Read: Genesis 13
At the end
of chapter 12, Abram was sent out of Egypt.
Now we see him returning to Bethel, the place where he had made an altar
back in Genesis 12:7. It was here that
Abram called upon the Lord (v. 4). Abram
was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold so that the land could not
support both him and Lot (v. 2, 6).
This caused strife between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot (v. 7); there
was not enough room for both of them.
Abram suggests that they go their separate ways and he humbly agrees to
let Lot make the first choice (v. 9).
Lot chooses the Jordan Valley, near Sodom, so Abram settled in the land
of Canaan (v. 11-12). Lot chose the
Jordan Valley because it was well-watered, apparently it did not matter to him
that the inhabitants in that area were wicked (v. 13). In 2 Peter 2:7-8 we read that Lot was
distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men, living among them day after day,
tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds which he saw and
heard. Eventually judgment came to this
area and Lot lost some of his own family as a result (see Gen. 19:26).
In verses
14-17, Abram receives a revelation and a promise from the Lord. God tells Abram that He will give him and his
offspring ALL the land to the north, south, east and west, FOREVER. This is significant because when God says
FOREVER, He means FOREVER! Even though
throughout history God has temporarily removed the Jews from the land of Israel
as a punishment for their sins, He has always considered the land of Israel to
be their rightful inheritance because of His covenant with them (see Gen. 17:8,
Heb. 6:18, Prov. 105:8-11, 1 Chron. 16:15-18).
God also promises to increase Abram numerically into a great multitude
(v. 16). God invites Abram to walk
through the land (v. 17) so Abram moved his tent to Mamre, near Hebron, and
again we see Abram’s response to God as he builds and altar of worship (v.
18).
Prayer and Journaling
1. Lot
selected the lush and best land, sacrificing reverence for worldly
advantage. Later in Genesis we the
consequences of this choice as Lot lost all his possessions and his wife in the
land that appeared to be better. We must
not make decisions with physical eyes but with spiritual eyes. The choices that we make today can have big
consequences later in life and they usually affect our kids in some way. What may look like a good option now may have
dire consequences later in life. Pray
for the Lord to give you spiritual eyes when making decisions. Pray that you would not decide based on
material and earthly things but based on future spiritual rewards. Pray that Christians would give up worldly
thinking and desires so that they can live godlier lives and make godlier
choices.
2. God
has not rejected His people, the Jews.
They still exist today in the land that He gave them thousands of years
ago. In the news we hear of much
conflict between the Arabs and the Jews over this little piece of land. Many wars are fought even today over this
land which God has given to the Jews. As
Christians, we must support God’s ways and His desires, even when they are
politically incorrect. Pray for Israel
to stand strong in the midst of pressure to give up the land. Pray that many
Jews would accept Jesus as the Messiah and make Him the Lord of their
lives. Pray that the church across the
world would stand with Israel and support them as a nation. Ask the Lord to grow in you a heart of love
and compassion for the nation of Israel and for the Jewish people.
