After G-d sent the great flood to destroy the world, what was left of mankind was only Noach, his three sons, Shem, Cham and Yefes and their wives.
The world became populated through Noach’s three sons. The Semitic nations emerged from Shem. In fact, Shem was a righteous person and lived a very long life.
The Torah relates that there was a war between four powerful nations against five less powerful nations. The four nations overpowered and defeated the five nations. One of the defeated nations was Sedom, and Avraham got word that his nephew Lot, a resident of Sedom was captured.
Avraham did not hesitate to rescue Lot and he went with a small group of troops, taking on the four mighty, victorious nations. Avraham miraculously defeated the nations and was able to free his nephew Lot.
Our Sages tell us that Avraham went to war without weapons. He merely picked up clods of earth and threw them towards the enemy and the grains of sand miraculously turned into arrows and spears. This is how he defeated the enemy.
Avraham’s amazing victory, which was blatantly and apparently empowered by G-d, became publicized and as a result, people whose belief in G-d had been wavering or was nonexistent, were persuaded to believe in G-d.
The Torah tells us that the King of Sedom whose nation was saved through Avraham’s intervention came out to greet Avraham. However, before the Torah relates the proposal of the king of Sedom to Avraham as to how to divide the booty of war, the Torah digresses and relates how Malki-Tzedek the king of Shalem – who was Shem the son of Noach – came out and presented Avraham with bread and wine.
What is significant about bread and wine? The Torah tells us that Malki-Tzedek was a Kohain/priest to G-d. Part of the ritual service in G-d’s Temple was meal offerings and wine libations. Malki-Tzedek specifically offered these items to Avraham as a hint that Avraham’s descendants will be the Kohanim that would eventually serve in the Temple. In fact, Avraham gave a tithe to Malki-Tzedek as deserving a Kohain.
But doesn’t the Torah call Malki-Tzedek the Kohain? Why didn’t his descendants become the eventual Kohanim?
Our Sages point out that yes, Malki-Tzedek was the Kohain, but he lost the privilege of being the progenitor of the Priesthood because when he lauded Avraham for his miraculous victory at war, Malki-Tzedek blessed Avraham before blessing G-d. That was a major mistake, and because of it the Kehuna was transferred to Avraham and his descendants. The Torah attests that Avraham pronounced, “I lift my hands to the Almighty who is in charge of heaven and earth.” Avraham always put G-d first.
Malki-Tzedek, by placing precedence to Avraham’s power before G-d’s, reduced G-d’s influence in the miracle of the victory at war by attributing it to Avraham.
Rabbi Nissan Alpert o.b.m. explains, initially, the King of Sedom had no intentions of offering Avraham a deal as to how to split the loot, for he recognized that it was miraculous and empowered by G-d and it would be unheard of for Avraham to take anything. However, once Malki-Tzedek gave precedence to Avraham’s strength and power before mentioning G-d, it changed the King of Sedom’s perception. He now thought that the victory came about through Avraham’s strength and only then did he begin negotiating with Avraham about how they should split the booty of war.
Had Malki-Tzedek praised G-d first, the king of Sedom would never have considered that Avraham was entitled to the spoils since the war was only won due to the graces of G-d.
Avraham in his position of total devotion to G-d tried rectifying the impairment that Malki-Tzedek caused and he told the king of Sedom, “I will not take even a thread or a shoe strap from you.” If I do, it would cause you to believe that it was my strength that won the war, and it was through your generosity that I would become wealthy.
G-d therefore transferred the Priesthood/Kehuna to Avraham and his descendants for he represented the ideals of absolute belief and devotion to G-d and he and his descendants became the veritable representative of G-d in the world.
The Torah tells us that when Yosef was sold as a slave, his master saw, “That G-d is with him.” Rashi explains that his master noticed that each time Yosef spoke, he invoked G-d’s name by saying ‘G-d will help’; ‘If it is G-d’s will;’ and ‘Boruch Hashem – blessed be G-d’s name.’
Belief in G-d is a trait that we have inherited, and when we express it within our conversations it promotes G-dliness and generates inspiration!
