God is in the Battle with You

The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. Genesis 14:11-16

This is an exciting Biblical story until you dig deeper and realize God’s hand in the matter even though He is not mentioned. The four kings come from the east, from what today are areas in Iran and Iraq. So their armies traveled about 900 miles to battle against the 5 kings in the Dead Sea area. When the 5 kings are defeated the 4 kings take spoil and people back to their countries. Abraham chases them down because his nephew Lot is part of the captured. Abraham takes his men about 125 miles north to Dan and routs them there, then pursues them another 50 miles or so to Hobah, north of Damascus. How did this band of men defeat the army of 4 kings after traveling such a long distance? The answer is God. Trusting God, Abraham defeats the giants of the land. This was a miracle as much as Moses’ battles, and Joshua’s battles, and more recently the Six Day War. Nothing is impossible for God.