When Abram came back from Egypt he was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. Their possessions were so great that they could not live in the same place, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there please be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.
In those days a king named Chedorlaomer ruled over the cities of the Jordan valley where Sodom was. For twelve years the people there had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. So in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and three other kings who were with him came to fight against the peoples who lived in or near the valley. They defeated all of them including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.
So the enemy looted Sodom and Gomorrah. They took everything including all the people who were left and went their way. They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Then one who had escaped came, and told Abram the Hebrew. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.
When Abram returned from the defeat of Chedorlaomer two other kings cams out to meet him. Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God the Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God the Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The king of Sodom also met Abram and said to him, "Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you say, 'I have made Abram rich.' I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten. Thus Abram rescued the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, including Lot, without taking anything for himself.
What tests did Abram face in this story?
Both Abram and Lot had been following the Lord. What was the difference between them?
Verses in the Bible that refer to this story:
Gen. 13:1 - 14:24;
Psa. 110:4;
Heb. 7:1-17