Genesis 13:1-18 • Range war!

► Sometimes in life, when mistakes are made, it often is best to go back to the point where things were right and re-evaluate the choices made, and then determine a new course. Or maybe just stay put until it's clear what you need to do. I've often selected a road to explore that gets worse and worse by the mile until I'm at a point where I have to decide if it's time to turn around before I get stuck.

Genesis 13:1-18 → 1So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

► So Abram, his tail tucked between his legs, heads back north. A lot wiser (hopefully) AND a lot richer. I can't help but think that even with the increased wealth, that Abram is not feeling wealthy, but is humbled. Sure, he made a ton of money, but at what cost? And this is the first time we realize that Lot has been a witness of this entire debacle.

2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. 3He 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, 4to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

► So Abram goes back to where he started at Bethel, the house of God (Hebrew → beth = house; el = God). And Abram gets his focus right, and worships. His wealth wasn't what was important - it was his relationship with God that came back to primary focus.

5Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7And 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.

► But others were not focused on God. They were focused on the stuff. And sides were being formed. Almost like Paul had to deal with in 1 Corinthians 1:12 → "12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” The divisions between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen was growing. Lack of sufficient grazing land, and even camping land was creating strife or contention between the 2 groups. When verse 7 mentions the "Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land", I'm not sure why that is mentioned, but I can guess at two ideas - 1; that these are the actual current residents of this land who are also vying for land for their animals as well - and/or - 2; that they are witnessing this squabble between this ever-growing family, this family that has a direct connection to the Creator, giving a bad testimony of God.

8So 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. 9Is 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.”

► Abram, his focus on ending the strife, takes the high road. He gives Lot the first pick. "Whatever you want, Lot, you pick, and I'll take what's left over." This is not like offering someone their choice of the last two steaks on the grill. Or which of the last two slices of pizza in the box. Success or failure could significantly depend on the choices made today.

10Lot 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. 11So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD.

► Lot chooses the uber green grassy lowlands around the Dead Sea. We know it today as a barren wasteland, but before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, we are told in this passage that this valley was considered as verdant as the garden of Eden. So Lot chooses. He picks the bigger steak. He picks the bigger piece of pizza. But did he make the right choice? We'll find out later that Lot brought a lot of hardship into his life with this selection, but we'll deal with that in later passages.

► Abram basically stayed where he was for the moment, in the highlands of Canaan.

14The 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; 15for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16I 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. 17Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”

► Once Lot and his entourage are gone, God visits Abram. The Lord reiterates His promise to Abram about the land, and helps Abram to visualize it by telling him that everything he can see in all directions, God will give to Abram and his descendants FOREVER. God also reiterates the immensity of Abram's future family, that they can't even be numbered. All of this promised to a man who is already old and childless. And then God tells Abram to go on a walkabout. "Check it out kid; it's all yours!"

18Then 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.

► So while Lot has moved east, then south, and settled himself amongst the "men of Sodom (who) were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD.", Abram moves south to Hebron, which is approximately 30 miles away. And there Abram once again worships God.

► It seems like Abram is now a changed man. And I'm sure he is. With each personal connection with God, it feels like Abram is being molded into a man who could represent the character and qualities of God. Any who have read ahead in Abram's story will know that he will fail again, and keep doing so. But the Lord keeps working with him. Confronting him with his failures, challenging him to stay strong, encouraging him that despite his mistakes, God will still honor His promises to him.

► When I first became a believer, I too struggled with failures. I still do. But at first I kept thinking that maybe I missed a line in that prayer. Or maybe I didn't keep my eyes closed while praying it (actually, my eyes were open the whole time, because I prayed that first prayer while I was driving home from high school!). I expected that when I gave my life to Jesus, that I would literally be a new creature without the capacity for sin, but alas, I found, as I'm sure many others also have, that I'm free from the penalty of sin, but not from the propensity for it. So I live each day, in dread of the next screw up, embarrassed and humbled when it happens, but confident and joyful in the eternal grace of God that I received by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

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Photo • 8/18/2023 - Sunset at Buckley Ponds, near Bishop, CA

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”