Melchizedek or the King of Sodom: Which King Will You Choose?

Introduction: two kings come to meet you

After a great military victory, Abraham comes down toward the valley. Two men go out to meet him. Two kings. Two worlds. The king of Sodom, a picture of the adversary, who comes with seduction and curse. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, a picture of Christ, who comes with bread, wine, and blessing (Genesis 14:17-24).

This Sunday, Jean-Marc Botteron reminds us of something simple: these two kings are still here today. They still come to you, one with blessing, the other with curse. There is no neutral ground: "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Which king will you follow?

The outline

1. Abraham's victory: the strong Christian versus the carnal Christian

2. The king of Sodom: the temptation of compromise

3. Melchizedek: the blessing of the King-Priest

4. Your choice: blessing or curse

1. Abraham's victory: the strong Christian versus the carnal Christian

Abraham didn't go looking for this fight. He was drawn into it because of Lot, his nephew, captured in the conflict of the four kings against the king of Sodom. Lot pictures the weak Christian, the carnal Christian, attached to the things of this world. Paul confirms it: "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak" (Romans 15:1).

Martin Luther King said there are two kinds of Christians in a church: thermometer Christians and thermostat Christians. The thermometer just reads the surrounding mood: when things go well he praises God, when things go badly he sinks to the basement. The thermostat, on the other hand, keeps the right temperature: when it drops, he turns on prayer to bring it back up. That's the model God is calling you to.

Look at Lot. We never see him pray. It's always Abraham who builds an altar to the Lord. Lot lives his faith by proxy, leaning on his uncle's. When he sees Sodom, he's drawn to the city without discerning the spiritual danger. His journey is a slow slide: first in the plain, then near the city, then at the city gate, right where business and rulings happen. He lives Psalm 1 backwards: he walks in the counsel of the wicked, stands in the path of sinners, and ends up sitting in the seat of mockers.

Abraham, by contrast, applies God's principles. He defeats the four kings because he has put on the spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6:10-18: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts, the belt of truth, the shoes of readiness for the Good News, and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Without this clothing, you can't walk into the fire: picture a firefighter walking into a blaze in a suit and tie. It's the same in spiritual battle. This armor is invisible, but it's very real.

And despite tribulation, distress, persecution, and danger, Paul concludes: "In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). And Revelation repeats the same promise seven times: "To him who overcomes…"

2. The king of Sodom: the temptation of compromise

The moment Abraham is victorious, the king of Sodom is the first to show up (Genesis 14:17). That's no accident. The enemy hates watching a Christian win a victory, praise God, or fight well. Right after a victory, he comes back to try to tear down your faith.

Remember Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). After 40 days of fasting, the devil shows up. Jesus overcomes him, but the word tells us the enemy left him "until another opportune time" (Luke 4:13). Not long after, he tries through Peter's very own mouth: when Jesus announces the cross, Peter pushes back, and Jesus has to answer him, "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matthew 16:23). The adversary is always looking for another angle. That's why Jesus says: "Watch and pray" (Matthew 26:41). You can't say, "I prayed, so now I'm safe until the Lord returns."

The king of Sodom's offer is very clever. He says to Abraham, "Give me the people, and take the goods to yourself" (Genesis 14:21). Literally, in Hebrew, "give me the souls." That's what the devil wants: souls, to expand his kingdom. Of 8 billion people alive today, about 2.5 billion identify as Christian (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox combined), which means nearly 70% don't know God. Those are the souls the adversary is holding under his rule. Jesus came to destroy that empire, and he knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12).

Then he offers you the trade: "take the goods to yourself." Tempting. More comfort, more plans, more peace of mind. But here, Abraham is being tested on his integrity. Every human heart carries a thirst to possess, and money can become an idol. Money isn't evil in itself (Abraham was very wealthy), but the moment it becomes the foundation of your security, it becomes very dangerous.

Abraham's real security lay elsewhere. Right after this episode, God tells him, "Abram, don't be afraid. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward" (Genesis 15:1). That's why Abraham refuses everything, firmly: "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, so that you don't say, 'I have made Abram rich'" (Genesis 14:23). He wants no compromise with the adversary.

You too will be tested on your integrity. Be resolved. If you don't speak to the enemy with Abraham's firmness, he's the one who will push you in the wrong direction.

3. Melchizedek: the blessing of the King-Priest

Then comes the second king. Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High. His name means "king of righteousness," and "Salem" means peace (shalom). The writer of Hebrews opens up the mystery for us: "This Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, [...] without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually" (Hebrews 7:1-3).

In the Old Testament, no man could hold both the office of king and the office of priest at once: the two roles were strictly separate. Melchizedek is the sole exception. That's why he stands as a prophetic picture of Christ, the only one who could hold both offices together: King and High Priest.

Notice what he brings: bread and wine (Genesis 14:18). It's the same bread and the same wine Jesus will hand out on the night of the last Passover, prophetically announcing the new covenant in his blood. Melchizedek was already pointing to the cross.

And he comes with blessing. Some people have carried curses since childhood: nothing works out, everything is stuck, at work, in the family, in health. Thoughts like "I was born under a bad star," "I'll never make it," "I'm doomed to fail" loop endlessly. But when you come to Christ, Melchizedek steps forward with bread, wine, and blessing. Jesus said, "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). And the psalmist declares that God "has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron" (Psalm 107:16). In God, every chain falls off.

Faced with this blessing, Abraham's response is immediate: "He gave him a tenth of all" (Genesis 14:20). Abraham is wealthy, but he's also deeply generous. He understood that everything comes from God, and that he himself is only a steward. Remarkably, Abraham lives before the law of Moses. There was no written commandment requiring him to tithe. It's a spiritual principle written on the heart, a personal conviction that draws blessing.

Jesus later confirms this: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). The attitude of the heart comes first (justice, mercy, faithfulness), without neglecting what belongs to God.

4. Your choice: blessing or curse

Two kings. Two destinies. Two outcomes. It isn't chance that decides, it's your choice.

Lot chose Sodom. He settled under the king of Sodom's covering, and his life of compromise produced exactly what it was bound to produce: chaos, loss, a miserable existence that later had to be snatched out of the fire. Abraham chose Melchizedek: the king of righteousness, the king of peace, Jesus. And he reaped blessing, integrity, generosity, a fruitful life.

Blessing and curse don't fall by chance. They are the direct result of who you let reign over your life. If you haven't yet chosen to follow Jesus, then (whether you realize it or not) you're still following the other king.

Key takeaways

• Two kings come to meet you: the king of Sodom with curse, Melchizedek, a picture of Christ, with blessing. There is no neutral ground.
• Be a thermostat Christian, not a thermometer Christian: keep your spiritual temperature steady through prayer and the word.
• The enemy often attacks right after a victory. Watch and pray continually.
• The devil wants souls first, and he'll gladly trade you riches for your integrity. Refuse every compromise.
• Melchizedek points to Christ, the one and only King and Priest, who came with the bread and wine of the new covenant.
• The tithe is a spiritual principle of the heart, predating the law of Moses: it invites blessing.

Personal application

• Are you a thermometer Christian or a thermostat Christian today? What makes your faith fluctuate?
• In what area is the king of Sodom offering you a "convenient" compromise right now?
• What is the real source of your security: your bank account, your job, your network, or the Lord who tells you, "I am your shield"?
• What thoughts of curse ("I'll never make it," "I was born under a bad star") keep looping in your mind, and that Christ wants to break?
• When it comes to generosity and the tithe, is your heart that of a faithful steward of what God has entrusted to you?

Verses cited

• Genesis 14:17-24
• Genesis 15:1
• Deuteronomy 30:19
• Psalm 1
• Psalm 107:16
• Matthew 4:1-11
• Matthew 23:23
• Mark 9:23
• Luke 4:13
• Romans 8:37
• Romans 15:1
• Ephesians 6:10-18
• Hebrews 7:1-3

FAQ

Who is Melchizedek in Genesis 14, and why does he matter so much?

Melchizedek is king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High. He appears just once in Genesis, with no genealogy and no record of his death. The writer of Hebrews (7:1-3) presents him as a prophetic picture of Christ: the only figure in the Old Testament who holds both the office of king and the office of priest, later united in Jesus. The bread and wine he brings already point ahead to the new covenant.

Why does Abraham refuse everything from the king of Sodom?

Because accepting the riches would have let a pagan king one day say, "I made Abram rich" (Genesis 14:23). His dependence and his integrity would have been compromised. Abraham would rather lose a material gain than lose the source of his blessing: God himself, who tells him right afterward, "I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward" (Genesis 15:1).

Is tithing still relevant for Christians today?

The passage shows Abraham giving the tithe before the law of Moses, spontaneously, out of conviction. So the tithe isn't first a legal rule but a spiritual principle of the heart, tied to gratitude and generosity. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus doesn't do away with it: he reminds us that the attitude of the heart (justice, mercy, faithfulness) comes first, without neglecting what belongs to God.