SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 13
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” (Genesis 13:9)
“All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:15)
ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE (vs. 1-18)
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abrams’ herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right’ if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lit up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre and Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Abram was wealthy because he had livestock, gold and silver. But he had a nephew Lot who was living in the same place. Conflict started by the herdsmen of Lot and Abram took the initiative to settle the dispute. He gave Lot first choice, even though he being older, had the right to choose first. Abram’s example showed us how to respond to difficult family situations. (1)-Take the initiative in resolving conflicts; (2)- Let others have first choice even if that means not getting what we want. (3)- Put family peace above personal desires.
Rivalries, arguments and disagreements among believers can be destructive in three ways: (1)- They damage goodwill, trust and peace – the foundations of good human relations. (2)- They hamper progress toward important goals. (3)- they make us self-centered rather than love-centered. Jesus understood how destructive arguments among brothers could be. In his first prayer before being betrayed and arrested, Jesus asked God that his followers be “one”. (John 17:21)
Lot’s character is revealed by his choices. He took the best share of the land even though it meant living near Sodom, a city known for its sin. He was greedy, wanting the best for himself, without thinking about his uncle Abram’s needs or what was fair.
Life is a series of choices. We, too, can choose the best while ignoring the needs and feelings of others. But Lot’s choice had him in troubles. When we stop making choices in God’s direction, we will make choices in the wrong direction.
Good pasture and available water seemed like a wise choice to Lot at first. But he failed to recognize that wicked Sodom could provide temptations strong enough to destroy his family. Have you chosen to live or work in a ‘Sodom”? Even though you may be strong enough to resist the temptations, other members of your family may not. While God commands us to reach people in the “Sodom” near us, we must be careful not to become like the very people we are trying to reach.
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