Eshcol

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most high, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich.

Accept only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.

Let them take their portion.

Abram was the great patriarch of the Jewish people and the father of all who believe, those who trust God and are declared to be righteous.

They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions and went their way.

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner.

These were allies of Abram.

When Abram heard that his kinsmen had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should 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.

Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

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 Eshcol 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.

Not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich.

I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me.

To Aner, Eshcol and Mamre.

Let them have their share.

And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

And Abram said to the king of Sodom,

I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.

let them take their portion.

So I'm just going to read from verse 13 on.

A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abraham, the Hebrew, Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre, the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, and all of whom were allied with Abram.

When Abram heard that his relative, referring to Lot, 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.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, with raised hand, I have sworn an oath to the Lord, or YHWH, God most high, creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal.

so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich.

I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me, to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.

Let them have their share.

Well, Abraham receives word about his wayward nephew.

It says in verse 13, Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, the brother of Aner, and they were allies with Abram.

Surprisingly, there happened to be one person that was able to escape imprisonment.

And he came and he informed Abraham of what had happened to his nephew.

Lot taken captive and rescued, BC nineteen thirteen, verses thirteen through sixteen.

And there came one that had escaped and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and these were confederate with Abram.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

Note, though our holy religion teaches us to be for peace, yet it does not forbid us to provide for war.

Numeral three, his allies and confederates in this expedition.

He prevailed with his neighbors, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, with whom he kept up a fair correspondence to go along with him.

It was his prudence thus to strengthen his own troops with their auxiliary forces, and probably they saw themselves concerned in interest to act as they could against this formidable power, lest their own turn should be next.

"But one of Lot's men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite.

Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram's allies." So these are just his buddies, right? This is all that's saying.

"When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born in his household." So Abraham's just got 318 Trained servants in his household, like ready to go to war

That's a, that's a large militia

I'm the one who went and won all this back." Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I solemnly swear to the Lord God Most High, creator of heaven and Earth, that I will not take so much as a single thread or a sandal thong from, um, from what belongs to you.

Otherwise, you might say I am the one who made Abram rich.

I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre." So I'm just saying this is a, this is a-- There's a lot to unpack in this, right? Like this right view of God, this single eye, gives you a right view of man, right? Like you must serve God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and you must love your neighbor as yourself, right? So you have that going for you.

This gives him a right view of like how much he loves Lot, for one.