Genesis 13
God called Abram (later called Abraham) out of his country, away from his people, and his father’s household to a land He would show him. God was asking a lot of Abram. Maybe some of you have actually done this and relocated to the other side of the world from your family and you know what sacrifices it takes. Undoubtedly, there were sacrifices for Abram to follow God into the unknown, but with God's call came some pretty special promises:
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on earth will be blessed through you.”
In Genesis 12, verses 4; 6-7, it says: “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him, and (his nephew) Lot went with him. . . Abram traveled through the land . . . at that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land”.
By the time we get to chapter 13, we read that Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold. Lot was also living on the land occupied by Abram, and he had his own flocks, herds, and tents, but the land couldn’t support all that livestock in the same area. So, probably not all that surprisingly, disputes began to break out between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen.
Remember, God had promised ALL that land to ABRAM and HIS descendants – which did not include Lot. To resolve the issue, Abram could have said, “Ew, this really isn’t working out for me Lot. Sorry, but God promised this land to me, so you’ll have to find someplace else to live. Let’s keep in touch though.” But he didn’t.
In chapter 13, verses 8-9, Abram does a VERY magnanimous thing. He says to his nephew Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left”.
Based on God’s promises to him, Abram had very good reason to stand on his right to choose FIRST, and no one would have questioned him. Probably not even Lot. But Abram didn’t choose first. He let Lot choose first, and choose he did.
13:10-13 “Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. . . SO Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.”
Lot, instead of deferring to his uncle as he should have, choose what he saw to be the BEST of the land, although he seemed not to see what God saw, and what would eventually be his downfall – the wickedness of the city of Sodom. (That is a story for another blog!)
13:14-17 Now it was God’s turn to be magnanimous – reminding me of Paul’s expression that God’s grace is not skimpy – it’s LAVISH!
“The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring FOREVER. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you!”
As an aside, if you wonder why Christians and Jews today are so concerned about what is going on in Israel, here is why. Abram, whose name God would change to Abraham, is called the Father of the Jews, because they trace their physical ancestry and these promises, including the land of Israel, which God gave to them as a possession FOREVER, back to this passage in Genesis, and to Abraham and his descendants.
Christians consider Abraham their father as well, but not through blood ancestry. We consider him our father in the faith because later (Gen. 15:6), God would say of him, “Abram believed God, and God credited it (his faith) to him as righteousness.” The Apostle Paul speaks about the importance of faith alone as the means by which we are declared righteous (as Abraham was) in Romans 3:21-24:
“But now, a righteousness FROM GOD, apart from law (dos and don’ts that we hope will make us right with God), has been made known. . . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified (declared righteous) freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
(The author of the NT book of Hebrews has a lot to say about Abraham’s faith as well, in chapter 11).
Back to my reason for landing on Genesis 13:
Why did this particular passage resonate so much with me today?
My husband is retiring in the middle of August. As far as major crises go, this really doesn’t rank up there with cancer, or losing a job, or a spouse, or even trying to keep your sanity with 3 toddlers underfoot – but I’m finding myself anxious about it. I’m more than a little ashamed to admit why because my reasons are TOTALLY selfish!
It’s actually my husband who is facing life without work after 42 years with the same company. He’s the one who is wondering what the future will hold because he’s going from working 40 hours a week down to none. He’s the one wondering how well we’ll manage on the retirement savings he’s squirreled away over the years. He's the one wondering where we need to downsize, and whether moving somewhere else would cut our living costs.
So what am I wondering about? How his retirement is going to affect MY life! I’m wondering whether I’m going to have to give up certain ministries so we can travel (not a bad thing, but I’m being stubborn about this). I’m wondering whether I’m going to have to cut down on expenses (I’m not a big spender, but I’m being stubborn about this too). I’m wondering whether he’s going to want to spend every minute with me and how it will affect my social life (is this selfish or what???). I'm wondering whether he's going to want to move because I don't want to move. Yada, yada, yada.
Does anyone else notice that faith in a totally faithful Heavenly Father, and in a totally faithful earthly husband, is suspiciously absent here????
I’ve mentioned before that the only devotional book I consistently use is Oswald Chamber’s, “My Utmost for His Highest” (in today’s English version!). It was today’s reading from this very passage about Abraham that sparked my thinking about Jim’s retirement, as well as the idea for this blog.
I’m always surprised that I AM surprised when the Lord takes something like today’s devotional written so long ago by Chambers, and the passage about Abraham which I've read many times before, and applies it to MY life right where I am TODAY! Who says God doesn’t speak, that He isn’t personal, that He doesn’t care about us?? God DOES speak clearly to my mind and life that I have no doubt that He IS alive, and well, and cares about me!
Chambers thoughts for the day are entitled, “The Good or the Best”.
He says, “As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you (In my case, things like ministries with women, teaching God's Word, and mentoring opportunities). These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you.
God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider (like Abram’s), if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.
Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.
Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God.”
My friend Andrea encouraged me yesterday as we prepared to pray about this to remember that even if the LORD’s plans could require me to let go of what I consider MY right to choose for myself what retirement should hold, He will begin working on my heart, actually causing me to WANT what He wants, so that saying yes to something new will be a joyful waiver of my rights, in favor of His best plan for Jim and for me.
I honestly do want the Lord to make my choice for me. However, He knows me better than anyone, and He has His work cut out for Him! He KNOWS how stubborn I can be!
Does any of this resonate with you?
Is there a place in your life where you’re stubbornly holding onto your RIGHT to choose?
Even though your choice might be a perfectly good one, are you willing to trust that if God is asking you to give up your rights and let Him choose for you, it's because He has a better plan – His BEST plan – if you’ll just let go of yours?
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