1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. (Dead Sea)

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El–paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to En–mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon–tamar. 8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

Essentially – this is a battle among kings of very small areas. Abraham would have been considered a king, he had approximately 1,000 people in his tribe.

On Chedorlaomer’s side we have:

Chedorlaomer (Hebrew k^edhâr^elâ‘ômer or in consonantal form k-d-r-l-‘-m-r) king of Elam
Amraphel (Hebrew ’am’râph^el or in consonantal form ’-m-r-p-l) king of Shinar (Babylon)
Arioch (Hebrew ’ar’yôwkh or in consonantal form ’-r-y-v-kh) king of Ellasar
Tidal king of Goiim (or king of nations)

On the opposing side we have:

Bera king of Sodom
Birsha king of Gomorrah
Shinab king of Admah
Shemeber king of Zeboiim
the unnamed king of Bela (also called Zoar)

{oldtestamenttimeline.com}

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Here is Lot, Abram’s “brother,” (in the faith) being carried away, part and parcel by the invading armies. Lot, the carnal believer, living in Sodom, is captured by the worldly conquerors, because he chose to live among them – even though he is not a participant in the fight!

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. Genesis 14:1-13

You can see on the map, Abram’s route from Hebron, where his home was, to Dan, where Lot had been taken captive. We can see ourselves in this true story.

We modern day believers, often choose to live among, tolerate, and very often emulate the sinful world
We can be “carried away” by the fleshly world we inhabit
We can be rescued and restored by the Lord, who was personified by Abram in this passage

What can the Christian be carried away by? Lust – in all its forms.

money
sex
things
talent
beauty
love
power

Genesis 14:2 is the first mention of war in Scripture.

We can also see from verse 16, that Lot returns to his former home in Sodom. Why didn’t he learn from this terrible experience? Why don’t Christians learn from their terrible experiences? Why doesn’t Lot take this a a first warning?