My Bible Study

Abram’s Response (13:18)

Abram’s response revealed a growing faith in the God Who called him. He moved his tents toward Hebron, settling near the oaks of Mamre. It was a plot of ground which belonged to another, not Abram (cf. 14:3), but it was where God wanted him to be. There Abram built an altar and worshipped his God. We studied last time that everywhere he went, he built an altar and declared he served the Most High God. Even in the face of people who did not believe and did not want to believe. But Abram did it anyway!

How different were the paths of these two men, Abram and Lot, after they separated. The one was almost imperceptibly edging closer and closer to the city of Sodom, to live among godless and wicked men, and all for the sake of financial gain.  We see that in families today, don’t we… The other was living the life of the sojourner, dwelling on those barren hills, with his hope in the promises of God. One lives in his tent and builds an altar of worship; the other trades in his tent for an apartment in the city of wicked men. Here was a decision which bore heavily on the destiny of two men, but, far more, on the destiny of their offspring.

Conclusion

The decisions reached by Abram and Lot are the same as those which confront every Christian today. We must decide whether to trust in the sovereignty of God or in our own schemes and devices. We must determine whether to trust in the ‘uncertainty of riches’ or in the God Who ‘richly supplies us’ (I Timothy 6:17). We must decide whether to invest in the ‘passing pleasures of sin for season’ or the future ‘reward’ which is promised by God to last forever (Hebrews 11:25-26).

These decisions are clearly contrasted in the separation of Lot and Abram. Lot chose to act on the basis of utility; Abram on the basis of unity. For the sake of unity, Abram was willing to allow himself to be taken advantage of (cf. I Corinthians 6:1-11, esp. verse 7).

Abram acted on the ground of faith, in a God Who had promised to provide. Lot chose to direct his life on the uncertain foundation of financial security. Abram was greatly blessed, and Lot lost it all.

Lot chose to dwell in a city which seemed like paradise (13:10), but was filled with sinners. Abram decided to live in a deserted place, but where he could freely worship his God.

Abram beautifully illustrates the truth of two New Testament facts. First, he provides a commentary on these words, spoken by our Lord:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:5,9 NIV).

Abram was a man of meekness. He was not a man of weakness, as chapter 14 demonstrates. He did not have to forcefully snatch a blessing, but faithfully wait for it to come from God’s hand. He was one who was given to peace, rather than to sacrifice peace for prosperity. We could learn a lot from that lesson today…

Reassurance for Abram 

(13:14-17)

It is of interest that God did not speak to Abram (so far as Scripture informs us, at least) until after he had made his decision to separate. This fact is not incidental, but fundamental, for we read, “And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, … ” (Genesis 13:14).

God’s call of Abram (12:1-3), so far as we can discern, was to Abram alone. So also was the confirmation in chapter 13. God had commanded Abram to leave his relatives (12:1). Blessing could not come apart from obedience to God’s revealed will, and neither would reassurance. Humanly speaking, the only thing which stood in the way of divine blessing was human disobedience. God removed that barrier by providentially separating Lot, and now the promise of God is restated.

That can happen for us today. If we "miss it," just repent and then go back and DO what the last thing the Lord said for you to do!

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other (Genesis 13:10-11).

He fixed his gaze on the beautiful Jordan valley. Its beautiful green evidenced the presence of the plentiful waters of the Jordan for irrigation. The parched hills and dusty ground beyond were of little interest. There was scarcely any water there.

Literally, this Jordan valley was a paradise. It was just like that ‘garden of the Lord’ (13:13). It, too, seems to have been provided for by irrigation, rather than rain (Genesis 2:6, 10ff.). The Jordan valley was also like the land of Egypt. One did not have to live by faith in such a place where water was abundant, and one did not have to look to God for rain.

And so Lot’s choice was made, clearly the shrewd decision, and seemingly the choice that gave him the decided edge in the competition between himself and Abram. It was, in my mind, a selfish decision—one that took all of the best and left Abram with that which seemed worthless.

The simplest and fairest separation would have been to make the Jordan river the boundary between the two men. What would have been more fair than to have chosen one side of the river to dwell in and to leave the other to Abram? But Lot chose ‘all the valley of the Jordan’ (verse 11). He was looking out for number one. He could have written a book on that subject.

Abram and Lot have now separated. Abram dwelt in Canaan, while Lot edged more and more closely to Sodom.

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom (Genesis 13:12).

Lot had considered very carefully the economic factors of his decision, but he totally neglected the spiritual dimensions. God had promised to bless Abram, and others through him as they blessed Abram (Genesis 12:3). As Lot went his way, I believe he patted himself on the back for putting one over on old Abe. He must have been soft in the head to give such an advantage to Lot, and Lot was just sharp enough to cash in on it. But in the process, Lot did not bless Abram, but belittled him. That brought cursing and not blessing (Genesis 12:3).

Furthermore, Lot had not considered the consequences of living in the cities of the valley. While the soil was fertile and water was plentiful, the men in those cities were wicked. Much like any major metropolitan city in America today. Usually run under liberal philosophical control. The inner cities are sewers of evil. And they are all spiritually blind. They think “they know better than God” of what it takes to be blessed. They think more governmental control means more blessings. Jesus warned us there would be some fools who say, “Let me take that speck out of your eye, while ignoring the log sticking out of your own eye.” We see that all across America today, especially in democrat strongholds. But, I digress…

The spiritual cost of Lot’s decision was great. And, in the final analysis, the material benefits all become losses, too.  Just like in American cities today…

Essentially their separation was caused by three factors which are recorded in verses 5-7 of Chapter 13…

Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents and the land could not sustain them while dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land (Genesis 13:5-7).

The first problem was the success of both men as keepers of flocks. Both Abram (13:2) and Lot (13:5) had prospered. Now their flocks and herds had become so large that they could no longer dwell together (13:6). This was especially true for nomadic tribesmen who must travel about looking continually for pasture for their sheep and cattle.

The second problem was the strife which seemed to be steadily growing between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot (13:7). Each man’s herdsmen sought water and the best pasture for the animals of their master. This competition inevitably led to conflict between the herdsmen of Lot and Abram.

It would probably not be far from the facts to suggest that some irritation already had become evident between Abram and Lot themselves. This may be implied by Abram’s words in verse 8. This also would be true to life. Whenever there is contention between followers, there most often will be strife between the leaders also.

If the first problem is the success of both Abram and Lot, and the second is the resulting strife, the third is the fact that the land where they sojourned was shared with others; namely the Canaanites and the Perrizites (13:7).

We had not been told in chapter 12 that Lot had accompanied his Uncle to Egypt. We presumed he had, but now we are told that he had. Lot was an adult man of some years by this time, but he was following Abram’s lead.

His great wealth, as you remember from the last episode, was in part the result of Pharaoh’s gifts. Gifts that were prompted by the lie that Abram had told. The Lord does not treat us as we deserve!

“Journeyed on” suggests that he moved his large caravan in stages, from one watering hole to the next. He eventually returned to Bethel where he had started, signaling that he had returned to the life of faith in which he had begun his sojourn in Canaan.

e are being told in this way that Abram’s faith in the Lord is still intact despite his fall in Egypt. Faith can co-exist with real sin, even great sin.

Many times, when we fail, we need to return to our roots. Kind of like, hitting the RESET button in our life and in our Faith. This is what I see here with Abraham. He returned to Bethel to demonstrate to God that he was still going to live in Faith to God.

Lot had also prospered; he had become a rich man in his own right, not least because he was sharing in the blessing that the Lord had bestowed on Abram.

As they came out of Ur with Terah, Abram and Lot seemed inseparable, even when God had commanded Abram to leave his relatives behind.

But finally, the ties between the two were weakening. Essentially their separation was caused by three factors which are recorded in verses 5-7 of Chapter 13…

It is no surprise to see that as Abraham lied about his wife being his sister (not once, but twice) (Gen 12 and 20), this same sin was later found in his child as well. Isaac lied about his wife to Abimelech (Gen 26). Similarly, Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, was a compulsive liar. After this, Jacob’s children sold his son, Joseph, into slavery, and lied to Jacob about it for years.

Our sins commonly follow our children and, therefore, bring the same punishment from God that we received. This is why we see alcoholism, drug use, homosexuality, children out of wedlock, and witchcraft found generation after generation. The sins of the fathers’ visit the children to the third and fourth generation.

However, let us consider this. Whereas, our rebellion has effects to the third and fourth generation, our faithfulness to God has effects for a thousand generations. The rewards for obedience are greater than the punishment for sin. Let this motivate us to be faithful and obedient to God’s call; the lives of our children and our children’s children depend on it.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:6–9)

Another aspect of our call is bold worship. Throughout Abraham’s life, we commonly see him build altars. When Abraham gets to Shechem in the land of Canaan, the Lord appears to him, and he builds an altar to God (v. 7). After moving, he then builds another altar in the hills between Bethel and Ai (v. 8). The altar symbolized his worship. When Abraham began to follow God, he became a worshiper.

But not only was Abraham a worshiper, he was a bold worshiper. When it says, “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh,” the narrator is trying to get our attention. He calls it “the great tree of Moreh.” The title “Moreh” means “teaching.” This was the “the great tree of Teaching.”9 Most likely, this was a Canaanite shrine where people gathered to worship some deity and also listen to the deity’s teachers. 

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:6–9)

This is true for us today. We are pilgrims. This does not mean that we are wanderers. A pilgrim is not a wanderer. A pilgrim is person on a journey seeking a land. America was settled by pilgrims who left their home country seeking a land where they could have religious freedom. In the same way, Christians are pilgrims in the world today. The world is not our home, and like Abraham, we should not settle down in it.

We see this pilgrim analogy used throughout Scripture. Consider how Peter used it in his epistle: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet 2:11, KJV). In 1 Peter, these Christians were forced to leave their homes and land because of Roman persecution. It was clear to them that earth was not their home and that they were called to live for another land—a heavenly one.

In Genesis 12 verses 2-3 (yes, that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far. I told you this would take us probably two weeks to get through), God says to Abram, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 

In addition, God’s call comes with many great promises. When God calls us or moves in our lives, many times he doesn’t give us reasons or calm the waves of our curiosity. He may not answer questions like, “Why?” or “What for?” Sometimes he doesn’t even tell us “Where?” or “How?” but he always gives us promises.

What promises did God give Abraham?

7. God promised that all the people of the earth would be blessed through him.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. (Genesis 12:1)

Another aspect of God’s call is that it is costly. Abraham was called to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household. Abraham probably lived in Ur his whole life until then. His friends, family, and contacts were there. His job was there. Apparently, his family was fairly wealthy. In order to follow God’s call, he needed to leave everything behind.

However, this is not only true of Abraham’s call but ours as well. Jesus said,

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:23–25)

If anyone is going to follow Christ, he must deny himself and take up his cross. When Christ called to the rich man to follow him, he told him to sell everything (Matt 19). Riches would hinder his full devotion to the Lord, and therefore, he needed to let them go. The cost of God’s call includes denying the pleasures of sin and denying our will in order to submit to his. All these were included in Abraham’s call.

That does not mean you need to take a vow of poverty to be saved. It means you must be willing to give up anything that is standing between you and Jesus. It could be you job (“I can’t go into ministry, I have a family to feed…”). If you trust God and serve Him Faithfully, He could provide you more resources than you could ever earn outside of God’s Will.

Some cannot discern and follow God’s call because they are not willing to sacrifice. They are not willing to give up career goals or leave family, home, and country. They are not willing to suffer and be uncomfortable. Some simply will not forsake sin (that is probably the BIG issue). If we are going to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.

God called the rich man to let go of his riches. He called the disciples to leave their careers. He called Abraham to leave his land, home, and family. 

What is God calling you to sacrifice in order to fulfill his call?