Moving towards evil S1E71 Gen 13:1
Moving towards somewhere: evil; holy land; toward God or away
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 dwellingtogether; 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.
Lot: nephew with no father; took the big half of the sandwich—the better land. If you have ever been to American west, Israel or any other desert: Water is of primary importance. Grabs the Jordan river valley which was reminiscent of the GARDEN OF THE LORD. Like EDEN!
Was wealthy because of Abram. Flocks and herds and TENTS---people
Pastoralist settling in the cities of the valley
Nearly get him killed, captured
“Moved his tent toward Sodom” the men of Sodom were wicked, GREAT sinners against the Lord.
By ch 14 Lot is dwelling IN SODOM
I don’t think you can say, “ OH, I didn’t know”
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.
When is Abram?
He was 75 when he first came to this exact location
Detour down to Egypt because of famine and wife giving away
He is maybe less than 85 years old now (next marker is 85 with Ishmael, 100 with Isaac)
Where is Abram?
In what we’d call Israel today
By the Oaks of Mamre, Hebron
West of the dead sea, south of Jerusalem
LAND: absolute association with acreage.******
See this earth
Step this earth, walk it, I will give it to you
Seed this earth: progeny 0
Whose is Abram
The Lords.
The Lord SAID TO ABRAM
I will give to you AND TO YOUR OFFSPRING
Builds another Altar
Whose are Abram’s?
Nobody. No children.
Promise and the pretend, 10 years ismael
Promise and the trueProgeny 25 years. Isaac
How many are Abram’s going to BE? Like the DUST; no one can count.
Conclusions:
From Lot: remember your identity: who you are. Who you belong to. How you got to where you are.
Do not move toward evil the evil of Sodom. Move tent AWAY.
Flee youthful passions
Don’t INCH toward Sodom, evil sexual or other wise
From Abram:
Trust in the promises of God before you see them.
Take interest and care in the people the Lord gives you PHYSICALLY, or relationally or spiritually. Who is your “family
Build an altar of thanksgiving for who you have: LORD
For what you have; for who is coming next physical spiritual children
Be like Abram: move TOWARD that which the Lord give, those which Lord gives, and Lord Himself
