Genesis 13--Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13 English Standard Version (ESV)
​LISTEN:  https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Gen.13

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

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Remember when I said that it was going to be a problem when Abram took Lot with him even though God didn't specifically tell him to do so?  We start to see some of the consequences of that decision here.  Both Abram and Lot were wealthy in their own rights and had lots of animals and servants that they needed to feed and have water for.  It appears that the land of the Negev (Negeb in the ESV) desert could not support both clans and that it was necessary for them to part ways, both to avoid conflict with each other and probably for the survival of both clans.

But there was another reason they needed to split that probably Abram didn't understand.  God needed the two of them to part ways because God never intended Lot to be the recipient of the blessing that He was about to give Abram--in fact it looks like God was waiting for this event to occur, because God immediately reminds Abram of what we would call the Abrahamic covenant as soon as they separate, and God promises all of the land, even the good land that Lot chose for himself, to Abram and his descendants.  All Abram needed to do was obey God and wait on His timing for His promises were sure, even if they didn't come true in Abram's lifetime.

Abram seems to know that God is going to take care of him and fulfill His promises to Abram no matter what choice Lot makes, and Abram lets Lot make both the "cut" (where the dividing line would be) and the choice of which parcel he wanted for himself so that there would be no conflict and no way for Lot or his descendants to say that somehow Abram took what was best and left them with the leftovers.  This is a lesson on conflict resolution for all of us (though not the main point of the passage), that we need to be willing sometimes to let others take advantage of us knowing full well that God is going to deliver on His promises.  We've seen this philosophy continue to play out throughout the history of the Israeli people in "land for peace" agreements.  Some would wonder why the Hebrew people would be willing to trade their God-given land for the hope of peace and why they would let their enemies make the "cut" and the choice, much like Abram let Lot do here?  Well, I think the principle is the same that the land belongs to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob no matter what.  When God comes back and draws the boundary lines they will be just as He promised, all God's people need to do is wait patiently on God's timing for God to fulfill His covenant.

Let's take a moment and look at the choice that Lot made and why God seems to indicate that Lot chose poorly.  He chose the land of the Jordan River Valley because it was lush and green and had plenty of pasture and water for his animals.  It reminded him of the fertile land that he used to live in (what many archaeologists call "The Fertile Crescent") which the author here refers to the garden of the Lord (The Garden of Eden) and The Nile River Valley (remember that they were just living in Egypt right before moving back into the Negev desert).  His choice is more than understandable when looking at the resources, but in this choice, God allows Abram and his family to be protected from the wickedness that lies in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot would eventually move to.  If Lot had considered the moral ramifications of his choice he would have ignored what his eyes saw and stayed as far away from the Canaanites as possible.  God's evaluation of Lot's new neighbors?  "Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord."  With a reputation like that you would think it would be a sign to stay away, yet we see that even though Lot will compromise in some ways, we will earn from the New Testament that he was still seen as a righteous man by God as he did not participate in the wickedness of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah and he was "greatly distressed" to live among the wickedness of these men and that "he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard"  (See 2 Peter 2:  6-8).

The scene shifts back to Abram and God speaks directly to him to remind Abram of the covenant He's made with him.  God also gets a little more specific and tells Abram that everywhere that he can see to the north, south east and west will belong to him and his descendants, no matter what Lot chose that day.  Then God reminded Abram of the promise of descendants and said they would be as vast as the dust of the earth and if anyone could ever count all the dust particles, then they would be able to count his descendants (we know only God knows this, but it's not possible for any man to count something so vast).  Then Abram is told to get up and inspect the land which God has just deeded to him.  And once again, Abram returns to the oak tree at Mamre at Hebron, where he was at before leaving for Egypt and builds and altar there.  While we will see Abram move around from this place from time to time, we will never again see him leave the land that was promised to him and he will always return "home" to this very spot

We're going to see Lot one more time (next chapter) and then we won't hear about him again for a while, but don't worry, he'll be back.  Remember though, this is not the story of Lot, this is the story of Abram who will very soon be named Abraham.  What we do know of Lot seems to indicate that while he may have been a righteous man, he did not teach his children to be God-fearing and raised them in a culture that turned their hearts towards the false gods and the wickedness of the Canaanites that they lived among.  I think I can say that with confidence because of what we're going to see from Lot's daughters in the future and his descendants (ever heard of the Moabites and the Ammonites)?  These descendants, along with the descendants of Ham, specifically the Canaanites, will be the enemies of the the house of the house of Israel throughout most of the biblical history.