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Daily Devotion: Genesis 14:21-23

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Genesis 14:21-23    "And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.  (22)  And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,  (23)  That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich..."

So many things happened from the end of chapter 13 and this point in chapter 14.  There was a great war that took place and in that time, "And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.  (12)  And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed." (Genesis 14:11-12) As a result, Abram took his trained servants and went after them. He brought back Lot and all the goods that had been taken. It was after this that the king of Sodom offered all the money and goods to Abram in return for his valiant effort in the battle. Abram refused anything that was offered to him. It would have been tempting to take all that was offered, but Abram used great wisdom in refusing.  He realized that taking reward from the king would take away from the blessing of God. Though these words were spoken of Moses, they also apply to this situation with Abram. He chose the blessings of God to be "greater riches than the treasures in (Sodom): for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." (Hebrews 11:26)

Life is filled with choices and we are called upon to make those choices each day. It is very important that we set our priorities in life and above all to have the priority of fellowship with our Heavenly Father to be the highest calling of all.  Every choice should be made with this in mind: "How will this affect my walk with Jesus?"  Will my choice enhance that walk or will it detract?  Will it bring me closer to Christ or take me farther away?  May the Lord help us to make good choices in all matters of life.

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