Abraham had been exposed to a great temptation. The king of Sodom – a man of the world – had offered to patronize him; and very few of us are above being patronized by the world. It is only the man of faith that will refuse to be patronized by the king, for the king wanted to make him rich. But Abraham says:
“I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.” Genesis 14:22, 2322And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23That 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: (Genesis 14:22‑23)
He would not even take a string. What a nice state he is in! He has done with the world. He will get on. If you break with the world, you will get on.
What is, the result of this refusal of reward from the world? Let us see,
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.” Genesis 15:11After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1). What a lovely word to encourage a man!
The Lord draws near to you. You have had a great temptation, and you have resisted it. You receive a blessing. You have met some temptation – for the devil always strews the path with temptations; all along the road he drops them, and sets traps for you – and you have been able to say, “No!” you will find that the Lord will give you a blessing. He says here, “Fear not, Abram.” Beautiful words! Are you troubled? Fear not! Are you anxious? Fear not! Are you in distress of soul? God says, “Fear not.”
These two lovely words you will find strewed like diamonds throughout the pages of inspiration. You cannot go far through God’s Book without finding the Lord drawing near to some trembling, timid soul, with these words, “Fear not!” You and I were afraid of God once; we shunned Him – we feared Him. I do not mean in the right sense. We shunned Him, and got as far away from Him as we possibly could, but He comes near and says,
“Fear not: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
Did Abraham lose anything by saying “No” to the king of the world? Not he. “I am thy shield,” says God, and if you know God as your shield, the devil can throw as many of his darts as he likes, but they will have no effect. If you have God for the shield of your soul, you are very safe.
Elsewhere we are told to “take the shield of faith”; but that is not the thought here. If you have moral courage enough to say “No” to the world, God says, I will put Myself between you and what is antagonistic to you; I am thy shield, and more – I am “thy exceeding great reward.” If God is your shield, you are protected. If He is your reward, you are well off. Abraham refused the world, and got the Lord for His portion.
People sometimes think it would be a sorrowful thing to give up the world. Abraham may teach you differently. He received far more than he gave up. Young people usually think it would be a great mistake to give up the world. Abraham would not take as much as a shoe-latchet from it, and he was an immense gainer thereby. He had done with the world. It could not satisfy him; and it can never satisfy you.