Genesis 14 opens with a skirmish between the lands to the east of Canaan and those in southern Canaan. (You might want to see if your Bible has a map of the area to get a sense of where the skirmish is taking place.) It appears that these skirmishes go on quite frequently as kings ally and then break their alliance. In this case, two of the lands in the skirmish are Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot had settled. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah lose the battle the other kings pillaged their lands and inhabitants. Lot was among those who were captured, no doubt to become a slave of the conquering kings.

Just a note: The suffix “im” is a plural ending like our “s” or “es”. Some of the root words have interesting meanings. Goiim’s root is goi, which means people, nations, most frequently it represents non-Hebrews. Even today you may sometimes hear Jewish people refer to non-Jews as goy. The root of Rephaim is repha, which means giant.

Abram finds out what has happened to Lot and went with his friends and their armies to retrieve Lot and his household. The kings of southern Canaan came to greet them. King Mechizedek from Salem also comes out. (Melchizedek means “king of justice.” Salem means “peace” and is possibly short for Jerusalem.) Melchizedek who, as many kings do, also serves as the priest of the area. He blesses Abram in the name of God Most High one of the Canaanite gods. Abram understands this god to be the same as the Lord.  Abram gave Mechizedek a tithe (10%) of everything he brought back. While Abram was offered a reward, he did not take anything for himself

In Genesis 15 we see the first indication that Abram is having doubts about God’s promise. We know that enough time has passed since Abram arrived in Mamre to form alliances. Abram still doesn’t have any children and is wondering where all of these descendants are. The only one he can figure will inherit his possessions is his servant Eliezer (which means “God is my help”). The Lord continues to promise descendants more numerous that the stars, but Abram asks for proof. This is a definite sign of distrust.

God asks Abram for an unburned sacrifice. That night God gives Abram a prophecy that predicts what will happen to the people of Israel during the time after Joseph and during the Exodus. Smoke and flame pass by the sacrificed animals. This is also the sign for God’s presence in Exodus, a pillar of cloud and a pillar of flame. God promises that Abram’s descendants will possess all the lands in a very large area (this actually only happens during the time of King David).

Psalm 3 was written when David’s son Absalom led a rebellion against him. Absalom does not believe in God.

Just a note: The word Selah means “pause”. You might want to try pausing every time you see this word and meditate on what you have read.

David is not afraid because he knows that God is with him. He sleeps in peace knowing that he will be delivered from his enemies.

Psalm 4 seems to be a continuation of Psalm 3 although this is not necessarily true. After acknowledging that God is with him, David begins to address his enemies. At least David is addressing those who are not following God. He tells them to follow his example and pray to God, bringing right sacrifices, and trusting the Lord. David reprises his claim of being able to sleep in peace because the Lord keeps him safe.