1Then Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram worshiped the Lord there.
Abram went back to the land of Canaan. The Lord had made him much richer than he had been before. And again he was seeking the Lord, something he hadn’t done before he had gone to Egypt.
5Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together, 7and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
Lot had also become quite a bit richer. The land would not support both Abram and Lot. I would have thought that Abram and Lot would have had all their possessions in common and there would not have been “the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock” and “the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock”, they wouldn’t have been divided. But they were divided and there was quarreling between them. Jesus said to his disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matt. 19:23, 24) Jesus also said when he was explaining the Parable of the Sower that for some, “the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth” choke out the word of God so that it becomes unfruitful. Abram was already in the kingdom of God; but God’s “blessing” Abram with riches may have been more of a test than a blessing. So,beware of the love of money. It’s the root of all sorts of evil.
Verse 7b says that, at the time Abram and Lot came to the land, there were Canaanites and Perizzites in it. It almost sounds like an afterthought. You would certainly expect there to be at least Canaanites in the land of Canaan. What’s the point. Well, for one thing, they would also have increased the burden the land had to bear. But here’s something else. The Canaanites and Perizzites were pagans whom God would eventually order the Israelites to destroy out of the land because their sin was so great. And the Canaanites and Prizzites were there watching these men of God, Abram and Lot and their servants, quarrel over the land. You know, Jesus told his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34, 35) Do we love one another?
Do we love one another? There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of denominations. Churches and denominations split and other groups join together. Frequently some dispute or disagreement causes the split. In the ‘70’s, Mooma and I were members of a Church of Christ congregation. We were told that some time in the past the Church of Christ had split into the “instrumental” and “non-instrumental” factions. The non-instrumental faction believed that musical instruments should not be used in a worship service and said they had Scripture to support their view. I was never able to find it. Nevertheless, some friends we had in the congregation said that while they were traveling they visited a non-instrumental Church of Christ for Sunday worship. The people there loved them!
But I also have to point out that there are churches that support “abortion on demand” and same-sex marriage—things that are an abomination to God. While it’s not loving them to complain about them and simply be critical, it’s also not loving them to not warn them that they are seriously disobeying God’s word!
Well, now let’s look at verses 8 through 10 and see what Abram did about the situation. Here’s what verse 8 through 10 say:
8Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives. 9Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
Abram took the initiative to resolve the problem. He gave Lot the choice of the land: “If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.” But notice that Abram said, “Please, let’s not have quarreling…” “Please!” The word please is not used very much in the Bible, even when people are praying to God. It’s not used routinely as a form of etiquette: “Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’” I looked up the Hebrew word translated please. It says it’s used as an entreaty: “I entreat you.” Abram was being very humble and gentle. He approached his nephew Lot, not with a demand, nor with a command, but with an entreaty. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.” Most translations say, “Blessed are the meek,” but they are following the King James Version. When the King James was translated, meek meant gentle, kind or compassionate. How do you and I approach someone with whom you have a dispute? Are we gentle and kind and compassionate? Think about it.
Now let’s look at how Lot responded to Abram’s request. Here’s what verses 10 through 13 say:
10Lot looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley as far as Zoar was well-watered everywhere like the Lord’s garden and the land of Egypt. This was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. 12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the Lord.
Lot took what looked to him to be the choicest part of the land. To him it looked like the Garden of Eden and like the land of Egypt where all their flocks and herds had increased. Lot chose the entire Jordan valley for himself and left what was left for Abram. Moses tells us that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in the land that Lot chose and that the people there were sinning greatly against the Lord. In chapter 19, the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin, which he evidently considered to be much greater than the sin of the Canaanites in general. After Lot made his choice, Abram and Lot separated. At this point the Lord spoke to Abram again. Let’s look at verses 14 through 17. Here’s what they say:
14After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, 15for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see. 16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17Get up and walk from one end of the land to the other, for I will give it to you.”
After Lot separated from Abram, the Lord spoke to him. You know, Abram was not really supposed to have Lot with him. The Lord had told Abram to “go out from his land, his relatives and his father’s house.” Lot was one of his relatives. In this case, the Lord used the circumstances to separate Lot from Abram. Many times the Lord uses circumstances to separate us from situations that it is not good for us to be in. The Lord had chosen to bless all peoples through Abram and not through Lot, so Lot was separated from Abram.
The Lord told Abram to look all around and to walk around in the land. He promised him that he would give him and his offspring that land forever. Forever is a long time! And I think Abram could have taken the smallest and most unhospitable part of the land when he and Lot separated and the Lord would still have been able to make the promise to give Abram and his offspring the entire land forever.
And you know what else? The Lord had earlier told Abram that he would make him into a great nation. But, now he was telling just how great that nation would be—like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then his offspring could be counted. I think we are also included among Abram’s offspring when we have faith in Jesus. Jesus considered the Syrophoenician woman to be one of the “children,” even though she wasn’t descended from Abraham, even though she was Greek. He cast the demon out of her daughter because of her faith. Her faith made her one of the children. (Mark 7:24-30)
Now look at verse 18. Here’s what it says:
18So Abram moved his tent and went to live beside the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. (Genesis 13:18)
Abram went back and built another altar. Moses says that he moved his tent. Abram lived in tents. The writer of Hebrews made a point of that—that he lived in tents. I’m going to quote what he says again as I’ve done the last couple of weeks. Here it is:
8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
When you read through the Old Testament, you don’t see much that’s explicit about the resurrection of the dead. But, when I first read Genesis (and quite a few times after that), I wondered why Abram would care how many descendants he would have or how much land they would possess, since there didn’t seem to be any indication that he would be anything but dead after he died. And, it’s obvious that Abram couldn’t have offspring like “the dust of the earth” during his life time. But he believed God’s promise! He believed that there would be a time when he would possess the land and his offspring would be like the dust of the earth. He would also have had to have believed that the land would hold a lot more people that it could have had then. (And I think it will!)
You know something else we can learn here. Our descendants can be a blessing to us! And not just our immediate descendants! Do you think you will be blessed by your great-great-great-great-grandchildren? Abram expected much more than that. As I said, I believe that we who believe in Jesus are numbered among Abram’s descendants, and we will be a blessing to him. And let me ask you this: How many descendants by faith in Jesus do you have? How many will you have? Jesus told his disciples, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) (And by the way, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have the gift of evangelism. There are other ways of making disciples.)
Next week, the Lord willing, the Abrahamic Covenant.
[Prayer]
END NOTES
1 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, Holman CSB ® and HCSB ® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.