Genesis 13 opens with Abram and his family’s departure from Egypt. They had acquired considerable possessions due to Sarai’s time with Pharaoh. While they were materially wealthy, their relationships with one another were strained to say the least.
So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:1).
Although Abraham prospered materially in Egypt, he likely sacrificed his integrity and the respect of his wife in the process. He gained wealth but missed an opportunity to demonstrate faith in God and trust with his family.
In our YouTube videos, Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage and others about Abraham. We explore how fulfilling God’s promises requires our cooperation and alignment with His will.
We find ourselves in dangerous territory when we attempt to achieve God’s promises through our own strength and ingenuity. Abraham’s return from Egypt demonstrated the consequences of relying on his own methods rather than trusting in God.
Back to the Altar
While there’s no record of Abraham building an altar in Egypt, upon his return to the area between Bethel and Ai, he came to an existing altar and worshiped God there.
He journeyed on by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first, and there Abram called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 13:3-4).
On my drives between New Orleans and my church in Mississippi, I often listened to a gravelly-voiced preacher from Beaumont, Texas. I recall him telling a story about a church where the pastor rode a bicycle down the aisle, promising a similar bicycle to any child who brought the most friends to Vacation Bible School.
The Beaumont preacher, his voice rising with fervor, exclaimed on the radio, “Since when is a bicycle more powerful than the power of Jesus?”
His point resonated with me: too often, churches resort to gimmicks and worldly methods to achieve their goals. We would be far better served to find an altar and seek God’s guidance and plan through prayer and worship.
An Open-Handed Offer
When Abram and Lot entered the land, they found that the grazing was not sufficient to sustain both herds. Abram generously offered Lot the first choice of pasture land.
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me and between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred.
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” (Genesis 13:8-9).
In his commentary on Genesis, Victor Hamilton suggests that Abraham’s generosity may have stemmed from his encounters with God at the altar. When we are connected to God and aligned with His purposes, we are more inclined to treat others fairly and with compassion.
Looked, Saw, and Chose
Just like Eve’s experience with the serpent in the garden, Lot looked, saw, and chose a place that would endanger his life and his family’s lives.
Lot looked about him and saw that the plain of the Jordan 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.
So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other (Genesis 13:10-11).
At this point in the account, we learn the true nature of Sodom: “Now the people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13).
Notice Lot’s gradual descent into sin, a pattern that mirrors our own struggles. Lot initially settled in the region near Sodom, then moved closer to the city (a point we’ll address later), and finally, by the time of Sodom’s destruction and the fracturing of his family, he was living in Sodom.
We often follow a similar path with sin. First, we approach it cautiously, then we draw nearer, and ultimately, we find ourselves fully immersed in it, often to our detriment.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
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