Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

Genesis 14:14-24

Abram and Lot have gone their own way, but Lot has moved into the wrong neighborhood.  When various kings in the region start fighting, Lot ends up on the losing side and he and his household are taken into captivity.

Abram leads a SEAL force of 318 trained men to infiltrate the enemy armies and free Lot. Abram is going against the combined force of five kingdoms, who have just defeated a combined four-kingdom force and taken its provisions and weapons.

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.

As Abram was heading home, one of the defeated kings (from Sodom) goes out to meet him in the King's Valley. Also, a mysterious king and priest - Melchizedek of Salem (possibly Jerusalem) honors Abram.

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said,

          “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
               maker of heaven and earth;
               and blessed be God Most High,
          who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. 

Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High,maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

Melchizedek blesses Abram and Abram gives him one-tenth of the goods recovered from the enemy kings.

[Some rabbis feel that Melchizedek is not so well known because he blessed Abram first and God second.]

And we get a back-referenced prayer account from Abram who says that "I have sworn to the LORD..." and this oath seems to be very specific - about not accepting anything from a king who just lost a war.

Maybe Abram made that oath in general -- he would accept nothing from any man, but would trust in the LORD to provide -- and then applied it specifically to King Bera when he encountered him.

It's interesting that Melchizedek is identified as a priest of God Most High. A king and priest over the city called Rain of Peace.  How did God show himself to these people?  Why aren't they involved with Abram on an ongoing basis?

Melchizedek is mentioned in Psalm 110:4 as a order (type) of priest.

And the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 110 in order to answer an objection that Jesus cannot be our high priest, because Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi.  Instead, Jesus is called a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Earlier in Genesis, we saw very familiar, non-formal words between humans and God in conversation.  Now Melchizedek brings formal blessings, and Abram is swearing formal oaths. Are we seeing the start of formality with the LORD and the loss of familiarity?