Accept NOTHING Less

“I will accept nothing belonging to you… not even the thong of a sandal.” —Genesis 14:23

After the allied kings saw Abram defeat the king who had defeated them, one came to Abram asking for his people back and said, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand (saying ‘I will go’) to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept NOTHING BELONGING TO YOU, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you WILL NEVER be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”

Not even the thong of a sandal has me, still today.

I set out and searched for a specific oath that said to accept nothing from Sodom. Maybe it’s buried somewhere in translation—but not finding it made this all the more beautiful.

Abram wanted NOTHING from Sodom because:

1. Abram hoped in God alone and guarded what belongs to God.The Lord told Abram, “I WILL make you into a great nation and I WILL bless you; I WILL make your name great, and YOU WILL be a blessing. I WILL bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I WILL curse; and all the peoples on earth WILL BE blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2–3).So let not Sodom be able to put his two cents of “I” into NOTHING that is for the glory of God ALONE! Give it all to Him—He deserves it all.

   
   

2. Abram had great zeal for the Lord. “Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). His whole being cried out, If they are AGAINST YOU, they are AGAINST me, and I am AGAINST them. I want nothing that is not Yours. For You are mine, and I am Yours. I feel the same for You—protecting my God, my Love, my Everything, my ALL.

   
   

3. Abram defeated the king who defeated Sodom. Abram held the glory of God at the highest honor—accepting nothing—and then making Him known to Sodom as to why he took not-a-thang. Sodom was just some scared schmoozer trying to take his smoke, not realizing he was next to have brimstone and fire set to rain on his parade of wickedness in the next six chapters. Even in a win, accept NOTHING.

   
   

God is all the good that I need.

And when you are already full, God sends overflow—after all of this, not before, God tells him He is our reward: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I AM your shield, YOUR very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). The beauty of even this is that Abram’s heart already knew it—so much so that he protects all that is His, down to the thong of a sandal.