In verses 1-4, Abram and all he had left Egypt and returned to the south of Canaan and then to Bethel where he’d previously pitched his tent and the altar he had set up. He was very rich in what he had accumulated in Egypt, but it was clear that he should never have gone there. Disaster had loomed and things had gone wrong, but he came back to where he should have been and worshiped The LORD.
Whenever we go astray and whatever goes wrong, we must come back to the right place before God and worship Him. Abram came back to the start, the only place to be. Whatever we have done, we can always come back to God, just like the prodigal son (Luke 15). We may have to start at the bottom, but God will receive us upon our repentance.
Notice that Lot was still with him, and he had acquired flocks and herds and workers. They reached the point where there wasn’t enough room for them both and this caused arguments and strife as there were not only the two of them and all they had, but the Canaanites and Perizzites also still dwelt there (v5-7). The presence of Lot was never going to work as God had told Abram to leave his family. We can see that this did not go away even though Abram had done right by coming back to his rightful place.
The devil never lets us off the hook however much we try to be obedient to God. How much we need to trust the living God and resist the devil. We can only resist the devil when we trust in God.
The conflict between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen needed solving because their possessions were so great. Abram, the peacemaker, spoke gently to solve the problem. There wasn’t room for them both, so he gave Lot the choice (v8,9). Abram was the older and therefore, should have taken preference, but he gave that to Lot. Abram put his trust in God. “If you take the left, then I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.” God had made the promise to Abram so he knew he could rely on God to provide his needs. This shows that Abram had matured since he went to Egypt to provide for him when there was a famine, now he was relying fully on God.
Lot made his choice; he saw the plain of Jordan that it was well watered, and he went east. (v10-13) He pitched his tent in the cities of the plain, even as far as Sodom, who were exceedingly wicked and sinful. He obviously saw the best land and chose on that basis rather than what was good spiritually. Lot was going by sight, Abram by faith. We shall see as the story unfolds that Lot ended up with nothing but disaster.
There are lessons for us that if we choose the world, it will let us down. Scripture says that we should walk by faith, not by sight. Things of the world which we can see are only temporary but what we have through Christ Jesus are eternal.
Lot made his choice but listen to what The LORD said to Abram, what a difference! – “And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.”” (v14,15)
We see here that ‘faith can also be seeing.’ God told Abram to look in every direction and, as far as he could see, everything was his forever. What a difference! God repeats His promise. Maybe Lot had to leave him before this could happen even though Abram had given some land to Lot, however, that was only temporary.
God goes on to remind Abram that his descendants would be numberless (v16). What a promise to a childless man! Not only childless but a man aged over seventy-five with a wife only ten years behind him.
The LORD then tells Abram to survey the land (v17,18) “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.””
This was no mean feat for a man of his age. It was a huge area. During 2020/21 Coronavirus lockdowns, my wife and I (both aged over seventy) did a lot of walking as there was little else to do when we couldn’t meet up with others. I think we walked every avenue and road on our estate as well as elsewhere, a maximum of two miles a day was about all we could manage. This was nothing compared to the size of land given to Abram. I don’t know how long it took him. He moved his tent, perhaps it was like a hike each day, but we are told that he dwelt by the terebinth tree in Mamre in Hebron and built an altar there to The LORD. Mamre means ‘vision’ and Hebron ‘communion.’ This shows his commitment to The LORD.
We too, must walk with The Lord in close communion. We are encouraged to study His Word where we will find that He has provided for all our needs for life and eternity, and worship Him by our lives – as Paul says in Romans 12:1,2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
