seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 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.”
10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 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. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.Lot also, who went with Abram: God commanded Abram to leave his family behind when he came to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1), but Abram brought his nephew Lot along with him. Trouble like this was the result.
Their possessions were so great: There was a great difference between the riches of Abram and the riches of Lot. They both had great wealth, but Lot’s wealth possessed him. Abram had great possessions, but they did not possess him.
All the land which you see I give to you: God also wanted to remind Abram that even though Abram had been generous enough to grant some of the land to his nephew Lot, God still said the land belonged to Abram.
Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you: As a token of Abram’s reception of the land by faith, God wants Abram to explore the land of promise, to walk through it as if it were his, though he did not have a record of ownership to the land yet.
In case you missed it... I made the text on verse 10 to remind us where we are. This is Abram, Sarai, and Lot after being thrown out of Egypt. This is before God destroyed Sodom.They were thrown out of Egypt because Abram fed Pharaoh a lie and got caught. Before he got caught, however, he amassed a huge fortune in livestock and slaves. Lot caught up quite a lot of wealth himself. So, we've got two rich guys and a beautiful woman and now they are arguing with each other over how to divide the land God gave Abram so they can keep their wealth separated.
Now the commentary wants us to go back and look at chapter 12 verse 1.
Genesis 12:1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
That means.... leave everyone behind except for Sarai....
So given the choice, Abram "chose" to bring his nephew Lot along. After all, Lot was like his son. Given the choice.... Abram chose to do as God instructed him, but he also took Lot.... and look where it got him.Lot and Abram started fighting over wealth and possessions.
Check out verse 13. The people in Sodom were already mean. They were not from Shem's side of the family like Abram and Lot.... they were from Ham's side of the family... they were from Canaan's family. They owned the land before Abram and Lot came along with all their possessions. Lot "chose" to take that side of the valley... near Sodom... and Abram took the valley closest to Hebron.
Check out verse 17. God gave Canaan to Abram.
Let me remind you.... Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem.... Israel and Gaza.... are all in the land originally settled by Canaan, the offspring of Ham, one of Noah's three sons.... and given to Abram by God.
All of Canaan was given to Abram by God.
