Genesis 13: 1-4 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything
he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram
had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3 From
the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place
between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and
where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Abraham went back to where he was
had gotten out of God’s will. He was willing to learn his lesson. To trust God
again. To start over.
Micah 7:8-9 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
9 Because I have sinned against him,
I will bear the Lord’s
wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.
The Old and New Testaments describe
Abraham as the father of all who believe, the pioneer of faith. In this sense
his life is the Old Testament counterpart of the Christian’s pilgrimage through
this world to heaven. So it’s good to compare Abraham’s life with our own walk
with God, in Christ, today.
We’ve already seen that Abraham’s
obedience to God’s call resembles the Christian’s first step in total
commitment to Jesus. And later how crises give us a chance to decide to keep
following Him. And to recommit. We’ll see that any true walk with God involves
a continuous exercise of choice. It also involves a cost.
Jesus told His disciples to “sit
down and count the cost” of becoming
His disciples in Luke 14:26-33.
Lot and Abraham had started out together on this call. But Lot became one of those people who wanted the best the
world had to offer…and God too. Jesus said you can’t do both. Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you
will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The pleasures of this life choked the word
of God that may have taken root in him. This caused his life to be unfruitful.
Genesis
13:5-7 Now
Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had
flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they
stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to
stay together. 7 And quarreling
arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The
Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
It was getting crowded! And people
were arguing. At this juncture the different aspects of character in Abraham
and in Lot began to be revealed.
Genesis 13:8-9 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have
any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are
close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part
company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right,
I’ll go to the left.”
Abraham was the one who was
bothered by the strife. It not only displeases God when families fight, but
it’s a bad testimony to the non-believers who are around. He was going to keep
the peace even though he could lose in the deal. By giving Lot first choice, he
knew Lot would choose the portion of land that
seemed to him most prosperous, leaving Abraham the less fertile land.
Endeavoring to live in peace is the first step in the practical walk of faith.
Ephesians 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another
in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace.
Love between Christians is more
important then personal rights and superiority.
Also this act shows that Abraham
believed in God’s promises. That He would bless him.
Genesis
13:10-13 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah.) 11 So
Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.
The two men parted company: 12 Abram
lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain
and pitched his tents near Sodom.
13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly
against the Lord.
As the younger man and also
because it seems like he got most of his wealth because he was with Abraham, Lot should have refused first choice. But he was selfish
and afraid he’d lose out if Abraham took the best. Lot
looked and what he saw was prosperity and comfort and cities. He didn’t see, or
more likely chose to ignore, that the men of Sodom were wicked and sinning against the
Lord.
We’re going to read scattered
pieces of Lot’s life in future chapters, but just to give it to you in a quick
summary here: Lot settles in Sodom
and must have started to live enough like the people there that he eventually
rose to be a judge there. God allowed him to be taken in battle, but Abraham
rescues him. Later he’s in Sodom
when God judges it. Much later he does take a stand for God against
unrighteousness and God in his mercy delivered him from judgment.
We’ll see in Genesis 19:20 that
he’s counted as one of God’s people. He’s one of those people the Bible talks
about as being saved, but as through a fire. They slide in on their faith, but
have nothing to show Jesus at the judgment seat. Lot’s
life was virtually wasted. He lost his property and his wife. His last days
were spent cowering in a cave. And he
and his family were cut off from the people God had chosen to bless the world. Lot’s descendants were Moabites who later vexed the
Israelites.
Labels: Abraham, book of Genesis, Genesis