1 - 4 Abram Back at Bethel
1 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.
After his deviation and humbling lessons Abram returns to Bethel. It is said so remarkable: “The place where his tent had been at the beginning … the place of the altar which he had made there formerly.” If we deviate and the Lord makes that clear to us, we must always return to the place where we last were with the Lord.
Again Abram there calls “on the name of the LORD”. He will have done so with a deeper understanding of the grace of God. Every fall in our life followed by a restoration increases our admiration for God. Not that it doesn’t matter when we deviate. Deviation also has other consequences, also for others. We see that in the case of Lot in the following verses.
5 - 7 Strife
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.
When Abram left Egypt, Pharaoh gave him a lot of livestock (Gen 12:16). His nephew Lot also goes with him. Lot is not a man with own power of faith. He follows the faith of his uncle. He also is very wealthy. Their wealth becomes the cause of strive between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. That is not a good thing. It is telling that it says in verse 7 that the Canaanite and Perizzite dwell in the land at that time. It means, as it were, that the world is watching the outbreak of strife between these foreigners.
The devil and the world see with gloating the strives between people who profess to be strangers on earth. Especially when it is also a strive about earthly things. Paul points out to the Corinthians that they should not stand up for their rights in such matters (1Cor 6:7b). The Lord can allow fraternal disputes to see in what mind they are resolved.
8 - 13 The Choice of Lot
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.
Abram, the eldest of the two and also the uncle of Lot, gives Lot the first choice. Abram is not standing on his right. Lot does not take the humblest place, but accepts this offer with both hands. We are informed about his considerations. He looks at everything according to his own advantage, which choice gives him the most benefit. With him it is about an immediate pleasure. With Lot, there is no future-oriented thinking. He is the man who lives for here and now. His heart follows his eyes, just like with Eve.
Lot sees the valley of the Jordan as if it is a paradise. But, it says, it also looks like the land of Egypt. Lot has joined Abram in his deviation to Egypt. He who relies on the faith of another person will fall into the mistakes of that other person. Abram learned lessons from his deviation to Egypt. Lot does not show that he has learned lessons from his deviation. The valley reminds him of Egypt. It seems that he has been overwhelmed by what he saw. That is why he chooses the valley of the Jordan.
A sideways lesson is that the deviation of Abram has caused Lot to get the taste of Egypt. Parents should take that lesson to heart. If they deviate and love the world for some time, but are then restored by God’s grace and give up the world again, it may be that their children have gotten the taste of the world and stay in it.
Lot then moves to live close to Sodom, as it were under the smoke of the city, a smelly smoke. The wickedness of that city is indicated, as a preparation for the history in Genesis 19. All men are sinners. But there is a difference in wickedness (cf. Rev 20:12). God says of the people in Sodom that they are “wicked exceedingly and sinners”. This they are proverbial (Isa 3:9; Eze 16:49), but Lot seems to be insensitive to it. The way down has been taken by him. Later he lives in Sodom, in a house – the tent has disappeared – and is even part of the city council – he is in the gate.
He settles in the city on which God’s judgment comes. He helps them to build it up, because he sees a future for it. But he loses everything, it all perishes in judgment. He does save his body, but he ends his life in the darkness of a cave and in acts that arouse disgust. He lets himself get drunk and begets Israel’s enduring enemies with his own daughters.
A practical application can be made when we face the choice of changing jobs, moving, or which school we let the children go to. What then are our considerations, the criteria of assessment? Do we have an eye for the moral and religious atmosphere that prevails somewhere? Do we think future-oriented, that is to say that we look beyond life on earth? Do we have in mind the spiritual well-being of our family, or only the social well-being?
14 - 18 The Part of Abram
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.
Abram gives Lot the choice. Is he the one who is worst off? No. Now that he is free from Lot, the LORD comes to him. And He shows him something! Lot himself has lifted up his eyes (verse 10), but the LORD tells Abram to lift up his eyes. Then he doesn’t see a small part of the land, but the whole land. He not only sees it now, but also gets a look into the future: his offspring, who cannot be counted, will also live there.
First he gets to see everything and then he can enjoy it. He is allowed to walk about the land in all its vastness. By going on walking he takes possession of it, as it were. So it is for us with regard to our spiritual blessings. We may know that we own them, but by engaging in them, examining them in Scripture under prayer, we will practically take them into our possession and enjoy them.
Abram is not offered a choice – he may see what the LORD has chosen for him (Psa 47:4a). Then you’re fortunate! That is the reward for being dependent on God. Lot wants to have everything and loses everything, Abram leaves everything and gets everything. Whoever leaves the choice to God never will be disappointed (Psa 22:5b).
Abram does not settle at Sodom, but at Hebron. “Hebron” means ‘fellowship’. Abram lives in fellowship with God. Again he builds an altar to worship the LORD. All we have enjoyed of the spiritual blessings God has given us will lead us to worship its Giver.