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Why did Avrohom fight 2.6 million soldiers when he feared Pharaoh? The war of the four kings was not about rescuing Lot—it was milchemes Hashem (ה׳), a battle against Nimrod's ideology denying God's presence in the world. When fighting for Hashem, ein somchin al ha'nes doesn't apply; Avrohom had no choice but to risk everything.
The shiur addresses a fundamental contradiction in Avrohom Avinu's behavior. On one hand, Avrohom is terrified of Pharaoh, telling Sarah to say she is his sister and allowing her to be taken. Yet either three years before or one year later, Avrohom wages war against 2.6 million soldiers led by the four mightiest kings in the world. The Gemara (גמרא) in Sanhedrin teaches that an army of this size assembled only three times in history: the war of the four kings, Sancherev's army against Yerushalayim, and the future war of Gog and Magog. How can the same person who fears a single king destroy the mightiest military force ever assembled? The resolution lies in understanding that the war of the four kings was not a personal mission to rescue Lot—it was milchemes Hashem (ה׳), a religious war. Amraphel, identified by Rashi (רש"י) as Nimrod, was the architect of Dor Haflaga who sought to replace Hashem's sovereignty in the world. His name Amraphel means "amar pol"—he commanded that Avrohom be thrown into the kivshan ha'eish. When Avrohom miraculously survived, Nimrod's ideology was threatened. The war against the five kings was Amraphel's continuation of his war against Hashem, designed to eliminate any pockets of emunah (אמונה) in Divine providence.
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Parshas Lech Lecha (Bereishis 14)
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