All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Text: Genesis 13:1-18
Introduction
1. Illustration: A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city. They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. Leaving the reception desk they came to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for.
An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside. The door closed. About a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman.
Dad couldn’t stop staring. Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."
2. The point of this story is this: we cannot always trust what our eyes see. When this happens we need to see through the eyes of faith.
3. We need to see through the eyes of faith...
a. When things get in the way
b. When our eyes deceive us
c. When you need to make sacrifices
4. Read Genesis 13:1-18
Proposition: Mature Christians walk by faith and not by sight.
Transition: We need to walk by faith...
I. When Things Get In the Way (1-7).
A. Land Could Not Support Both
1. The first thing that ought to stick out to us here has to do with the stuff acquired in Egypt.
2. Notice what the text says, "So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. (Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.)"
a. It is not coincidence that the first thing mentioned in this chapter is Abram's stuff.
b. Abram already had powerful resources (12:5); his Egyptian sojourn augmented his wealth and power (NLT Study Bible).
c. However, Abram's ill-gotten gain is mentioned again to reinforce the idea that in doing so he had lost the respect of his wife and any self-respect and dignity (Hamilton, 390).
d. As we will see, it was this stuff that would cause the pending rift between Abram and Lot, his nephew.
3. As the narrative continues, we Abram doing what all Christians should do when they make a mistake, return to the Lord. It says, "From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again."
a. Abram returns to the place that he had built an altar and again engages in worship.
b. He leaves behind the unknown and the threatening, and now goes back to the familiar, worshiping his God(Hamilton, 390).
c. He built no altars in Egypt, but now that he was back in the promised land, his faith rose, and he again called on the name of the Lord, publicly worshiping him and glorifying his holy name (Horton, 111).
d. Notice the emphasis at the end of v. 3 "before," and "again" here at the end of v. 4.
e. Abram was returning to doing things the right way. In Egypt he lost his focus on the spiritual and put it on the physical, here, however, he returns to the spiritual (Ross, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Genesis, 102).
4. However, Abram wasn't the only one with stuff. We see next that, "Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents."
a. This whole narrative is governed by the theme of "struggle" and shaped around the "separation" that results from the struggle (Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
b. Both Abram and lot share an abundant possession in common: livestock.
c. However, they also have an abundant possession that differs. Abram has silver and gold, and Lot has tents (Hamilton, 390).
d. Between them they had more than enough stuff to go around, but it would be this stuff that would drive a wedge between them.
5. Herein lies the problem, "But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together."
a. Confined to a small piece of land, the two men must separate (Hamilton, 390).
b. Notice that Abram and Lot weren't the only ones there. They also had to share the land with the Canaanites and Perizzites (v.7).
c. They couldn't find enough pasture land and water for them both and it caused trouble between the two groups.
6. The result was that "disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot."
a. Disputes: This root occurs predominantly in legal settings...The vb. may represent any part of a lawsuit, including the potential of taking legal action (New International Dict of OT Theology & Exegesis. Pradis CD-ROM).
b. The land could not sustain Abram and Lot dwelling together, because the Canaanites held the best parts, so these two men’s servants had to scrap for water and food in the rest. When faced with this dilemma, a strife broke out (The Bible Knowledge Commentary).
c. All their stuff got in the way of their relationship.
B. More Stuff Is Not Always Better
1. Illustration: Chuck Swindoll said, The world system is committed to at least four major objectives, which I can summarize in four words: fortune, fame, power, pleasure. First and foremost: Fortune, money. The world system is driven by money; it feeds on materialism. Second: Fame. That is another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody in someone else’s eyes. Third: Power. This is having influence, maintaining control over individuals or groups or companies or whatever. It is the desire to manipulate and maneuver others to do something for one’s own benefit. Fourth: Pleasure. At its basic level, pleasure has to do with fulfilling one’s sensual desires. It’s the same mindset that’s behind the slogan: "If it feels good, do it."
2. God tells us that we are to put anything as more important than Him.
a. Exodus 20:3-4 (NLT)
3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
b. The are many more idols in the world that aren't statues made of gold, silver, or stone.
c. Some gods are made of paper (money), wood (houses), steel and fiberglass (cars), and even flesh and blood (people).
d. If any of these things are more important to you than your relationship with God than it is an idol.
3. We cannot serve both God and stuff.
a. Luke 16:13 (NLT)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
b. When we make stuff more important than God it becomes an idol.
c. God won't play second fiddle to our stuff.
d. Don't let stuff become so important that it causes you to put up a wall between you and God.
4. Much of the strife in the world, and in the church, is caused by stuff.
a. James 4:1-2 (NLT)
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?
2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.
b. We fight over stuff and it puts a wedge between us and others, and also between us and God.
c. There's more to life than stuff!
Transition: We also need to walk by faith...
II. When Your Eyes Deceive You (8-13).
A. Lot Took A Long Look
1. Abram knew that a family feud would not be a good thing, and that he needed to do something.
2. The text tells us, "Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!"
a. Abram was concerned that there be no conflict (Hebrew meribah) between them, as they were close relatives (literally brothers).
b. Moses later reproved Israel over the incident in the wilderness at Meribah (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13) and instructed them on exercising faith in such situations.
c. Meribah thereafter became a watchword for testing and striving with the Lord in unbelief (NLT Study Bible).
d. Psalms 95:8-9 (NLT)
8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.
3. So Abram tells Lot, "The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
a. Abram suggests that they separate, each going a different way, and thus making it easier to find enough grass and water (Horton, 111-113).
b. Lot is given first choice as to which part of the land he wants.
c. He can choose the land to left or the right. If directions are determined by a person facing east, the left would be the land to to the north, and the right would be the land to the south.
d. Abram's prerogative is to keep peace between the two groups and avoid any kind of violence between them (Hamilton, 392).
e. Abram's gesture was obviously an act of faith, for he knew that the promise was his, and that he did not have to cling to things.
f. And he knew that even if he gave all the land away, God would still give it to his descendents (Ross, 103).
4. Lot makes his decision based not on faith or prayer, but on what he saw with his eyes. It says, "Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)"
a. What appealed to Lot would be short lived.
b. In the garden of the LORD, Adam and Eve succumbed to their craving for what they saw.
c. Sodom and Gomorrah are reminders of putting intense desires ahead of obedience to God.
d. Like others, Lot got into trouble by trusting his eyes more than his faith.
e. Zoar was a small town in the plain to which Lot and his daughters later fled (19:18-22); it was previously called Bela (14:2) (NLT Study Bible).
f. The district between Jericho and Zoar was a tropical area, 800 to 1200 feet below sea level, where crops could grow all year round.
g. Today it no longer exists as a green, well-watered land. God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah brought a drastic change to the entire area (Horton, 113).
h. The word "destroyed" is a strong one meaning "to completely ruin" (Ross, 103).
5. The text indicates that Lot had made a poor decision when it says, "But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord."
a. This verse provides a commentary on the moral status of the Sodomites. They are wicked sinners.
b. This verse literally reads, "Now the men of Sodom were wicked sinners against the Lord - exceedingly."
c. Lot was not aware of it and probably would not have chosen it if he had known (Hamilton, 394).
d. Lot failed to look at this area through God's eyes. Sodom was a center of all kinds of wickedness that was evil in the Lord's sight (Horton, 113).
e. The implication is that Lot would not resist Sodom's influence because he, too, was living for himself (NLT Study Bible).
B. Lust of the Eyes
1. Illustration: Helen Adams Keller who had no eyes to see these earthly things of life states, “It gives me a deep, comforting sense that "things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal." Perhaps she saw things more clearly than some of us with good eyesight?
2. One of the devil's biggest weapons is what we see.
a. 1 John 2:16 (NLT)
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
b. He uses what we see to tempt us to sin.
c. He uses what we see to draw us away from the Lord.
d. He uses what we see to make us what we can't have.
3. We need guard what we look at with our eyes.
a. Psalms 119:37 (NLT)
Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
b. If you know you shouldn't look at something - don't.
c. Ask God for help, but be wise at what you allow yourself to look at.
4. We need to walk by faith and not by what we see.
a. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
b. Be led by the Spirit, not your eyes.
c. Be led by the Word, not your eyes.
d. Make decisions by faith not by what you see.
Transition: We also need to walk by faith...
III. When You Need to Make Sacrifices (14-18).
A. I am Giving You All This Land
1. Making sacrifices is much easier when we get the concept that God is in control.
a. It is easier to give things up when we trust God to meet our needs.
b. It is easier to trust God when we understand that He is able to more than we can ask, think, or imagine.
c. It is easier to trust God with our finances when we understand that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory.
2. Abram was able to offer Lot his choice of the land because he understood the promise of God. We see his reward for this faith when it says "After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, 'Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!'"
a. Abram could give Lot the choice land because he believed in God's promise.
b. Abram waited for God to give him the land; Lot just took what he wanted (NLT Study Bible).
c. Yahweh asks Abram to exercise faith that one day all the land that he can see in any direction would one day be his (Hamilton, 394).
d. Abram is told that he and his descendants would receive the land.
e. Furthermore, he is told that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth.
3. Next He tells Abram to see through the eyes of faith when He says, "Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
a. Even though he did not own the land and could not buy it, God told him to walk through it because he was going to give it all to him.
b. Not the portion left over that Lot didn't choose, but all of it.
c. In God's eyes, in the eyes of faith, it all belonged to Abram even though it would be his descendents who would possess it. (Horton, 115).
4. Finally we see that "Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord."
a. Hebron was an Anakite city originally called Kiriatharba ("city of Arba"), located in forested highlands just north of the Negev.
b. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all settled there, and Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were buried there (NLT Study Bible).
c. Then he shows us how to respond in faith: he worshiped the Lord and built an altar.
B. God Rewards Sacrifice
1. Illustration: The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us (John Emmons).
2. Faith is believing even when we cannot touch it.
a. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
b. We cannot touch it.
c. We cannot smell it.
d. We cannot taste it.
e. But we believe it anyway because God has promised it.
1. Faith is believing that God has something better.
a. Hebrews 11:9-10 (NLT)
9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
b. Faith is knowing that God has a plan.
c. Faith is knowing that God has promised to provide.
Transition: Believing for what God has is better than what anyone else can offer us.
Conclusion
1. We need to see through the eyes of faith...
a. When things get in the way.
b. When our eyes deceive us.
c. When you need to make sacrifices.
2. What are you believing God for?
