Genesis 13:1-18 The mark of the righteous is graciousness and peaceableness
Genesis 13:1-18
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. 3 He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6 And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Background
God’s blessing upon Abram and Lot created an unforeseen problem that requires them to part ways. Nevertheless, this creates occasion for God to ratify His promises to Abram by giving him all the land as far as the eye can see and his descendants will be innumerable. Abram, out of his gracious generosity gives up his right by offering Lot first pick of choice land. Lot chooses foolishly in going with his fleshly perception while Abram commits his future firmly into God’s hands. Both are separated by the nature of their decision: one to total loss, the other to eternal life and prosperity. Today’s devotion teaches the right attitude and response towards God’s blessing and promises. The blessing of God for the righteous must necessarily translate into greater peaceableness and graciousness. And in deferring to God the major decisions of life, we secure for ourselves and for our descendants eternal life and true prosperity.
Observation
He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, … to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly.
Expulsion from Pharaoh’s presence sees Abram returning to the heart of Canaan near Bethel. The fact that Abram and Sarai emerged unscathed from Pharaoh’s clasp after implicating him in adultery but with much riches they left Egypt attest to God’s exceeding grace. Unfortunately, a later trip to Gerar also sees Abram repeating the same folly. Nevertheless, the sight of the altar that he first built during his initial tour of Canaan (see Genesis 12:8) reminds him of God’s promises concerning the land. His humiliation and failure in Egypt can never diminish God’s ordination over his life.
And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.
Ironically, it is in fact the blessing of God that is the source of conflict between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Their herds have greatly increased causing problems in acquiring adequate grazing grounds in the already crowded territories of the Canaanites and Perizzites. This prompts Abram to seek a sustainable solution to the scarcity of pasturage: Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left. Abram’s decision to allow his nephew to share and pick the best of the land reflects his peaceableness and graciousness. Abram does not seek his own benefit but places the welfare of others above his own.
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.
To date, historians and archeologists have not been able to identify the exact location of Sodom and Gomorrah. Until that is ascertained, the geography that catches Lot’s eyes remains a mystery. However, from the land boundaries gathered in Numbers 34, “the valley of the Jordan” appears to be located at the edge of Canaan or beyond it. Apparently, this territory outside of Canaan is well watered; the “the garden of the Lord” is an allusion to Eden. “The land of Egypt” is subsumed under the same category and considered as evergreen and fertile providing more reliable harvest than Canaan. Though Lot is offered a share of Canaan, he appears to have rejected it preferring the well watered land beyond it. Unfortunately, the moral condition of the inhabitants prescients its divine judgment: Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord. What Lot considers as pleasant and inviting to his eyes is in fact hell disguised as paradise.
Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward…
Abram’s selflessness in deferring to his nephew the choice of land is immediately met with divine approval. One can almost sense God’s enthusiasm in allotting to Abram his inheritance of land. Here, the promises of land are much more pronounced and explicit as earlier statements are more general without appealing to the range of sight (for all the land which you see) and perpetuity (I will give it to you and to your descendants forever). And there is a sense of limitless blessings: Now lift up your eyes and look… for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.
God’s command to “walk about the land…” will create within Abram a profound understanding and prophetic vision of the Promised Land. The view of the landscape, the tangible feel of soil beneath his feet, the smell of the air creates a divine connection between land and soul. It conjures within Abram a deep passion to birth forth into the land the kingdom of God.
Truth
The blessing of God for the righteous must necessarily translate into greater peaceableness and graciousness.
The promises of land and descendants in fact has Abram become more generous towards others. The endowment of God’s favour has created within him greater prospensity for peaceableness and graciousness. Paradoxically, God’s exceeding blessing has become to both Abram and Lot a point of contention. Although Abram has the right to relocate Lot, Abram does not consider the divine entitlement of land something to cling on to, but emptied himself of his rights by allowing his nephew to take his first pick of choice land. Here, the righteousness of God is revealed through Abram as it does through Christ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:6-7.
Basic human instinct looks to shore up resources for one’s personal security and wellbeing. However, one can never feel sufficiently secured regardless of how much one possesses. The righteousness of God is revealed through one whose hands are constantly open to the needs of others and who places his security in God. I personally know people who complain of not having a job. But once they have gotten a job, they complain of not having a car. When they have gotten a car, they complain about not having a spouse. Once, they have gotten married, their insatiable appetites see them wanting for more. Material blessings have on the contrary cause them to hang on all the more tightly to what they claimed to have earned by their own strength. For such will with relentless envy continue to gorge themselves until they explode. The righteous on the other hand, continues to become evermore peaceable and gracious towards others.
God’s blessing must be perceived not with eyes of flesh but of faith.
Canaan, considering its patchy rainfall pales in comparison with the well watered land of Egypt and Jordan. Lot’s choice of the valley of Jordan attest to the seeming inferiority of Canaan. The question is: how can a drought ridden Canaan be called a Promised Land, the land of the blessed? Abram, having toured Egypt, the land of abundance returns to Canaan by faith believing that God will make it right. Lot, on the contrary perceiving with eyes of flesh prefers the well watered valley of Jordan. Lot’s miscalculation has unwittingly worked in accordance to God’s plans; to have Lot weeded out so that He can give Abram all of the land. As we know it, Sodom and Gomorrah, the place of Lot’s residence will in time be decimated. Egypt, some years later faces a similar fate; in trying to hinder the exodus of Israel has its land and water supplies ravaged by plagues and cosmic diasasters. What is pleasant to the eyes of flesh eventually becomes barren and forsaken. On the other hand, Canaan, the infamous land of drought and famine, has by God’s promises become the land of perpetual abundance. At the gathering of the people, God declares to them,
If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. Leviticus 26:3-4
That which is good and inviting to the eyes of flesh is fleeting and transient. But that which is promised notwithstanding its seeming barrenness will in time bear fruit according to God’s word. The apostle Paul encourages believers in view of the eternal glory not to despise their lowly beginnings and circumstances,
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
When we look at our present condition, we may not think much of it or we may even despise it. But God has promised that which seems worthless will one day be transformed into the glorious likeness of His Son. Our ministry will be a foundation to future revivals of the nation. Our businesses will bring unprecedented benefits and fruitfulness to the community. Our children will be respected and successful in their own right. Therefore, we must continue to develop our abilities and to keep believing because of the deposit that is placed within us. For God has given the Holy Spirit as a deposit for our eventual success and acquisition of our inheritance (see Ephesians 1:13-14). Therefore, we do not give up on what seems weak and insignificant at the present.
It is better to defer to God our choices and plans for the future.
Abram, in letting Lot take his first pick of choice land faithfully commits his future into God’s hands. As God is eternal in nature, what He gives to His children will also last forever. However, we cannot say the same concerning what one has gotten singularly with his own hands from the decisions he makes. Because God is in control and knows all things, it is preferable to defer to God all major decisions of life. As we know it, Lot loses everything and Abram gains the whole world as his inheritance.
Many have become so adamant and fixated in what they want, they are presumptuous making decisions they do not fully understand. Being led by fear and greed they make snappy decisions, wiping out the gains they have so painstakingly acquired. They marry out of passion, and discover only too late. Unlike Abram who responds to a divine call, they migrate out of convenience. They fashion themselves as self-make men and women taking all credit away from the Creator. The end of which is certain loss and mayhem.
Application
Do you hold on tightly, being tight fisted with your material possessions? Do you often sacrifice peace preferring to hold onto your rights? God’s blessing must necessarily make us more gracious and peaceable. Keep what you need in order to invest into the future while giving the rest to the poor. Give up your rights so that there may be peace and unity in the community. In so doing, God will bless you as He does for Abram with eternal life and true prosperity.
Are you accustomed to making snappy decisions according to appearance and how it pleases your eyes? What seems pleasant to the eyes may not be endorsed by God towards true prosperity. Therefore, we must not be led by the passion of the moment. But in waiting and in stillness, we let the Spirit speak freely into our circumstances and enlighten our perception with His wisdom. In doing so, we do not incur unnecessary losses and hardships but preserve our resources for greater good.
Dear Lord, I thank you for your provision and blessing thus far. I am contented and grateful for all that you have given to me. Create in me graciousness and generosity to give to those in need. I defer to you the major decisions of life. In matters of relationship, financial commitments and the choice of career and academic pursuits, I commit them into your hands. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.