LIFE SCRIPTS

A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Genesis 14:13‭-‬16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.14.13-16.NIV

After the defeat of the kings allied to the king of Sodom by Chedorlaomer and Co, one of the men escaped from the heat of the battle and came to inform Abram about his nephew, Lot. This is the first instance in scripture where we see the term Hebrew being used. It was used probably to differentiate Abram from his Amorite allies, Aner, Eschol and Mamre. Once Abram received these news, he sprung up with urgency. Scripture says that he prepared 318 men who had been born in his household to pursue Chedorlaomer and Co in order to rescue Lot. It’s quite interesting how a household force would have managed to route out a military machine responsible for the fall of many great nations. It was not just about the numbers, strategy and know how. It was all about walking faithfully with God. With God, we can move mountains. Such was the mountain Abram and his small force would move. However, the move by him and his men was not without strategy. Walking faithfully with God earns us favour. However, this favour is not a ticket to recklessness. We must plan on how to execute in order to succeed in all we do. Abram’s planning for this battle is a good lesson for students of military strategy. Verse 15 says that ‘During the night, he divided his men to attack them…’ Because he knew he had a smaller and weaker force, he chose to use the cover of darkness to conceal his identity. It seemed like he had trailed the enemy and caught up with them long before nightfall. He then must have waited with his men to attack immediately darkness fell. Abram also chose to divide his men. It’s surprising how much fear a small group of people can create in the minds of many if they cause chaos and destruction from different corners at the same time. The division of his men shrouded in darkness would have created an illusion of a massive force attacking from all directions. This would have struck fear into the nerves of their opponents. Interestingly, these were the same guerilla tactics employed by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in scoring important victories against the forces of the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. The last and most important strategy Abram and Co employed was the element of surprise. Nothing stuns like an ambush in warfare. It can level even the mightiest. The enemy must have been caught with their guards down. They were most vulnerable while their opponents were well prepared to use the element of surprise to their advantage. When we fail to plan, we plan to fail. However, with God on our side, our plans will succeed no matter how insurmountable the challenge is. Proverbs 3:5 says,’ Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not upon thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall DIRECT YOUR PATHS’.