Genesis 13
Abram worshiped the LORD between Bethel and Aiverses 1-4
And Abram went up out of Egypt – he – his wife – all that he had
and Lot with him – into the south [Negev]
And Abram was very RICH in cattle – silver – gold
and he went on his journeys from the south [Negev] even to Bethel
to the place where his tent had been at the beginning
between Bethel and Hai
to the place of the ALTAR – which he had made there at the first
and there Abram called on the NAME of the LORD
Strife between herdsmen of Abram and Lotverses 5-7
And Lot also – who went with Abram had flocks – herds – tents
and the land was not able to bear them
that they might dwell together
for their substance was GREAT
so that they could not dwell together
And there was a STRIFE between the headsmen of Abram’s cattle
and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle
and the Canaanite and Perizzite dwelt in the land
Abram gives Lot choice between going left or rightverses 8-9
And Abram said unto Lot
Let there be no strife – I pray you – between me and you
and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen
FOR we are brethren
Is not the whole land before you?
separate yourself – I pray you – from me
IF you will take the left hand
THEN I will go to the right
or IF you depart to the right hand
THEN I will go to the left
Lot chose land near Sodomverses 10-13
And Lot lifted up his eyes – and beheld all the plain of Jordan
that it was well watered everywhere
BEFORE the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
even as the garden of the LORD
like the land of Egypt – as you come unto Zoar
THEN Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan – and Lot journeyed east
and they separated themselves the one from the other
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan
and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain
and pitched his tent toward Sodom
BUT the men of Sodom were WICKED and SINNERS BEFORE
the LORD exceedingly
LORD renews covenant with Abramverses 14-17
And the LORD said to Abram – after Lot was separated from him
Lift up now your eyes
and look from the place where you are
northward – southward – eastward – westward
FOR all the land which you see to you will I give it
and to your seed FOREVER
And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth
so that if a man can number the dust of the earth
then shall your seed also be numbered
Arise – walk through the land in the length of it and breadth of it
FOR I will give it to you
Abram moves to Hebron building third altar to the LORDverse 18
THEN Abram removed his tent
and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre – which is in Hebron
and built an ALTAR to the LORD
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. (3513 “rich” [kabed] means to be heavy, honorable, abundant, abounding with, or glorify)
DEVOTION: Sometimes we think that if we only had money all our problems would be over. The problem is sometimes even money can be a problem. Here we find two wealthy men. They had all the abundance they could want but there was no peace. With the gathering of wealth there can be a wrong attitude and a right attitude. The wrong attitude is being a miser. The right attitude is being a giver.
One commentator reminded us that it might not be because of obedience that Abram had this wealth. Remember he had lacked in the area of trust in Egypt. He had doubted the LORD’S provision if he had stayed in Canaan. Wealth doesn’t always show the blessing of God. It can show the LORD’S blessing to those who honor HIM with their wealth.
The Bible says that it is hard for a rich man to go to heaven. The reason is that people who are heavy with money usually depend on themselves and their money rather than the LORD. There are some people who can handle riches. Abram seemed to be one of those men. He kept close to the LORD with his wealth. He abounded with money. He was a wealthy man by today’s standard.
But he also built altars to the LORD wherever he lived. After he separated from Lot he moved to Hebron and built an altar there to the LORD. He wanted to worship the LORD wherever he lived.
We should want to worship the LORD wherever we live. Our family should always be in church. There are times of exception but it isn’t an excuse if we are on vacation or traveling. We can still find a church to worship in. Worship should always be a priority with followers of Christ today.
Christians who are abounding need to share their wealth with those less fortunate. There are many ways we can give offerings to the LORD. We can give to those who are hurting by doing it anonymously. We have had Christians leave money in our mailbox. We have had Christians put groceries on our doorstep without us seeing them doing it. Many have watched the LORD provide through HIS people in amazing ways. It is a good habit to help people anonymously at least once a month. God will bless all givers with a proper attitude with HIS wealth. The blessing can be in more ways than increased wealth.
Some in the past have made it a practice of giving more away then they kept. A pastor who is popular today has not taken a salary from his church in the last few years because of the money he has earned from his writings. He also gave the church back all the wages he earned from the time he began the church. Some have lived on ten percent and given the LORD ninety percent of their income. That is a gift from God.
We all need to give a portion of our wealth back to the LORD. That should be done each paycheck. Remember, in America, we are very wealthy compared to many countries in the rest of the world. Share the wealth willingly.
CHALLENGE: Find a family that needs help and help them anonymously. Abram was willing to give away the best land. He trusted the LORD to provide for him. God offers HIS second promise to Abram. All the land he can see.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we be brethren. (251 “brethren” [‘ach] means brother, blood relation, companion, fellow tribesman, countryman, kindred, relative, brother, ally, confederate, or any friend)
DEVOTION: We know that Abram and Lot were related by family. Lot was Abram’s nephew. Lot was his brother’s son. His brother had died and Abram took Lot under his wing.
Now both of them had accumulated wealth. They were living together in the same area and their servants started fighting with one another over water and grass for the animals.
Solution when family members are fighting is to separate. In this case they were to move to two separate areas with their possessions. Abram gave Lot the choice. Lot chose the land that looked the best.
Abram wanted the issue settled because he knew that the LORD was blessing him as he worshiped the LORD and called on HIS name. Abram was not perfect as we saw in the last chapter.
We need to realize that sometimes there are issues that can’t be settled in our churches. Some people just cause strife when they don’t get their way. We can approach them to settle the issue but they will not settle.
The solution some of the time is to separate into two separate groups. We are not to condemn the other group if they are genuinely trying to serve the LORD and biblically correct about the basic issues of the faith.
We can be allies in our fight against sin and rebellion as seen in the world. We can witness for the LORD in spite of the fact that we don’t agree completely on every issue of faith.
Those who are not Biblical on the basics of the faith need to be confronted on this issue. Those who have different views on personal convictions regarding some issues need to realize that they can still be allies but walking in a different direction.
CHALLENGE: Satan wants believers to fight with one another. Our responsibility is to pick essential issues that need to be held firmly while those that are not essential are held loosely. The Pharisees strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel (Matthew 23:24).)
: 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you come to Zoar. (1588 “garden’ [gan] means enclosure, a plot of ground where various plants (and sometimes trees) are cultivated, Garden of Eden, or a fenced in area)
DEVOTION: Lot was a young man who was given a choice between what he thought was good grass land and land that wasn’t so good for the eating of his herds. He didn’t see the whole picture.
Abram gave him a choice but understood what was involved in the choice. It wasn’t just the grass and the water it was a relationship with a relative and a relationship with the LORD.
Sometimes we don’t see the whole picture when we are about to make a choice in our life. We have to go to the LORD before we make a final decision regarding important issues in our life.
Things might look good at the beginning but we have to understand the consequences of our choices. Lot chose to get close to cities that wanted nothing to do with the LORD.
We might chose friends that are popular in our school or in our college but not realize that we are heading toward a weaker relationship with the LORD. Abram had taught Lot about a proper relationship with the LORD. Lot was not too concerned with that aspect of his life and it proved to be a great hindrance to himself and his family.
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to help you make the right choices no matter how small they may seem at the time. Learn to look at decisions from spiritual eyes and not just physical eyes.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto you. (1980 “walk” [halak] means 1 to go, walk, come. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away. 1a2 to die, live, manner of life (fig.). 1b (Piel). 1b1 to walk. 1b2 to walk (fig.). 1c (Hithpael). 1c1 to traverse. 1c2 to walk about. 1d (Niphal) to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: I used to get home from work, and the first thing my wife would ask me was whether I wanted to go with her for a walk in the evening. We both looked forward to our evening walks together where we could both get some exercise and also talk about the events of the day.
Isn’t it interesting that God compares the Christian life to a walk with Him? We first encounter this idea in Genesis 3, where God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden (Genesis 3:8). Now Abram, the man to whom God had made the promise about Canaan for his descendants, was challenged to walk through the land. This was not to be simply an exercise in physical activity, or even “shopping.” Instead, it was to be an activity hand-in-hand with God, where Abram was to step out in faith trusting God for all that he saw (Genesis 17:1).
This is similar to how we are to walk with God ourselves. We are to pace ourselves and spend time with God in fellowship. This is the walk that Jesus talked about and which is to characterize our lives as believers in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:4). The amazing thing is that God desires to spend time with us in fellowship in order to instruct us in how we are to live our lives. However, it involves activity with Him—God never compared our fellowship with Him as just sitting!
CHALLENGE: Are you making fellowship with God a top priority in your life? If not, plan on going for a walk with Him to find out what it is He wants you to do. (BM)
: 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar to the LORD. (167 “removed tent” [‘ahal] means to camp, move tent, tabernacle, house, habitation, place to place, or move a tent and put it up in another place as a movable residence.)
DEVOTION: Everywhere in the Promised Land that Abram lived he built an altar to worship the LORD. He knew that the LORD wanted sacrifices as part of his worship. He built a place to offer those sacrifices.
Part of his worship of the LORD was to call upon the name of the LORD. He talked with the LORD directly at times. He had a very personal relationship with the LORD. When he sinned the LORD corrected him with a conversation first and then the consequences of his sin.
Now Abram was living in an area that didn’t have a lot of grass or water but the LORD promised to bless him in that area. We need to realize that no matter what our circumstances the LORD can bless us in spite of what is going on around us. It is great to know that no circumstance can hinder the LORD blessing us.
There are times when we pick a seeming unimportant position because that is what we think the LORD is telling us to do it and see HIM work a miracle in that situation that brings blessing to us and to those around us.
Abram trusted the LORD in this situation and the LORD renewed HIS commitment to bless Abram and his descendants with the Promised Land as their possession.
CHALLENGE: Remember to always commit your way unto the LORD and watch HIM bless you.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Abram called on the name of the LORDverse 4
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Altarverse 4
Altar in Hebronverse 18
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORDverses 4, 10, 13, 14, 18
Name of the LORDverse 4
Before the LORDverse 13
LORD speaks to Abramverse 14
Promise to Abramverses 14-17
Altar unto the LORDverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Abramverses 1, 8, 12-18
Rich in cattle – silver –gold
Wanted no strife
Dwelt in land of Canaan
Promise
Dwelt in plain of Mamre = Hebron
Built altar to the LORD
Egyptverse 1, 10
Lotverses 1, 5, 10-12
Had flocks – herds – tents
Plain of Jordan: well watered
Before LORD destroyed
Sodom and Gormorrah
Garden of the LORD
Chose the plain of Jordan
Separated from Abram
Dwelt in cities of the plain
Pitched tent toward Sodom
Bethelverse 2
Haiverse 2
Abram was very richverse 2
Abram and Lot could not dwell togetherverse 6
Canaaniteverse 7
Perizziteverse 7
Abram and Lot = brethrenverse 8
Separation of Abram and Lotverses 9, 11
Men of Sodomverse 13
Wicked
Sinners exceedingly
Promise to Abramverses 14-17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Strifeverses 7, 8
Sodom and Gomorrahverse 10
Pitch tent toward Sodomverse 12
Wickedverse 13
Sinnersverse 13
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Worshipverse 4
Prayerverse 4
Promises from LORDverses 14-17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Abram’s seed foreververse 15
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Ver. 4. Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first, &c.] When he first came to that place, and before he went down to Egypt: it is not said he came to the altar, but to the place, where it had stood, for it seems now to have been demolished, either having fallen of itself, being made of earth, or had been destroyed by the Canaanites, since Abram left it; or perhaps it might be pulled down by Abram himself before he went from thence, that it might not be used and polluted by the idolatrous Canaanites. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord; prayed unto him, and gave him thanks for the preservation of him and his wife in Egypt; for the support of himself and his family there during the famine in Canaan; for the increase of his worldly substance, and for the protection of him, and all that belonged to him, in his journey from Egypt thither; and for all the instances of his grace, and the rich experiences of his goodness he had favoured him with; see the note on ch. 12:8 where the same form of expression is used. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 99). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
The second mark of a spiritual man is sanctification. Having referred to Abram’s worldly wealth, the record continues: “He went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai” (13:2–3). Separation and sanctification are two sides of the same coin. Sanctification is not so much “separation from” as it is “separation to.” It is being set apart for God. Abram, having fallen so badly in Egypt, now puts as much distance as possible between himself and the world. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 13:1–4). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
The third mark of a spiritual man is sacrifice. Abram came “unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord” (13:4). The tent symbolized Abram’s attitude toward this world. He was a pilgrim and a stranger, he would not put his roots down here, he would be ready to move at a moment’s notice in the will and at the leading of God. His altar symbolized his attitude toward the next world. He was ready for any sacrifice; he would offer up anything demanded of him by God. So he called on the name of the Lord, making up his mind that henceforth the lines of communication heavenward would be kept open. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 13:1–4). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
And we have stated elsewhere what is the force of the expression, ‘To invoke in the name,’ or, ‘To call upon the name of the Lord;’ namely, to profess the true and pure worship of God. For Abram invoked God, not twelve times only, during the whole course of his life; but whenever he publicly celebrated him, and by a solemn rite, made it manifest that he had nothing in common with the superstitions of the heathen, then he is also said to have called upon God. Therefore, although he always worshipped God, and exercised himself in daily prayers; yet, because he did not daily testify his piety by outward profession before men, this virtue is here especially commended by Moses. It was therefore proper that invocation should be conjoined with the altar; because, by the sacrifices offered, he plainly testified what God he worshipped, in order that the Canaanites might know that he was not addicted to their common idolatries. (Calvin, J., & King, J. (2010). Commentary on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis (Vol. 1, pp. 368–369). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)
Verse 4. Abram returns to the place of his altar in Bethel. In like manner Christian settlements, towns, and villages, cluster around their churches. — (Lange.)
Tent and altar were now in his mind as he had enjoyed them at first. We remember our sweet home and our sweet church after we have roamed in a land of exile. We yearn to get back to where we have enjoyed the dear circle of our family, and that of our Christian brethren—where we have lived, and where we have worshipped. Because it was Bethel, he loved it, even as the house of God (Ps. 84:1, 2).—(Jacobus.)
Coming to the altar, and calling upon the name of the Lord, regard—I. Public religion. 1. The witness to, and confession of God before men. 2. The missionary element. By such an action Abram was spreading the knowledge of God amongst men. True religion must be aggressive and make war upon the enemy’s camp. The patriarch’s office was to generate faith in others. II. Private religion. 1. Confessions of sin. God cannot be approached directly, but by some way of mediation. This implies that man has sinned, and has no longer access to God except by a way of mercy which God Himself appoints. 2. Supplication for forgiveness. The altar implies that God is offended by the sin of man, and, therefore, His mercy must be sought. 3. The necessity of sacrifice to propitiate the Divine favour. The stroke of justice must fall upon the sinner’s substitute. The life sacrificed upon the altar is accepted instead of that of the suppliant. Our altar is the cross. 4. The revival of the spirit of adoption. Abram had lost that clear sense of the Divine acceptance which he once enjoyed, and now he seeks to recover it by returning to the place where God at a former time met him in mercy.
Every time we come to God, even though we may have to do so in great penitence and humiliation, we renew our strength.
He who first gave us our spiritual life is necessary afterwards to sustain it.
The soul of the believer has its true home in the house of God, where His glory is manifested. By the strength and beauty of the Divine presence he enjoys there his own home, and the whole scene of his life becomes consecrated.
The manner in which “the place of the altar” is mentioned, seems to intimate that he chose to go thither, in preference to another place, on this account. It is very natural that he should do so; for the places where we have called on the name of the Lord, and enjoyed communion with Him, are, by association, endeared to us above all others. There Abram again called on the name of the Lord; and the present exercises of grace, we may suppose, were aided by a remembrance of the past. It is an important rule in choosing our habitations, to have an eye to the place of the altar. If Lot had acted on this principle, he would not have done as is here related of him.—(Fuller.) (Exell, J. S., & Leale, T. H. (1892). Genesis (pp. 251–252). New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through man’s negligence or ill-will or anger, still it is, in even the least circumstance, to us the will of God [italics mine]. For if the least thing could happen to us without God’s permission, it would be something out of God’s control. God’s providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and love. (p. 67 Mary Wilder Tileston, Daily Strength for Daily Need, Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1884)
2 Kings 7
Israel is delivered from Aram.
INSIGHT
While we must be careful about “spiritualizing” what we read in the Old Testament and making it say something it doesn’t, there is at least an excellent illustration in the defeat of the Aramean army relating to the message of the Gospel today. The lepers are lost and starving and come upon abundance adequate for their own welfare as well as the welfare of all others. They realize it is wrong to keep it to themselves, and they go out to tell others. The same is true of the Gospel of Christ. Those of us who have had our needs met by Him cannot be satisfied keeping it to ourselves — we must tell others. (Quiet Walk)
THE PRAYER FOR POWER
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
Exodus 33:13-15
In Moses’ prayer he prayed for power. God said to Moses, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” And Moses said to God, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”
This prayer for power is always in evidence in the history of the church prior to revival. This is the end of which the intercessors always become most conscious, and there are many reasons for this. [Moses’ prayer included] the Israelites’ awareness of the magnitude of the problem confronting them, the strength of the enemy that they were going to meet, the powerful nations in the land of promise—the Amalekites and others—and the tremendous task of occupying a land. Here they were, just a kind of nomadic people traveling along like this, and they were going to settle a land and conquer it and make their homes there. And suddenly they became aware of the immensity of the problem.
I have to emphasize this because to me there is nothing so tragic about our position today as the obvious failure of so many people to realize the magnitude of the problem that confronts us. If we only realized the magnitude of the problem, there would be no need to urge prayer for revival. But our eyes seem to be shut. “Everything is going well,” we say. “Look at the reports. Marvelous. Look at the activities. Is all not well?”
A Thought to Ponder
Prayer for power is always in evidence in the history of the church prior to revival.
(From Revival, p.180, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Love of the Father for the Son
“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35)
The gospel of John, in a special sense, emphasizes the love in the divine Trinity of the heavenly Father for the Son. The words “love” and “Father” and “Son” occur more in this book than in any other book of the Bible, and there are at least eight references to this love in John’s gospel.
The first is in our text above, revealing that the Father has entrusted the care of the whole creation to the Son whom He loves. He has also shown Him everything in creation: “For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth” (John 5:20).
The Father also loved the Son because of His willingness to die for lost sinners. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17).
Then in the upper room, as Christ prayed to His Father, it was revealed that this divine love had existed in eternity and therefore must be both the root and the measure of all forms of true love ever since. “Father…thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Parental love, marital love, filial love, love of country—all types of genuine love—are derived ultimately from this eternal love of the Father for the Son.
And it is this love that can also be in us, if we will have it. “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you….If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:9-10).
It was thus He prayed (and still prays) for us: “That the world may know that thou…hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.…And…that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:23, 26).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
And the second is like it” “Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” In other words, love is the foundation for character and action. This love is not the emotional giddiness or experiential feelings that often characterize our view of relationships and spirituality today. Instead, this love is a commitment of the will that results in self-sacrifice and the desire to serve others. It is a love that is grounded in obedience rather than emotions.
(p.104, Developing Leaders for the Small Church by Glenn C. Daman)
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