Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #42 of Genesis, chapter 14 and we are going to read Genesis 14:22-24:

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto JEHOVAH, 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.

As we were discussing in our last study, we know this historical parable is painting a picture to teach us about Judgment Day. We saw that Abram is a type of God and he has delivered the inhabitants of Sodom from captivity to the four kings, which typified Satan and his rule during the Great Tribulation period. Abram also delivered Lot and his goods, which typify the elect of God.

But the king of Sodom and the people and goods of Sodom do not typify the elect. They typify those within the churches and congregations. So, Abram refused to accept anything from the king of Sodom, saying, “I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine,” and we saw how that fits in with Christ’s parable concerning Judgment Day wherein “one shall be taken, and the other left.” Here in Genesis 14, Lot and his goods are received and we saw the word “taken” was translated as “received,” so Lot and his goods were acceptable. This also reminds us of the offerings of Cain and Abel, where God accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s offering was not received.

Here, the king of Sodom said to Abram in Genesis 14, verse 21, “Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.” Remember, goods identify with “vessels” and there are vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonor. The goods of Sodom are a picture of vessels unto dishonor and they are not received or taken by Abram.

Let us go the passage, again, in Luke 17:34-36:

I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

We looked up the Greek word translated as “taken” and, repeatedly, we saw that it led to language where Christ was teaching His people or instruction was being given. We discussed how that relates to Judgment Day because Judgment Day is the time of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. We have been learning many things over the course of recent years about Judgment Day and we expect to learn more as time continues.

The one that is “taken” could be better translated: “the one shall be received.” The one is being taught or instructed by the Word of God. Then it says, “and the other left,” and the Greek word translated as “left” is Strong’s #863. It is an unusual word in that it is translated at times as “forgive,” regarding the idea of forgiving sin. This word relates to that, so when we look at it we wonder what it means because we know that it cannot be said of the one that is “left” that his sins are forgiven. It is not always translated as “forgiven.” Even when it is translated in regard to the forgiveness of sins, it has in mind that the sins are “left” and God is not imputing sin to the individual that has had his sins forgiven – they have been “left” or “forsaken.” That is the idea this word can also carry. For instance, this same word is translated as “alone” in Matthew 15:14:

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Or, it is translated as “forsaken” in Matthew 19:27:

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

You can see the idea that they have “left” everything to follow Christ and “to leave” is to “forsake.”

It says in Matthew 26:56:

But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

They left him, so the word “forsake” is a good translation of this word, especially in the context of Luke 17. The one is “taken” or received or instructed by God. The other is “forsaken” or “left alone,” as in the verse where it spoke of blind leaders of the blind. The disciples literally left Christ and forsook Him.

Or, it says in Mark 1:20:

And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Let us look at just one more verse in Luke 13:35:

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

This is true historically when God left Israel and it was also true on a deeper spiritual level as God left the churches and congregations, the house of God: “Behold, your house is left unto your desolate.” It was forsaken by God and God did this at the beginning of the Great Tribulation the moment judgment began at the house of God; the Spirit of God departed out of the midst of the congregations. In fact, His departure was the main cause of the judgment beginning on the churches and congregations of the world. God has forsaken the corporate church and at the end of the 23-year Great Tribulation and the conclusion of the process of separating the wheat from the tares, God came to gather together the wheat into His barn. One was “taken.” And, again, that has everything to do with being instructed of God and receiving divine revelation through the Bible as God opens our spiritual eyes and ears. God is continuing to bless His people into this Day of Judgment through ongoing revelation, the ongoing opening of the Scriptures to the understanding of the people of God.

The other was “left” or “forsaken.” All those left in the corporate church were bundled for tares for the burning. Now the Great Tribulation has ended and Judgment Day has come and every individual within the churches and congregations of the world have been forsaken by God. The separation is final. They were cast into the fire of Judgment Day as one large bundle of tares.

Well, we can see how this fits with what we read in Genesis, chapter 14 where Abram will not take any goods from the king of Sodom. The goods are unacceptable. They are “left” or “forsaken” and, spiritually, this points to those in the corporate church being forsaken by God.

Why does it mention a “thread” and a “shoelatchet” in Genesis 14? It says in Genesis 14:23:

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:

Why a thread? Why a shoelatchet? We can understand, on one hand, why he would refer to a thread. It is the least thing imaginable and it has little significance or value. But then we would think the second thing Abram mentioned would be something great, so it would go from least to greatest. However, that is not the idea being expressed here. Remember, this is a historical parable that reveals spiritual truth. The refusal to accept a “thread” is very revealing. When we search the Bible, we find a thread comes in to view in a major way in the Book of Joshua. It says in Joshua 2:18-19:

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

They are talking about the fall of Jericho and they are making a covenant with Rahab the harlot and her family. These spies are telling her that her house and all within her house will be spared from destruction and they will be delivered from the destruction to come upon Jericho. And what will prevent their destruction is a “scarlet thread: “…thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window.” Of course, the color “scarlet” would be related to the color of blood and the scarlet thread would then identify with the blood of Christ. It is very like the blood of the Passover lamb that was applied to the door posts in Egypt and God passed over the house and did not slay their firstborn, but He would go to the next house that did not have the blood and slay the firstborn of that house. Likewise, God would pass over the house of Rahab and not destroy her or her family. They would be spared. It is a picture of salvation and of being delivered from the wrath of God. Everyone else in Jericho that did not have the “scarlet thread,” or the blood of Christ, covering their family or home would perish in the destruction. All did perish in Jericho, except for Rahab the harlot and her family. We are told in the New Testament that it was all by “faith” or by Christ. Rahab the harlot was saved by the work and faith of the Lord Jesus Christ that was performed on her behalf. So, we can see that a “thread” was very important in the Bible and it was a matter of “life and death” in Jericho.

Abram, as he encountered the king of Sodom, flatly refused to take of him a “thread.” It is almost as though the king of Sodom is presenting a “thread” to be received by God and to experience deliverance or salvation and, yet, God is saying, “No – I will not accept a thread at your hand.”

It is like those that are in the churches and congregations and they are pleading the blood of Christ, saying, “We have accepted Christ,” and, yet, what does God say about the time when they would come to Him pleading, “Lord, Lord”? He says, “I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.”

So, that explains the thread, but what about the shoelatchet? Again, it says in Genesis 14:23:

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet…

What could a shoelatchet mean, spiritually? If we turn to the New Testament, it says in John 1:26-27:

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

The Greek word translated here as “unloose” is the word “loo-o” and it is translated as “put off” in Acts 7:33:

Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

We can understand that when one’s shoelatchet is unloosed, it is the “putting off” of his shoe, just like today when we tie our shoes and at the end of the day, we unloose our shoe laces and we can slip the shoes off. That is what John the Baptist is being moved by God to say of Christ, “Whose shoelatchet I am not worthy to put off.” Why is John unworthy to loose Christ’s shoelatchet? It is because when you unloose the shoelatchet, you put off the shoes and the individual is barefoot. In the Bible, being barefoot or naked points to sins being exposed and to sins being seen by the eyes of God, so John is saying, “I am not worthy that Christ should be barefoot on my behalf. There is no worthiness in me that my sins should have been cast upon Him and exposed before the eyes of an angry God and that He would pay the penalty of death for my sins.”

That is what the Lord Jesus did at the foundation of the world when He bore the sins of all His people. He was “naked” or “barefoot” before God, because God saw all those sins and God had to punish Him and pour out His wrath upon all these sins. His target was the Lord Jesus Christ because He was the sin bearer and He had the sins laid upon Him. He was naked for us and John was saying a truth that is true for every child of God. None of us are worthy. None of us are deserving and we have no merit in ourselves. Christ took our sins and paid that enormous debt (death) on our behalf and we are unworthy of God’s salvation program. We are saved by grace and not because of any worthiness on our part.

So, again, we see that the shoelatchet, like the thread, is related to God’s salvation program and Abram will not accept a “thread,” which would be a token of deliverance or salvation; nor would he accept a shoelatchet, as if those in the corporate church had somehow managed to loose Jesus’ shoelatchet and make Him barefoot on their behalf. They come with Words from the Bible and their claim that Jesus has born their sins and, thereby, they have made Him naked and exposed to the eyes of God, but it is refused. As Abram said he would not receive a thread of deliverance or a shoelatchet, because the Lord Jesus Christ did not become naked on their behalf and He did not bear their sins. Therefore, Abram said in Genesis 14:23:

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:

When we get together in our next Bible study, Lord willing, we will look at this last statement in verse 23 and we will look at verse 24 before we move on to the next chapter.