So far we have been focusing on Avraham and his "adventures". We learned that Hashem promised him land, children, wealth, and a bracha. All that Avraham does is a path to receiving each part of this promise. The question is why is it necessary for Avraham to be known as a master strategist, or a military genius? What does this have to do with the promise and Avraham's growth?
Something we learned in English was flat and round characters. Flat characters only have a single trait, and often represent one human stereotype. Round characters are the ones we can relate to. They often have conflicting feelings, and don't always make the same choices. Avraham is the same way. He needs to become a round character. In order for us to be able to take the necessary lessons from this story we need to be able to relate to him.
Another way to look at is that maybe Avraham needed to go through this particular hardship for a reason. What would that be? Well, it could be that he needed to do something on a world scale to truly fulfill his mission of spreading ethical monotheism. Let’s say he never had the battle with the four kings. Many people would not be able to recognize the greatness of Avraham’s “one G-d” had they not seen or heard firsthand what happened. People were able to see G-d’s greatness on this earth even if they were not involved, because they would hear that the five kings were defeated and Avraham’s proclamation that it is only with the help of G-d that he won.
A different possibility is that this helps Avraham’s development into the kind of person Hashem needs him to be before He can fulfill his promise. For example, it is possible Hashem wants Avraham to have the experience of working with people in the outside world towards a common goal. Or it could be to show him that sometimes it is necessary to go the long way to get what you need. Avraham could have decided to just get Lot back, but instead he helped to fight the entire war and help them win. This experience could be what Avraham needs to realize that he is the one who will start our nation and that Hashem is on his side, and because of that he will change the world.
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