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Abram and Lot Separate
1Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.
2Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. 3Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, 4where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.
5Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. 6-7At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.
8Abram said to Lot, “We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. 9There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north.”
10 This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt. 11So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started out toward the east, he and Abram separated. 12Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. But Lot settled near the cities of the valley and put up his tents not far from Sodom, 13where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord.
Abram Moves to Hebron
14After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:
Look around to the north, south, east, and west. 15 I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! 16I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. 17Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.
18Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.
Reflect
Instead of lacking food, Abram now had great wealth. Would Abram trust God when he didn’t ‘need’ him? (1)Yes, he would! Learning from his previous failure that God protects his promises, Abram gave Lot first choice knowing his choice would not affect God’s promises.
Our Ways
By human logic Abram should have chosen first because:
- God’s promises were his.
- He was the leader and senior family member.
Besides, he was a skilled shepherd and surely knew which land would best provide God’s promised blessing.
God’s Ways
But God’s ways are not our ways. He often works through our weakness (compare 1 Corinthians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9), through tough circumstances (Acts 5:21-25), or even apparent defeat (Philippians 2:8-9) to make his actions all the more obvious. So God sometimes defies human logic, with the result that Abram got the leftover land so God’s glory could be seen.
Warning!
Success boosts our confidence to make decisions, so take special care when you feel strong and capable to remember that God may have other ideas. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 warns: When you become successful, don’t say, “I’m rich, and I’ve earned it all myself.” Instead, remember that the Lord your God gives you the strength to make a living.
God’s Response
In response to Abram’s expanded faith, God didn’t immediately fulfill his promises, but he did expand them. Now not only would Abram have offspring, but they would be uncountable, and they would not just have land, but have it forever!
The Challenge
Like Abram, we are stewards of blessing, not creators of it. In good times and bad, always give God a chance to defy logic, to do things his way, and to do “far more than we dare ask or imagine!”After all, we could never imagine victory coming from a death on a cross, but God could!
(1) A helpful commentary is Genesis: A Commentary by Bruce K. Waltke, Zondervan 2001.
Respond
Dear Lord, you call me friend and you live in me. Keep me aware of your constant, loving presence so that I will involve you at all times in every aspect of my life, and always do things your way for your glory. In your name I pray. Amen.
John Pellowe
John Pellowe is the CEO of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, an association of 3,200 Christian churches and agencies. His passion is to help ministry leaders reflect on the application of their faith to their leadership practices in order that how ministries operate is as much a presentation of the Gospel as what they do.