ABRAHAM AND LOT

“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 13:18).

 

“And the LORD appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre.” (Genesis 18:1).

 

Abram (whose name means “exalted father”), who God later named Abraham (“father of a multitude”), is considered to be the father of Jews, Arabs, and Christians alike.  Jews and Arabs both trace their natural lineage back to him – the Jews through Abraham and his wife Sarah, and the Arabs through Abraham and his wife’s maidservant Hagar.  To Christians, however, he is the father of faith through his spiritual seed Jesus Christ.  It was the fact that Abraham believed God that set him apart from others in his generation.  Faith, therefore, and not natural lineage, is the thing that qualifies a person to be a child of Abraham.  As the scripture teaches, “...Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6).

 

After the death of his father, Abraham received these words and these promises from God: “…Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3).  These promises were conditional on Abraham leaving his country, his kindred, and his father’s household, and removing to a land that God would make known to him.  This was a big ask and a huge step of faith.  He was to forsake everything he knew up to that time and embrace a new life that he didn’t yet know anything about.  He didn’t even know at first where he was going!  This is reminiscent of Jesus’ call to the fishermen on the shores of Galilee.  The Lord’s expectation was that they drop their nets, leave their father, and follow Him into the unknown.  He, in turn, would teach them to be fishers of men.  They didn’t question God, but simply followed, walking in the faith of their ancestor Abraham. 

 

For Abraham, this would be the first act of separation that God would ask him to make in obedience to His call.  There would be other calls to separation in his path with God.  They would set him apart from others who would only pay lip service to God, but would not follow where He was leading.  Jesus expressed the same principle of separation when He told His disciples, “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26, 27).  Jesus was not suggesting that His disciples have nothing to do with their families, but rather that they not allow them to influence their walk with God.  Family members who do not know the Lord will very often try to dissuade us from doing what we know God has spoken to us to do.  Their motivation may be from loving concern, but it can derail the plan that God has for our lives.  We must, therefore, be firm in our convictions, not just around those who hate us, but also around those who love us.

 

Speaking of the principle of separation, Paul included our association with unbelievers and idol worshippers also.  He said, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial [Satan; the devil]? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).  As believers, we are the temple of the Holy Ghost and have invited God to come and dwell in our hearts by faith.  It is there that we worship Him in spirit and in truth.  Unbelievers, on the other hand, have packed their “temples” with a host of worldly things that they worship and cherish above the one true God.  Their idols consume their thoughts, their labors, and their devotion.

 

Paul’s exhortation also applies to the ones we choose to be married to.  Friends, family, and spouses - these all can drag us down and hold us back from our spiritual progress in the Lord.  We must be prayerful and deliberate in who we choose to be “yoked” to.  God calls each of us away from our former lives in order to obtain the promises of salvation.  It is an act of faith because He doesn’t give us the details about what our lives are going to be like if we respond.  We trust that God knows best and whatever He has for us in the future is going to be better than what we have known in the past without Him. 

 

“So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot [his nephew] went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” (Genesis 12:4).  Our faith becomes alive and visible when we choose to obey the things that God asks us to do.  It doesn’t record that his was a long, agonizing decision: Abraham just departed as the Lord had asked him to. 

 

At seventy-five years old, Abraham was willing to start a new chapter in his life, and to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.  It speaks to the fact that we are never too old (or too young) to begin a new life with God.  This is the thing that sets the children of Abraham apart from all others: they believe God and are willing to obey Him.  “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” (Isaiah 1:19). 

 

Scripture records, “…and Lot went with him…”  It doesn’t mention that Lot had a call from God to go – he was trusting Abraham’s call.  We shall see that it is better to have a word from God and act on it than it is to simply follow after someone else who has heard from God.  Our Father wants a personal relationship with each of us.  He has a path for each of us to walk.  We must seek His will for ourselves and then follow where He leads us and not someone else.  Abraham’s relationship was intimate and genuine, whereas Lot’s appeared to be superficial.  Someone has described the difference between having a relationship with God and just having religion like this: religion is sitting in church thinking about fishing while relationship is being out fishing and thinking about God.

 

“And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.  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; 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 13:2-4). 

 

There are parallels between the places where Abraham dwelt and came out of, and places where God leads us and calls us from.  After first arriving in Canaan, Abraham went down to Egypt for a time because of a famine in the land of Canaan.  Egypt in the Bible is a type of the world.  As necessary as Egypt was to Abraham’s survival, he had to leave there and return to Canaan where God had called him to in the first place.  After we are born again, God begins drawing us away from the world and from worldly things.  The story of the Exodus of Israel is all about God demanding that His people be set free from the bondage of Egypt.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Church of his day saying, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2).  Separation from the world is a major theme in scripture, and it is essential to our spiritual maturity. 

 

After coming out of Egypt, Abraham settled for a time in the plain of Moreh.  Moreh means “teacher, or place of instruction”.  After we are saved by faith in the work that Christ accomplished on the cross, His Holy Spirit begins working in us, instructing us in the things that are pleasing to our heavenly Father and transforming us into His likeness.  Paul tells us, “…everywhere and in all things I am instructed…” (Philippians 4:12).  As Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:12, 13).

 

Abraham also dwelt in a place that was “between Bethel and Hai.”  Bethel means “house of God” and it is where God would later reveal Himself to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.  It was there that God showed Jacob a ladder reaching from earth to heaven.  It was Jacob that named the place because he said “…this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Hai, or Ai, means “a heap of ruins” and is the scene of Israel’s first defeat after they came out of Egypt and entered the Promised Land.  The reason for the defeat was because Achan had sinned against God.  Like Abraham, we may dwell between the gate of heaven and a heap of ruins for a time until we discover the victory that is ours in the finished work of Christ.  It is notable that in all the places that Abraham dwelt, he “called on the name of the LORD.”  His was an intimate relationship with God.    

 

“And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and 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 herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle…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.  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 13:5-9).  

 

Much of the debate, strife, contention, and disunity that develop in our fellowships arises from the fact that there are those who are spiritual and hearing from the Lord, and there are those who are carnal and are not hearing from God directly.  The first century Corinthian Church was an example of such division.  Paul reproved the Church, telling them they were “…yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3).  It seems that there will always be strife in the Church between those who are carnal and those who are spiritual.  Until the Church is able to see eye-to-eye and come into the unity of the faith, we must all endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (see Ephesians 4:3, 13). 

 

Sometimes splits are inevitable.  When they happen, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to avert them, we must let it be.  Our responsibility to God doesn’t change.  We must go on and allow those who leave to seek God in the way they feel is correct.  I’m sure Abraham regretted to see Lot and his family leave, but it was necessary.

 

 

“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.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled 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.” (Genesis 13:10-13). 

 

The phrase “pitched his tent toward Sodom” indicates that there was not the aversion toward the wicked sinners of Sodom that we would expect from a righteous man of God.  Instead of following the law of separation, Lot seemed to be yoking himself and his wife and children unequally with unbelievers.  There is always a price we pay for not being sensitive and discerning in the choices we make.  We know that Lot lost two daughters and his wife, and perhaps grandchildren as well, as a result of this decision.

 

There is a humility and a selflessness about those who call upon the Lord and have close fellowship with Him.  They trust and believe that their lives and their livelihoods are in the hands of their King, and that He will always supply all their needs.  Abraham exhibited this, considering others before himself, when he gave Lot the first choice of the best land.

 

“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: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.  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.  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.  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).

 

After this final separation, God renewed His covenant with Abraham, promising all the land that he could see to him and to his seed forever.  Abraham then moved to Hebron and settled in the plains of Mamre.  Once again the name of these places is significant.  Mamre means “strength, or fatness” and Hebron means “united; joined together; conjunction; cemented; welded; bound by a common bond; friendship; brotherhood; company; community; confederation; league; alliance.”  When God has refined a man or woman through the fires of adversity and through the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the result is strength, brotherhood, community, and unity.  Abraham had truly found a place of strength with God.  Not his own strength or might, but in the Lord, and in the power of His might!  Abraham had consistently chosen the things that were pleasing to God, while Lot chose that which grieved and vexed God.

 

Lot appears not to have had much influence over the evil residents of Sodom.  Although scripture says that he “sat in the gate” denoting that he had a position among the elders of the city, yet we discover later that the men of Sodom resented his words and lifestyle.  They said, “This fellow came in to live here temporarily, and now he presumes to be <our> judge!” (Genesis 19:9 AMP).  He was not even able to convince his sons-in-law to flee with him from the evil of Sodom, and lost two of his daughters and their families as a result.  His wife was so attached to the attractions and affections of the city that she couldn’t resist looking back longingly, despite the angels warning not to do so.  Lot lost her as well as she turned into a pillar of salt.

 

It was after this that the LORD appeared to Abraham along with two other heavenly beings in Hebron.  It was then that God announced that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, would have a child at a set time that He would choose.  Sarah laughed within herself when she heard the news, but the Lord merely said, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”  Though circumstances might suggest otherwise, God is always able to work not just the improbable, but even the impossible! 

 

Afterwards, as the angelic beings were leaving, the LORD said, “…shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.” (Genesis 18:17-19).  This, in part, reveals the true meaning of what Mamre signifies.  The strength of character that Abraham had developed with God was such that the LORD would share His very plans with Abraham before He executed them.  This was because God could say with confidence, “For I know him…”  He knew Abraham would command his children after him to do justice and judgment, and to walk in the ways of the LORD.  God was willing to hear Abraham as he interceded for Lot and his family, and for the citizens of those cities.   

 

It is because the LORD loves His people that He chooses to reveal to them His purposes.  “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7).  It is not always good news that He reveals to His people.  Many times the LORD cried out to Israel to amend their ways and their doings, lest judgment be meted out on them.  Often the message fell on deaf ears and hardened hearts.  The prophets, nonetheless, became intercessors during those times to stand in the gap for God’s people.  This was just such a case. 

 

“And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” (Genesis 18:20-22).

 

The LORD let Abraham know what He planned to do because of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, and then He turned to proceed toward Sodom, “…but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.”  Abraham, God’s faithful servant, who had been polished, tempered, and molded by all of God’s dealings with him, stood in the gap.

 

Jesus used the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah to illustrate how ill-prepared mankind will be before the Lord’s second coming.  “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30).  Life went on day-by-day in just the same way that it had every day for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Whatever signs there were of just how bad things had become, and how depraved they had become, were ignored, or not recognized at all.  It took the angel’s intervention to remove Lot and his family from the city.  The angels forcefully took Lot, his wife, and his two remaining unmarried daughters by the hands and mercifully led them outside the city before the conflagration. 

 

In this story, we clearly see two types of believers.  Lot represents those believers who are content to simply follow the faith of others.  In many cases they are like Israel after the flesh of whom Paul said, “…they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3).  They have a zeal for God, but too often it is not according to the true knowledge of Christ.  The principles of surrender, separation, and bearing one’s cross are distasteful and uncomfortable to contemplate for them. 

It wasn’t that Lot was a bad person.  Peter refers to him as “just” and “righteous” (2 Peter 2:7, 8).  He resisted the evil that was all around him for 16 years, even though he was vexed by it the whole time and, in the end, had to be practically dragged out of Sodom.  His was a shallow faith that lacked a deep hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Scripture doesn’t record a word about Lot’s devotion or spiritual life.  We can only examine him in light of his choices.

And then there are those, like Abraham, who by faith and obedience walk closely with God and follow His direction.  Also, like this Father of Nations, they “call on the name of the LORD” in every circumstance of life (Genesis 13:4; 21:33).  They have learned the principle of separation from the world, and from influences, no matter how well-intentioned, that would be contrary to what God is speaking to them.  They have dwelt in the plain of Moreh, where the Holy Spirit has taught them through blessings and through adversities.  They have learned to be content in whatever state they are in, and that they can do all things through Christ Who strengthens them (see Philippians 4:11; 4:13).  They also have learned to walk the delicate balance between Bethel (the house of God, and gate of heaven) and Ai (heap of ruins and sin).  Finally, they settle in Hebron and the Plains of Mamre.  There they discover the fatness and strength that is theirs as they faithfully pursue the abundant life that is in Christ Jesus their Lord and King.  Best of all, they find in Mamre a sweet, intimate fellowship with God Himself through the grace of Christ and the communion of His Holy Spirit.  What type of believer do you want to be?