TAKE BACK

“When Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, who had been born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”
Genesis 14: 14

Yesterday I wrote concerning Lot, and how Avram had to separate from him. Be it the quarreling between the two men’s servants or the amount of pasture that both had to share, the simple fact was that in order for Avram to walk out in the promise given to him, he had to separate himself from Lot. I wrote that for us Lot may represent a sin or situation that we too need to separate from in our own lives so that we can walk in the blessing that Adonai has for us. I remind you of this because I do not want you to mistake what I am about to say. I am not looking at Lot as a sin, but rather that we may have things in our lives that we need to distance ourselves from. So then in looking at today’s portion, as we see Avram rescue Lot, I am not referencing that we need to take sin back, but more so that there may me other things, Godly things, that we need to take back.
Having been captured as a prisoner of war, Lot found himself wrapped up in the plunder of the four kings, Amraphel of Shinar, Aroich of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim. However, one of the men taken managed to escape and headed straight for Avram to report the news concerning Lot. With an army of 318 men, Arvam went in pursuit of this army in order to retrieve his nephew. When he caught up to the kings, the Torah records that he recovered all the plunder, bringing not only Lot back, but also the possessions, women, and other people which had been taken as well.
John 10:10 tells us that the mission of the enemy is to steal, kill, and destroy. Knowing that this is the enemy’s plan, and seeing him actually do it, I wonder sometimes why we do not fight back. Lot was physically taken as part of the plunder of the enemy, kidnapped and treated as a modern day POW. Yet Avram, who was no part of the situation or town, fought back for his nephew. Avram took the stand against the enemy that we all should take, chasing after the enemy to take back what the enemy stole. He could have brushed it off and said, “Well it was Lot’s fault for choosing to live over there. I gave him the first pick and that was his choice.” But he didn’t. Instead he pursued the enemy and took the plunder back.
I want to encourage you with this account. Yesterday I asked you to think about what you need to separate from. Today I am asking you to consider what needs to be taken back. Take a full account of everything that has been stolen from you. Maybe it is your health, finances, or employment. Maybe your emotional state has been robbed. It could be anything. But do not let the enemy steal it from you. As a child of Adonai you have been equipped with His power and been given the legal right to take back what the enemy has stolen. I encourage you to pursue your enemy then and take back what is yours.

Genesis 14:1-20