At the beginning of this chapter we read about some battles. They don't seem very important at first, until we read that Lot, Abram's brother, was taken. When Abram heard about this, he went out to fight to claim Lot back. And by the grace of God, Abram won the battle and rescued Lot and all the people and goods of Sodom.

When Abram returned from this battle, he was met by two kings. One was Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was also a priest of God. He came out to bless Abram. He brought bread and wine and a blessing from the Lord.

But then along came the second king, the king of Sodom, who offered to Abram that he could keep all the riches and goods that he rescued if he just gave the people back to the king of Sodom. 

It would have been very tempting for Abram to take all the riches and goods that he collected in the battle. Afterall, he had gone out and won them all back. But Abram knew that it was the Lord who helped him. And he knew that all things belong to the Lord. And that's what he told the king of Sodom.

He couldn’t take the goods for himself. They belonged to the Lord. If Abram took them, he may have been tempted to trust in them instead of trusting the Lord. And so, Abram listened to the king of Salem, who was also a priest of God at the same time. He received the blessing from the Lord that Melchizedek gave him. But that also meant that Abram couldn't keep the goods for himself. He would trust in the Lord to look after him, not the king of Sodom.

What about us? Satan tries to tempt us to trust in things in our lives instead of trusting in the Lord. But, like Abram, we must always acknowledge that God owns everything and is in control of everything, and so we must always trust him!

Reflection with your child:

How did Abram show his trust in the Lord?

Source: Sermon by Rev. S. ‘t Hart