GENESIS
● Chapter 13
Gen 13:1: And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2: And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3: And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4: Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5: And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.So, Abram and his wife, and their household of servants left Egypt. Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his family and household of servants, who had all the time been with Abram, joined themselves to Abram. Abram was a very rich man. He had material possessions and great livestock. Lot was also a rich man; he had much possessions too. From the low-valley land of Egypt they journeyed northeastward, to enter the southern hilly region of the land of Canaan. There they moved about from place to place until their journey took them northward to Bethel, the place where Abram had first pitched his tent. And somewhere in that mountainous place between Bethel and Hai was where Abram had set up his first altar when he arrived from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan (Gen.12:6-8).
In the land of Canaan dwelled the Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, the bastard son of Ham, from Ham’s incestuous act with his own mother. The Canaanites were, by and large, evil and wicked people. Through their vain imagination, they created their own religions; they worshipped the created things of the Almighty, and offered their sacrifices on altars scattered throughout the land. And in their land Abram’s altar was the very first altar set up to worship the One True God, Yahweh. There Abram worshipped the Lord. [Note: It was a testimony of Yahweh in Abram (and throughout the rest of his (Abraham’s) life) to reveal Himself to the evil populace of the land before judgment was meted out to them. God’s grace and mercy always precedes judgment.]
Abram’s return to his very first place of worship was also to renew his faith in the promise of the Lord God concerning his inheritance of the land of Canaan, and of His grace and mercy upon his life; how the Lord had even kept him in the land of Egypt. Abram’s faith was clearly fixed on the promise of his God Who called him out of Chaldea. A pilgrim and a stranger in a strange country, wealthy Abram was seeking for a country, but certainly not an earthly one that he could call home. He was not thinking of comfort and ease; for with his wealth he would have lived in a big city, or built a beautiful big house in a country, but rather, he pitched his tent from place to place as “he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb.11:10; cf. vv.8-9). The Apostle Paul saw this very same city and knew that Abram (Abraham) had seen it in his pilgrim journey; thus was he able to speak of the faith of Abraham. Later, on the Isle of Patmos, the Apostle John described the city fully as God showed it to him in a vision; it is called the Holy City, New Jerusalem. Truly, Abraham was the "father" of our faith. He is an example for us pilgrims. He had roughed it out in a world that was not his home because he had seen the heavenly city. The trial of his faith was much more precious than fine gold; so are ours.
Contention
Gen 13:6: And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7: And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.It was not long after they had settled down that contention for land came between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. The two groups of people had not only increased in family members but also possessions and livestock. However, Abram and Lot, and all their people, were mere strangers in a land where the Canaanites and the Perizzites were settled occupants. Hence, there was not enough pastureland for Abram’s and Lot’s large livestock to graze.
Separation
Gen 13:8: And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9: Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.Strife is very often caused by simple misunderstanding, and a lack of grace. When grace does not take over, it can lead to frustration which leads to greater conflict, that might become hatred.
Here we see the love of God in Abram. The love and respect Abram had for his nephew was clearly displayed in his unselfishness towards him. To prevent further conflict of interest between their herdsmen, and because they were kinfolks, Abram proposed to Lot that they each go their separate ways. Furthermore, even though it was Abram whom God called,
Abram condescended to Lot and offered him the first choice of the vast land all around them. Whichever direction Lot would choose, Abram promised that he would go the opposite direction, figuratively speaking, keeping distance away from him, letting him have his space.
Gen 13:10: And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11: Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12: Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13: But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.Now, this happened before Yahweh destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot looked around, he eyed the plain of Jordan. It was lush and verdant like the garden of the Lord where Adam and Eve dwelled, and like the land of Egypt which he came out from. The valley was well watered by the River Jordan and there was plenty of pasture. The lush greenery stretched all the way southward to the Dead Sea, to Zoar. In that region, with Zoar, were four other great cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim (Gen.10:19;14:2;14:8; Deut.29:23). So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself. As he started toward the east, he and Abram separated. Abram remained where he was, in that part of the land of Canaan. But Lot moved his tents from place to place in the valley till he was in the vicinity of those cities. Soon he camped near Sodom, where the inhabitants were evil and sinned awfully against the Lord.
Poor righteous Lot, his mind was set on the things his eyes were drawn to. Yes, the land was well watered everywhere in the plain of Jordan, but in the direction of the east were the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose ’glittering light’ were obvious attraction beyond the greenery of the plain. Instead of keeping his distance, “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1Th.5:22), he moved closer to it.
Saints, let us take heed in the knowledge that in this world nothing is certain; something will always be, for its system is ever evolving and the flesh is constantly lusting. The world is caught up in a loop, over and over again, ever expanding into greater expectation, that ends only in the heaping up of sins.
Land Promised To Abram
Gen 13:14: And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16: And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.After Lot and his household had separated from Abram, Yahweh called Abram to look all around him from where he stood, on a mountain between Bethel and Ai. Yahweh said He would give to him and his seed for ever all the land northward (towards Babylon), southward (towards Egypt), eastward (towards the Jordan Plain), and westward (towards the Great Sea). Yahweh also promised that his seed would be as the dust of the earth, that is, innumerable. Abram’s chosen seed was Isaac, in whom was Jacob (Israel) and from whom was the Jewish people.
Yes, Lot had the choice land, but Abram had the blessing. However, Abram’s blessing came only because he believed and was obedient to the One who called him. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt.6:33).
Walking The Land
Gen 13:17: Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18: Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.The Lord rouse Abram to walk throughout the length and breadth of the land that He would give to him. How important then, if the faith of Abram be true, the “walk” must follow the faith. Faith is a fact if faith is of the Word. It pleases God. With faith comes the act – take steps – walk the faith. Without the actions (works) faith is dead. Read James 2:14-26. So Abram rose up and walked the land that would be his and his descendants, moving his tent from place to place, he came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which were in Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord. And
he settled there.
How precious then are the Truth and promises of the Lord throughout the Bible for us saints. Abram walked throughout the entire land of Canaan in faith, and claimed every step of the land he trod; likewise should we walk throughout the whole Holy Scripture in faith, and claim every written word of Truth and promises revealed to us.
~~~~~~~