This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see
what’s happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his Gospel.

Let’s jump in.

God is in control.

God is faithful.

These two truths jump off the page in all
three of the stories we find in this passage.

In the first story, Abram and
his nephew Lot are in a predicament.

Their large herds of livestock
cannot live in the same area.

So, Abram gives up his right
to choose and lets Lot pick.

Without Abram even picking, God
secures for him the land he promised.

In the second story, Lot’s land is attacked
by an allied group of several rival kingdoms,

and as a result, his family
and goods are plundered.

But Abram, with just 318 men,
manages to drive out the attackers

and rescue Lot, his family,
and all of his possessions.

How was Abram able to do this?

We learn that it was God
who gave him the victory.

In the final story, Abram is blessed by a man
named Melchizedek who is both a king and a priest.

In response, Abram gives a tenth
of everything he had to Melchizedek.

Interrupting this scene, the
king of Sodom tries to bless Abram

by giving him the
plunder from the battle.

Abram refuses saying that he does not want
to give anyone the ability to say, “I made Abram rich.”

But even though Abram
refused physical goods,

gave a tenth of what he
did have, God still blessed him.

That’s because God is in
control, and God is faithful.

God’s control and faithfulness
reach their heights in Jesus.

Abram seemingly had no choice
in which piece of land he would inherit.

His land was selected
by a process of elimination.

Yet, this was a blessing to him.
It was where God wanted him to be.

This is good news to
those of us who know Jesus.

No matter where we
are, either by choice or

what seems to be happenstance,
we are not too far from God’s reach.

All along, he is setting our steps
to bring us to the place he wants us to be.

Like Abram’s small army, Jesus
beat the biggest enemy of sin and death

through the weakest of all tactics:
Laying his life down on a cross.

That is because even the weakness
of God is stronger than the strength of men.

Lastly, the story of Melchizedek
is also about Jesus.

Melchizedek had no
recorded genealogy or death.

It’s almost as if he
was symbolically eternal.

But what Melchizedek resembled,
Jesus actually is - an eternal priest.

And like Abram, we cannot be
bought for all the riches of this world.

For the plunder Jesus earned for
us in his death and resurrection,

is a greater treasure
than anything found on Earth.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would give you
eyes to see the God who is in control

of all circumstances and brings everything
together to be faithful to his promises.

And may you see Jesus as the king
who died in order to be our priest forever.