 We're going to continue now in our order of service with the call to giving, and after this an intercessory prayer, Ryan will be coming up for that. But turn with me, if you would, to Genesis 14, and we'll look at verses 18 to 24. Genesis 14, 18 to 24. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God most high, and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tithe of all. Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons and take the goods for yourself. 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, except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eschel, and Mamrie, let them take their portion. As we come to this passage, we see in Genesis that there's been a war, the first war in the Bible, and the casualties have included the king of Sodom, which gave the victors the right to subdue Lot and his family, Abram's own nephew. So Abram and his allies fight back to free Lot and restore the previous order, and the Lord gives them victory. Upon Abram's return, he's met by Melchizedek, king of Salem, who blesses him, blesses him with bread and wine, which some commentators take to mean much food and refreshment, including bread and wine, but the choice of words there is important. In addition, Melchizedek also blesses Abram with a prayer in which God's hand in Abram's victory is acknowledged and appreciated. And in this encounter, Abram recognizes Melchizedek as a priest of God Most High, an intercessor or mediator. Abram understands that this priest and king, his name means king of righteousness, is heaven sent. Ian Dugwed, a professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, who wrote a book titled The Gospel of Abraham, put it this way, in Melchizedek, Abram recognizes a forerunner of the great high priest to come, Jesus Christ, who would offer the perfect sacrifice once and for all for him. Abram recognized that greatness in God's kingdom is not simply a matter of doing mighty deeds for God and rescuing the undeserving. It also involves coming to God through the priest that God has established. So Melchizedek blesses Abram with provisions and through prayer as priest of God Most High, and Abram responds by giving him a tithe of all. Dugwed goes on to say that Abram's offering represented an acknowledgement by Abram that his victory came from God and through God. So he gave a tenth to God's representative Melchizedek, and the rest, apart from the take of his allies, he gave back to Sodom's king. This he does because he doesn't want to make a deal with the king of Sodom. Abram wants none of it. He knows of the sin of Sodom and he doesn't want to be associated in any way with it, lest you should say, as we see in verse 23, I have made Abram rich. Abram is believing God's promise of land, seed, and blessing and taking Sodom's property was not what that would look like. It's also important to note what's not said about Melchizedek. The Genesis account leaves unanswered questions about Melchizedek. His genealogy is not given to us, nor is there any information about his death or any successor, and that is why the book of Hebrews repeatedly describes Christ as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. He has no beginning and no end. A.W. Pink notes that just as Melchizedek was a type of Christ, Abram was also a typical character. Pink wrote, Abram is seen here as the father of the faithful, and we find he acknowledged the priesthood of Melchizedek by giving him a tenth of the spoils which the Lord had enabled him to secure in vanquishing those kings. And as that is referred to in Hebrews, where the priesthood of Christ and our blessings from our relations to it and our obligations to it are set forth, the fact that Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek, as mentioned there, indicates that as Abram is the father of the faithful, so he left an example for us, his children, to follow in rendering tithes unto him of whom Melchizedek was the type. So in this way, the tithe is linked directly to Christ through Abram's tithe to Melchizedek, and Christ is worthy. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that we have a great high priest who lives forever interceding on our behalf, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who have created us to glorify him, and we pray that you would help us do that now and use these gifts for your glory. Amen.