Genesis Chapter Thirteen, Lot Pitches His Tents Toward Sodom

[1] And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
[2] And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
[3] And 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;
[4] Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
[5] And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
[6] 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.
[7] And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
[8] And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
[9] Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
[10] And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
[11] Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[12] Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
[13] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
[14] And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
[16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
[17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
[18] Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Commentary on Genesis Chapter Thirteen

As we follow the life of this man, Abram, it becomes apparent that he is learning to worship this Great God who had called him out of the spiritual darkness which pervaded his birthplace, Ur of The Chaldees. It is easy to look at such a pillar of faith, as we now know him to have been, and lift him up in our thinking so that we fail to see his humanity. Abram was indeed a great man of faith, but he was most certainly a man just as you and I are.

He did have moments of doubt. He did have lapses in his trust in God. Yet he always found that the road to return unto God was open for him. At the beginning of this chapter, we find him walking that road which leads him back to the place of true worship of the One True God. It is written.

“And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
[2] And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
[3] And 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;
[4] Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”

(Genesis 13:1-4)

We are given a few details concerning this man which help us to discern the true nature of his character. He was a man of massive wealth. Wealth during the time of Abram was usually accepted as the aggregate sum of those items of value which were portable. Note that we are told that he had much gold and silver. He also had great flocks and herds. He was favored with a most beautiful wife who walked beside him. By all measurements which the world would use, this was a successful man! Take care to understand that Abram was one who chose to worship God in spite of his wealth and not in order to attain more, nor preserve what he already possessed. His journey took him back from Egypt to the altar which he had built in Bethel.

Note three things concerning the events before us. First take note that in his journeyings God had told him to leave his family members behind and go to the place of promise which God had prepared for him and all of his posterity. Why is this important? The fact that we find mention of his nephew, Lot, among the people who came back from Egypt tells us that he had not followed the commands of God in their totality. He had been practicing only partial obedience up to this point. The result of such a state of events is that there was strife among family members and their households so that it became necessary to part ways.

We are never told that Lot participated in the worship of God. We are told that his presence caused trouble. So often in our lives as we try to follow God, it is the members of our own families who become the greatest hindrances to such worship. I have seen many people that I have known over the years who have been shipwrecked in their faith by means of those who you would have expected to be among their greatest supporters. When God calls one to follow Him it is, sadly, far too often the case that family finds a reason to disapprove of the response of one who heeds that call. Most usually the conflict will arise concerning the clash of that which God desires, which is eternal in nature and expectation of reward, with the desires of some member of one’s family who is bound to the view of current things, which caters to the desires of the fleshly nature of man. It might be a mother or father who resists the idea that their son or daughter has been called for service as a missionary to a foreign society.

It might be a brother or sister who becomes jealous of the attention which is lavished upon the one called of God and therefore diverted from them. Whatever the reason for their objections you may be sure that it is rooted in a low view of God’s character and nature. They do not view God as being sovereign and having the full authority to direct His servants as He sees fit. Let us learn from Abram’s failure to fully separate from his family as he had been told to do by God. Such action always results in trouble of some sort.

In the case before us that trouble manifested itself through the “range wars “ which erupted between the herdsmen of Lot’s house and Abram’s household. Take note of the gracious efforts on behalf of Abram to make peace. It is written;

“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.
[7] And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
[8] And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
[9] Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

(Genesis 13:6-9)

In the society of that day, it was customary for the elder relative of any family encounter to choose how matters of this nature would be settled. In this case that would be Abram, for he bien the uncle would have had the right of first choice. In order to make peace, however, and to prevent the strangers who dwelt alongside of these two households from perceiving them as weak, Abram graciously deferred the choice in this thing unto his nephew.

Lot wasted no time in taking what he thought was the best and most profitable portion of the land before them. His interest was strictly in the ability to advance his earthly status as we see by the following verses.

“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 thou comest unto Zoar.
[11] Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[12] Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
[13] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.”

(Genesis 13:10-13)

In seeing only the allure to wealth, Lot failed to recognize the great and severe threat to the spiritual health of himself and all of his household. He placed them all adjacent to the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah without any mention of consulting with God. It is often the case that the pursuit of material wealth leads to giving God a back seat to any and all endeavors which are undertaken. Do not misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong in the possession of wealth in and of itself. When that becomes the thing which drives the direction of your life instead of the worship of God Himself your wealth has become an idol and taken the place of worship reserved only for God.

This is the status in which we see lot as he is revealed here before us. He has become an Idol worshipper. By contrast let us note that after Lot departed from Abram God once again spoke with Abram to reaffirm His covenant with Him. It is written;

“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
[16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
[17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
[18] Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

(Genesis 13:14-18)

Note that as long as Lot was present God did not converse thus with Abram. Let us mark the lesson here which is that as long as sin is tolerated within our lives, no matter what the source, God will not bless us as He would wish to do. As we go throughout the scriptures, we will have this principle affirmed repeatedly. It is not that God cannot bring about blessings and abundance in our lives. It is rather that we have chosen to allow those things and associations into our lives which cause the flow of His blessings to cease.

There are several things noted in this affirmation which are relevant to the world situation of our day, my friend. Note the following components of this covenant.

•  1. The land which Abram saw in every direction was given by God unto him.
  • 2. It was given as a perpetual inheritance to all of Abram’s progeny forever.
  • 3. The descendants of Abram would be innumerable.
  • 4. Abram was to traverse this land in every direction
  • 5. Abram responded immediately by removing his house from where Lot and he parted unto the plains of Mamre, which was the opposite direction that Lot had taken. This is important to note for in doing this he removed his household from the influence of the sinful lifestyle of the cities of the plain.
  • 6. When Abram had done as commanded the first thing he did was make provision for the worship of God by building an altar.

Let us ask ourselves what we are prone to do when facing those circumstances in life which require a decision from us as to the course of action we will take. Do we consider God first? Or rather do we calculate the benefits that we can see and touch before thinking of Him? It is sad but true that far too often lives have been ruined and the faith of many individuals has been shipwrecked due to such actions. Let us learn to model Abram in our consideration of events and in doing so allow God to take care of the results which we face.