV.
Ver. 1-21. Divine Encouragement. 1. After these tilings—the conquest of the Invading kings, the word of