Deliver your brother

"And Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive, and he put forth his mighty men, and brought back all the good, and brought back Lot, his brother, and his property, and also the women and the people." Genesis 14. 14, 16

The war episode told at the beginning of this chapter concerns Abraham directly : his nephew Lot is among the captives.

Why had Lot been so close to Sodom ? He knew the immorality of the inhabitants of this city. But he had given priority to his material interest more than to any other moral consideration. Here he is paying dearly for his association with the corrupt people of Sodom whose sad fate he suffers : he loses his freedom and his possessions.

When Abraham learned providentially the defeat of Sodom and the fate of his nephew, he did not hesitate for a moment. Yet what is a small troop of 318 men, even seasoned, in front of a coalition of four kings who have just crushed five others ? The pursuit is underway until Hoba, north of Damascus. The rapidity of Abraham's intervention surprises the conquerors and allows the deliverance of Lot with his family and that of the captives who were with them. It is the victory of faith in the service of love for his brother.

Will Lot understand the warning of this adventure that could have gone so badly ? Will he open his eyes to the way in which the Lord rewards his uncle's faith ? Will he be able to receive the blessing of this exceptional personage from Melchisedec ?

Alas ! He returns to Sodom, even if the moral state of this city torments his righteous soul "day by day" (2 Pet. Later, in the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, he had to flee, forced and forced, making the loss of all he had and part of his family (Gen. 19).

Would the world have an appeal of the same kind to us ? Certainly, the immorality of the inhabitants made Lot uneasy, but he was not ready to move away from it.

Let us also take the example of Abraham to react with love and faith when our brother needs spiritual or material help ; Do not let him down, even if he has put himself in a difficult position. Let us not be afraid of the expense which will result from it: struggle in prayer or out of money !

Source (To pleasing the Lord)