"So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, 'Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.' And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom." (Genesis 13:1-12, ESV).
When the Philippines had the new President, he related his vision in his inaugural address. Others chose to pray for its success. Some noted the defect in his speech.
When we would suffer pain, emotional or physical, we have also a choice in our reaction. Generally, we choose to get angry or boil in hate. But we could also choose to be tenderhearted and forgiving.
We choose what dress to wear, what food to eat, what job to take. We choose whether to marry, or whom to marry. We choose whether to come late, earlier, or on time during our meeting.
But is our choice right? Our choice may be the option of everyone, but does it please God? Is our choice in agreement with His Sovereign Will?
So, if we would make a choice, choose not only what we feel or think is right.
We need to be, as we have our topic today, CHOOSING GOD’S CHOICE, while we focus on our text (Gen. 13:1-12).
So, what choices should we make? Is there any guide that would help us to choose what is right in God’s eyes? And if we have an idea of God’s choices, should we not consider them the best option for us to have? What are some choices then that are in line with the Sovereign Will of God?
In the last few verses of chapter 12, we learned how Abraham left the land where God instructed him to go. Also, he directed his wife not to confess the whole truth that she was just his sister, not his wife. In spite of his wrong doing, God granted him the favor to receive physical favors.
Ultimately, the Sovereign God worked out a way that Sarah would be delivered from harm. And He drove back Abraham to the land of Canaan, as Pharaoh sent him out of Egypt.
Now, in our text we could learn at least three (3) choices that would be within the Sovereign Will of God. What are those? First...
I – CHOOSE TO VALUE GOD (vv. 1-4).
We read verses 10-13, “So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD."
It was pointed out in verse 2 that Abraham was “very rich.” His riches were compounded by what Pharaoh had given him while he was in Egypt. With his great possession, he could just have settled in Negeb. Then, enjoyed and be contented with his riches.
But what did he do?
He proceeded “to the place where his tent had been at the beginning.” It was the location where he built the first altar, when he arrived in Canaan.
And there called upon the name of the Lord. Whether he worshipped there or just prayed to God, but one thing was clear. Abraham had chosen to value God. Instead of remaining in the place where he could just enjoy his riches, he opted to be with His God.
Nebuchadnezzar, however, did not just enjoy but even boast of his kingly power. He did not acknowledge the real Sovereign. We read in Daniel 4:28-30:
“All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?’"
As the king was on the roof of his palace, he was admiring what he possessed. Even attributed it on his own effort.
So, what happened to him? We read in the next two verses:
“While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will’" (vv. 31-32).
After his sanity was restored, only then he acknowledged the value of God.
Believers or lovers of Jesus, when riches, power, fame, honor, or simply convenience, or gadget, or work, entertainment, human approvals are laid down before us, it’s easy for us to choose and value any of them.
But, our Savior showed us what to choose. When the Tempter offered him “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,” (Matt. 4:8) did he choose them and worship Satan? He chose to value God. He told Satan, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (v. 10).
So, when this world would offer us to value something, let’s choose to value God more. Contradict those negative options with the words of Jesus, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
Let’s choose to value God above all things. He wants to be valued more than anything else. Jesus said in Luke 10:27A, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…”
Jesus also declared in Matthew 10:37, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Let us, then, choose to value God.
And if we really value God, it would be easy for us to make the next choice. We would want to choose that is in agreement with His Will. What is it?
II – CHOOSE TO FAVOR OTHERS (vv. 5-9).
We read verses 5-9, “And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.’"
Because Abraham valued God, one of the good things that happened to him was he did not tolerate strife. He wanted to uphold peace. He told his nephew, Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
And in order to avoid strife, he was even willing to give way for His nephew to have the portion of the land he preferred. Abraham did not assert his right as the elder one to choose which part of the land to occupy. He chose to favor His nephew.
There was now a change in the attitude of Abraham. Earlier when he was about to enter Egypt, he just thought of the favor he could enjoy – his own safety. He instructed Sarah not to disclose the she was his wife. He exposed his wife to harm.
But now in our text, Abraham did not think first to benefit himself. He was willing for Lot to have the advantage.
Remember also the first man, Adam, who blamed his wife for his own transgression. When something wrong would happen to us, our tendency is to free ourselves from the consequence, even willing for others to suffer for it.
On the other hand, we read in Romans 5:7-9, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
Christ, the second Adam, chose to extend the great favor to us – not only forgiveness of our sins, but justification, making us holy in God’s eyes. He was willing to suffer and die for us, who deserved God’s wrath.
Believers or lovers of Christ, could we also choose to extend favor even to the undeserving?
Perhaps, we do not need to be crucified just to extend favor to others. We could just choose to give back the change of one peso to the seller. We could choose to smile toward those who offended us. We could choose to forgive, to be kind. We could choose to help, such as washing the dishes, making the surroundings clean and in order.
Or, we could extend favor to the church workers or pastor by being faithful in giving our tithe and offering.
And we could choose to extend favor to others not just by physical ways. The greatest favor that we could extend to them is to share the Biblical Jesus. Share His words. And teach to them His truth.
Should we not be willing to choose not our convenience or advantage, like Abraham, but grant favor to others?
Finally, what should be the right choice to harmonize it with God’s Will?
III – – CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH (vv. 10-12).
We read verses 10-12, "Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom."
Lot chose the portion of the land that was pleasant to his eyes. “…the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.”
The place was attractive to his human judgement, but he exposed himself and his family to sin.
When we based our choice purely on the outside appearance, disaster could happen. Abraham, however, learned to rely on what the Sovereign God could do. He chose to have faith this time. He did not base the goodness that could happen on the goodness of the situation. He based it on the Goodness of God.
We could also remember, when Eve was tempted by the serpent. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6).
Our first parents did not exercise faith. They did not choose to rely on the words of God. They based their choice on the outward appearance. They saw that the “tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise…”
Because they did not choose to have faith, they did not rely on the command of God, paradise was lost.
Believers or lovers of Christ, have you suffered the loss of something for your failure to exercise faith? Or, would you allow to loss something by basing your choice on the physical aspect, not on faith?
We read in Hebrews 11:4-7, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Let us, then, choose to have faith. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice. By faith, Enoch did no see death. By faith, we are able to please God. By faith, we could have reverent fear to accomplish the extraordinary. By faith, we could have righteousness.
And like Abraham, let us not based our choice on the goodness of the circumstances, not on the goodness of our feeling, not on the goodness or persuasive words of others. Let us based our choice on the words of God or of Christ. As we read in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Let us expose, immerse our minds in His Word. Choose to have faith.
CONCLUSION:
In closing, the Sovereign God created man in His own image. He granted him to have emotion, reason, appreciation for beauty, creativity and even an amount of choices.
Because of the wrong choice of our first parents, not only paradise was lost but God’s image in us was desecrated. Our tendency now was to base our choices on the earthly or material things, on the advantages that we could enjoy, and on the goodness of the situation, strategy, or our ability.
But, we could ask for God’s mercy, to enable us to choose to value Him, to choose to favor others and to choose to have faith.
