Genesis 13
This
is the first account of a trilogy of Abram/Lot stories.
In
13:2-18 Abram gives Lot the good land
In
14:1-24 Abram delivers Lot from captivity
In
18:16-19 Abram delivers Lot from destruction
Lot’s
character is passive and shallow. He
makes bad decisions that become worse.
This is because Lot:
- Has lack of vision of
the big picture, or the God’s goal for his life. Lot
can’t see the forest because he is starring at the trees.
- Is distracted by the
glitter and glamour of the temporal world.
Lot does not realize that
everything that glitters is not gold.
- Does not have the
foresight to see disaster or judgment coming. Lot
keeps jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Abram
has all of these:
- A vision for his
future
- Priorities that guide
him past the temporal glories
- The ability to avert
disasters before they over take him
Lot
is an example of a politician. A
politician makes policy based on popularity and what’s best for the moment
right now.
Abram
is an example of a statesman. A
statesman bases their decisions on a vision of the future and policies are
based in foresight of future advantages.
Lot
is important to Abram because Lot is the heir
of Terah’s lineage.
Terah
had three sons:
- Abram who is
childless
- Nahor who stayed in Chaldea
- Haran who had the only grandson – Lot
Before
Abram and Lot separated Lot was Abram’s
heir.
After
Lot Abram’s heir will be Eliezer of Damascus.
When
Abram has his son Ishmael then Ishmael becomes Abram’s heir.
But,
God’s plan is for Abram to have the promised son through Sarah, Isaac.
Lot
disqualifies himself from the promised land just like
Ishmael and Esau will
Lot
will choose to go east like Adam and Eve, Cain, and the people who settled Babel.
Both
Lot and Abram will lift up their eyes to see.
Lot
will look up to see with human view point and take the best land now.
Abram
will look up to see with divine view point and trust God’s promises
13:2-5
Abram
retraces his steps to get back in fellowship with God after his errors during
the famine.
Abram
desires to recover with God.
Abram
returns to the place of worship between Bethel
and Ai.
Abram’s
altar is still there which signifies the permanence of God’s promises
Abram’s
renewed faith is demonstrated or seen in these:
- Retraced steps to get
back to where he last heard from God
- Renewed the altar to
restore fellowship with God
- Abram then sends Lot away
- Abram is generous to Lot and gives him the first choice.
- Abram can accept
second best because with God’s blessing it will become the best
- Abram has faith in God’s
provision (Gn.14:22)
- Lot “quarrels”; Abram “resolves”
- Abram calls them
“brothers” and offers a peaceful solution when he could have had a war
![Abram returns from Egypt](../../ot_maps/map_imgs/15_gn.13.1.jpg)
13:6-7
“rib” is Hebrew for “quarreling”. It eventually refers to a legal conflict in
the Hebrew language. Here it indicates
the ingratitude of Lot. Lot is
blessed by being with Abram. But Lot will lose his possessions, his good land is destroyed
and he will end up in a cave.
13:10-11
Similar
words in these verses as the words of chapter 3 (Eve and tree) and chapter 6
(sons of God and daughters of men): saw, watered, garden, destroyed, chose,
whole/all, east.
Lot
will lose:
- the well watered land which is consumed with fire.
- the herdsmen who
quarreled will soon be unemployed and then destroyed
- the wealth he had
while with Abram
13:11
Lot
lived among the cities. Abram lived in
the land.
Sodom and Gomorrah were part of the Pentapolis, or the five cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar (Gn. 14:2)
![Abram and Lot Part](../../ot_maps/map_imgs/16_gn.13.1.jpg)