As we spoke about Genesis 12 last week, we saw that there was a famine in the land and Abram took a natural, commonsensical path and made his way down to Egypt. While in Egypt, we didn’t see Abram erect monuments to or call upon his God - instead he took what he felt was the smartest, most beneficial choice for his future. Unfortunately, this choice took him and his family away from God.
The famine interrupted his trip to Canaan - it was a test of Abram’s faith - which he failed. Instead of seeking God’s will during the famine, he went out of God’s will to find bread. As one scholar observed: In acquiring his ill-gotten wealth, he jeopardized the honor and purity of his wife, lost her respect and any sense of self-respect and dignity. A fortune has been amassed, but an opportunity for trusting God has been missed. Despite Abram’s failure, God proves faithful to His promise and intervenes to deliver him and all that he has out of Egypt (foreshadowing a future deliverance of Israel).
Now Abram takes a quiet journey back to Bethel with his extended family and all that he owns. Let’s read from Gen 13:3-18
3 And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 And the land could not support both of them while living together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives! 9 Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 Lot raised his eyes and saw all the [f]vicinity 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 [g]going toward Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were [l]exceedingly wicked sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward, and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted. 17 Arise, walk about in the land through its length and width; for I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord (NASB 2020).
Abrams' story is a story of:
Being set apart
Settling things God’s way
Staying close to God
Let’s look at the first mark of spirituality…
Being set apart (vv. 1-5)
Leaving the fiasco in Egypt where he had made decisions out of self-preservation and self-serving interest, Abram went from the Negev in the south back to the north to Bethel, which means “house of God.” It was a conscious course correction to come back to his relationship with God. In Bethel, he returned to the altar where he first called on the name of the Lord, made a decision to return to a place of fellowship with the eternal and faithful God. Abram had seen that God is faithful and all-powerful, even in the midst of the famine, He is Lord over the gods of Canaan and Egypt. Abram was different now, a changed man - he was being sanctified, set apart to God.
Bethel will continue to be mentioned as a key place in the Old Testament where people would meet God. In Genesis 28, we see Jacob running from his brother, Esau, and how he stopped for the night in Luz. As he slept, he dreamed of a ladder that stretched up from earth to heaven. The angels of God were climbing up and down the ladder as God stood at the top. The Lord spoke and revealed Himself to Jacob as the God of his fathers. When Jacob woke up from the dream, he declared, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob said, “God was here and I didn’t know it.”
I can think of times in my life when I missed the opportunity to trust God, to guide me according to His Word, to ask Him for wisdom, to seek His will before making decisions. How many times have I wanted something so badly that I went out and got it but in the end it wasn’t a blessing but a burden. Being so busy, self-occupied, thinking I knew what was best - I missed what God was saying.
Often we think that our failures are final but God is the God of unlimited chances. A righteous person falls seven times but gets up again (Pro 24:16). This is the mark of a spiritual person, they get up when they falter and fail and go back to Bethel. No matter where you are or what you have done - you can always go back to Bethel. Back to the altar - to the place where you called on the name of the Lord. He is waiting for us there.
Have you ever had an Egypt moment? Maybe you are in this place now. But there’s never a time you can’t come back to God, just like the prodigal son did when he realized how far he had come from his relationship to his father and family, how desolate the quality of his life had become. Just like the prodigal, just like Abram, we can learn from our failures, agree with God, and return to the house of God. At the altar you’ll find restoration, forgiveness, mercy, and peace. Being set apart doesn’t mean not making mistakes or failing, but it’s the place where God’s grace continually gives you a fresh start.
So while this is happening with Abram, what is happening with his nephew Lot? In vv. 5-7, we see that while Abram is growing closer to God in his renewed faith and being set apart to Him, Lot is going in the opposite direction. Their relationship was changing - Lot, who had been richly blessed through his association with Abram, was now estranged from his uncle. There was a lot of in-house bickering / verbal sparring with each other. The word contention or “strife” as one scholar noted was the result of Lot’s ingratitude, discontentment and unthankfulness towards all that Abram had given him. This brings us to the second mark of a spiritual person:
But because of Abram’s growing trust in the Lord and spiritual maturity, he wanted to: (SL 5)
2. Settling things God’s way
This is the second mark of a spiritual person. Do what it takes, as long as it takes to settle things God way.
The overcrowding that Abram and Lot were facing was a real problem but Lot and his workers were not handling this problem well. They were fighting with Abram’s workers over the land and the Cananites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
Why would the author mention this?
Good grazing land was scarce - most likely these nations had the best parts while Abram and lot had to make due. Another point to make is that these were pagan nations watching the strife between God’s people! What kind of testimony was this?
What are some lessons we can learn from this? Within our own relationships?
People around are watching us, to see how we will handle conflict, how we will handle problems, what we will do in stress-filled situations, in times of poverty and prosperity, times of failure and success. How will we respond? As an unthankful, discontented person or a person of godly integrity? Do we settle things in life in a natural way or do we settle things in a way that would honor God and reveals our trust in Him?
My wife and I have observed first hand that money changes people. Money and the pursuit of it has the potential to ruin relationships, with even the people closest to you. How do you resolve or settle conflicts?
The problem between Abraham and Lot was not the land, not the famine, nor their wealth, nor even their herdsmen. The problem was in the heart. Lot’s heart was focused on the wrong things and moving in the wrong direction, away from God. Lot had no alter and there was no mention of him calling on the name of the Lord in this situation. The outward problem was not the problem, the problem revealed a deeper issue which circumstances brought to the surface.
Why is it often so difficult to settle things God’s way?
You can try to stuff your problems, conflicts, past hurts, disappointments, try to cover them up, run, hide, or change your environment or location, but this will never solve the underlying problem because it’s a heart issue. You may even be able to identify the underlying problems but they won’t be resolved until you face it and settle it God’s way. It’s not always easy finding God’s way, it can be a long and painful process, even at times humiliating to admit weakness and failure, to forgive and ask for forgiveness. It means letting go of what you can’t control and trusting the Lord for the outcome. God will always bring you back to square one, to the same place, till we learn to settle things His way. God has all wisdom and knowledge and knows the end from the beginning.
The first test of Abram’s faith was when he faced the famine and took things into his own hands. But in this second test of his faith to entrust the Lord with his future, he was ready. Abram, could have appealed to his position, which in Semitic culture was unassailable - but he didn’t. Confident and unthreatened, he humbled himself, putting the interest of Lot ahead of himself. He told him, “Take your choice, my nephew and brother.” Abram moved toward Lot - but as we will see - Lot moved away from Abram. This is not a story of conflict but of contrast. The contrast of two different people and where their decisions led them.
Looking at the passage, how would you contrast Lot’s decision-making process with Abram’s?
Lot didn’t call on the name of the Lord for wisdom in his decision-making process. Instead of lifting up his eyes to heaven, he lifted up his eyes to the plains of Jordan.
Naturally chose the best for himself - considering his own comfort and benefit. He followed his own will.
Didn’t consider how it would affect Abram and his family and his decision had no concern from Abram
Left Canaan to move east towards Sodom and Gomorrah and farther from Abram and from God.
Didn’t think about the spiritual impact his decisions would have on His family. He had no idea that this lush land will one day be the target of divine wrath.
What did Abram’s decision-making process look like?
He stayed in Canaan until God moved him.
He waited on God to lead him.
He had such a deep trust in the Lord at this point in his life that he allowed God to choose for him (& was consequently blessed beyond measure).
Abram wanted to part ways peacefully.
Abram humbled himself in the situation.
He wanted the best for Lot.
This situation is a reflection of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Lot saw something that looked good and had great potential but apart from any relationship with God. Not only was he far from God in his heart, he was moving closer to the people (in Sodom) whose extremely wicked practices were against God. Abram loved Lot but had to let him go - Lot shouldn’t have moved in that direction, he shouldn’t have settled in those cities but it was his choice - a choice would prove to be the greatest mistake of his life.
Parents - there’s a time when your kids will make their own decisions - some will end in heartbreak and others will end in joy. We can’t make people's decisions for them - each person decides for themselves - to settle things with or without God.
Abram was being set apart to God, was settling things God’s way, and thirdly, he was:
3. Staying close to God
Abram remained in Canaan, while Lot moved to a beautiful, lush area. Ever wonder if you had made the right decision to wait on God while it appears that others are prospering and being blessed? Ever get into FOMO - fear of missing out? Abram believed that what God had for him was far greater than what Lot chose and that God’s blessing was worth waiting for.
Abram's speech (vv. 8 & 9) gives Lot the choice land, but God's speech (vv. 14) gives Abram the whole land; Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the land, and God told Abram to lift up his eyes to see all the land.
After God showed Abram the promised land (v. 18), Abram moved his tents to the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord. Abram settled his tents in the place that God had called him. From beginning to end in this story, though he failed many times, Abram had the marks of a spiritual person.
My questions for you are:
What important choices are you facing today?
What situation or circumstances has God pulled you out of to get your attention?
Will you choose to settle things His way while staying close to Him?
