Charles Spurgeon Commentary Genesis 14:22-23

"And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand unto Jehovah, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:" — Genesis 14:22-23 (ASV)

And 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, that 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:

Sometimes, a child of God will find himself cast, through force of circumstances, into very unusual companionship. For the sake of Lot, Abraham had to go and fight the enemies of the king of Sodom, and sometimes, in fighting for religious liberty, we have had to be associated with people from whom we differ as much as Abraham differed from the king of Sodom, but right must be fought for under all circumstances.

Yet, sooner or later, there comes a crucial test in which our true character will be discovered. Shall we personally gain anything by this association? We loathe it even while we recognize that it is necessary for the time being, but we have not entered it for the sake of personal gain.

And 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, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

The patriarch is greater than the king. He has a right to all his spoil; but he will not touch it, lest the glory of his God should thereby be stained. Abraham will have nothing but what his God will give him; he will not take anything from the king of Sodom.

I like to see this glorious independence of the believing man. "I have a right to this," he says, "but I will not take it. What are mere earthly rights to me? My chief business is to honour the God whose I am and whom I serve; and if the taking of this spoil would dishonour him, I will not take even so much as a thread or a shoe-latchet."