This week’s reading: Genesis 13:1-18
Hi Friends,
We move forward with this great story of Abram and pick up where we left off last week. Abram leaves Egypt with his wife and everything else he had accumulated until that point, and Lot, his nephew, is also with him. An interesting thing about this Life God has given us is that, the hardest thing about Life is relationships, yet we were created for relationships, so that is the only way to have the Abundant Life God desires, and designed us to live. Recall the first “not good” of the Bible was for man to be alone. (see Gen 2:18) And so God created another human that Adam could relate to, someone who was like himself that he could talk to, share emotions with, and together, plan and enjoy life with her also. Relationships can bring so much joy into our lives, but they can also bring struggles. We will read Genesis chapter 13 this week, that’s verses 1 through 18. Let’s see how Abram has learned to deal with the difficulties relationships might present. Listen to his humility here:
“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.’” Gen 13:8-9 NIV
Back to where he started. As his life story continues, we read the Bible say, “Abram had become very wealthy…” and he returned to where “his tent had been earlier.” (see Gen 13:2 & Gen 13:3) First, God was determined to bless Abram even though he did not quite deserve it. But He does this with all of us, right? We tend to think that whatever wealth we have, we have worked hard for it, so it should be ours. But I think this is the wrong way to look at things. One of my favorite verses in the Book of Deuteronomy talks about how, unless God makes it possible, we would have nothing at all. (see Dt 8:18) The point here is not that Abram had become very wealthy, but rather, that God had not given up on Abram and His plan for both Abram and Sarai. Second, Abram returns to the last place they pitched their tent, where he had previously built an altar to God, and once again, Abram now “called on the name of the Lord.” (Gen 13:4) There are times, after we have made some unwise decisions, that God will bring us back to where those choices were made, so He may move us forward from that point on. Think of this like getting off a highway at the wrong exit, so we have to make a U-turn, and get back on that highway, so we can get off at the correct exit. If we have experienced some trials, as Abram did in Egypt, God will use those ill advised decisions to humble us, softening our hearts, so we will learn to seek Him before we make our next choice. The whole point is to help us transform into His own Image, and Humility is certainly one of God’s major traits. What God, with the power to create all that is seen and unseen, would allow us, His Creation, to make choices that would not honor Him, unless He were Humble enough to give us that kind of control? Then of course, there is our Jesus, who is the Perfect image of Humility. While we rightly celebrate His Resurrection, we must never forget the Cross. Had He not freely and willingly given up His Life for us, we would still be chained to our old sinful nature, and the death that it brings. Jesus is Humility, and it is only humility that opens the door to Eternal Life. Only when we admit, when we confess to God, that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves, that we need The Perfect Savior who humbly took upon Himself our sin…and moreover defeated that penalty of sin, which is death…then we can receive Salvation. Humility is such a vital virtue for God to develop within us. Only when we empty ourselves of ourselves, do we have room for God and the Eternal Life He so longs for us to have, enjoy and share. Humility is the key to so much of this Abundant Life in Christ, and this is why God allowed Abram to stray, to teach him how much he, and we, need God. When we stray from God, because we will, God does not want His children to stay away. He wants us to return to Him, to repent and come back into His loving and waiting arms. To ask for, and receive, forgiveness so we can get back on the right path of following His Holy Will. The Bible says we are like sheep, and my goodness do sheep need lots and lots of help to live the right, healthy way. (see Isa 53:6) Thus the Cross. Thus the Resurrection. Thus the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power. Only Humility will open us to this kind of deeper relationship, and so God brings Abram and company back from Egypt, back to where they last sought the Name of the Lord, and starts them on their journey again. Detours are meant to bless us, but the quicker we realize we have strayed, the quicker we can get back to God and move forward. We move forward by becoming a bit more like Him, humble, and recognizing all blessings, including any wealth, come from God.
Quarrels cause all sorts of problems. As I mentioned in my article called “The Name of the Lord”, the Bible never says that God told Abram to bring Lot with him on his journey. Yet God is a very generous God and so, He chooses to not only bless Abram with wealth, but also Lot. These two now have such huge flocks and herds that the land they were in, could not support both families anymore. Here is a sad reality about wealth: instead of uniting people, it can often lead to so many conflicts within families. Listen to this quote from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary: “Poverty and labour, wants and wanderings, could not separate Abram and Lot; but riches did so.” He rightly says that riches too often leads to jealousy with this mindset of “mine and thine” which causes separation instead of unity. This is where Abram finds himself now, having to deal with some trouble between his herdsmen and those of Lot. But the potential problem lies not only between these two families. The Bible states that, “The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.” (Gen 13:7) At first, it might seem strange to add this little fact in here, but when we realize that Abram was following God our Creator, while these other nations were pagans, we can see the prospect of trouble stirring because of their quarreling. Two issues could result: 1- the fighting amongst themselves could open them up to being vulnerable to attacks from these other nations, or 2- even worse, it could lead to a false and negative representation of our God to these other nations. Matthew Henry comments, “The quarrels of professors are the reproach of religion, and give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” If those who did not know Abram’s God, witness these believers battling one another, they could ridicule God. Watching how the herdsmen of Abram and Lot were acting, could cause them to think God was a cruel God, and not a God of peace and unity. To bring this a bit closer to home, when those outside “the church” watch us Christians, they are trying to figure out who this God we profess to follow is. When they see us arguing with one another, when they notice we are acting just like they do, what kind of picture of God do you think this gives them? Not a good one, and certainly not an accurate one. We follow the Prince of Peace, do we not? Then surely, we must seek this peace with one another, shouldn’t we? It is here where we see that humility God is developing within Abram’s heart begin to shine. Abram quickly, and wisely, takes action.
For Peace Sake. God had already made some amazing promises to Abram, one of which was to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites through which he now traveled. So what Abram does here is both humble, and generous. Abram shows a great deal of respect for his younger nephew by giving him the choice of which land Lot would desire to live in. As I read before, if Lot chose one way, Abram would go the opposite way, just so that there would be peace within these families. Lot looks out and takes notice of how one side seems so much more prosperous than the other, and of course, he chooses that “better land” for himself. But is it really better? We read that Lot pitches “…his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.” (see Gen 13:12-13) Sometimes what we think is going to be a blessing to us, really turns out to be a curse, doesn’t it? I know there was a time when I thought a business we were opening would bring us the freedom from our current jobs that Joe and I wanted, but it really turned out to be a money pit. This was before either of us knew God as we do today, yet in hindsight, we could see that God was trying to steer us away from that detrimental investment. What we thought was good for us, caused all kinds of lasting problems. Spoiler alert: Lot’s choice here will cause him all sorts of heartache too. Whether we make our decisions because of greed, or we just want what we want and we think our way is better than God’s, if it is not God’s Will for us, we can count on it bringing trouble. Thankfully, God works it all together for our good, right? (Ro 8:28) It is the distress we experience because of those selfish preferences that bring us to our knees in humility, so we will want to seek God and follow His path, instead of our own. Abram has learned this lesson from his complicated trip to Egypt, so he gives Lot the first choice of where to live. But this is what Love does, right? Love gives the one He professes to love a choice. Love never forces His own agenda on the one He loves. And if the one He loves makes a poor choice, Love never abandons the one He loves. We will see Abram imitating God in this way next week, but do not miss this display of humility here. Abram is the leader. Abram is the one God called. Abram is the one through whom God made it possible for Lot to gain his wealth. Yet the greater lowers himself for the lesser. This is clearly another picture of God, yes? This is one of the many reasons Abram, later called Abraham, is such an incredible Saint through which we can learn so many valuable lessons. Not a perfect man, for which one of us is, but such a mighty man of God! It is for the sake of peace that he lowers himself. It is for the sake of glorifying God that he acts in humility. And it is now for our sake that his life story is so important to read and study, and with God’s help, imitate. May we, like this Father of Faith, grow in our Faith through all life’s up’s and down’s, so we may display God’s Immaculate Character more and more too.
Too many to count. God tells Abram to lift his eyes and see all the land He will give to Abram’s descendants. Again God promises Abram that, “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.” (Gen 13:16) In other words, God is going to bring out of Abram, and his Faith, more children than anyone can imagine. My study Bible says, “It’s possible that this included not just Abram’s physical descendants, but also his spiritual heirs. (Gal 3:29)” (Quest Study Bible p18) And yes, I know that is exactly what God meant. We think too small, my Friends. We view life according to our own limited time here on earth, but God is Eternal. Here’s another thing we should not miss: God is still using Abram’s life- the good, the bad and the ugly- to bring others to Himself, and help us grow spiritually. Only God knows what He will do with your life and mine. Ours is to trust Him. When we make mistakes and try to go our own way, or when we humbly seek and follow God’s Will, God uses it all for the good of those who love Him, as well as for the good of His Kingdom. He continues transforming us into the likeness of His Perfect Son. He continues to help us let go of this lower life, and begin to live the Abundant Life instead. And He continues to love us through it all, never leaving us nor forsaking us. I have, and continue, to make so many errors in life. I remain so imperfect, but praise God, I am perfectly loved by our Perfect Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And that makes all the difference in this world, and the next. It is my desire to follow in Abram’s footsteps and gain for God more children than can ever be counted. I hope you want that too, so…won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
