Genesis 13
Genesis 13:1-18 (NLT)
1 So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned.
2 (Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.)
3 From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before.
4 This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the LORD again.
5 Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents.
6 But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together.
7 So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
8 Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!
9 The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.
12 So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.
13 But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the LORD.
14 After Lot had gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.
15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
16 And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!
17 Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the LORD.
Abram is simply moving in obedience to God’s direction, but it isn’t just blessing without any adversity. He’s been through a time of famine that forced him to play brother to his wife to protect him from the Egyptians. He is departing Egypt, but now his nephew’s herdsmen are causing division with his herdsmen, forcing him to separate from them. As wealthy and powerful as he is through these challenges, his godly nature is guiding his movements, not just from without but from within. He humility kept him from demanding special treatment in Egypt and choosing the better land over his nephew. Because of this, he was positioned for God’s favor and blessing, which was so much greater than anything he could have claimed as an entitlement. Trust in God allowed him to be protected from his own arrogance and pride. For God to make him the father of His people this was an essential quality. Total obedience and dependence on God kept him from claiming credit for anything God alone could do through him. For someone else, there would surely have been much reason to question or be bitter against God. Abram, though, was so humble before Him that his focus was more on fulfilling His will than how things were going.
With far less than what Abram had, life can be challenging to the direction we receive from the Father. The nature we’ve been given in Christ, though, will produce in us the same nature as Abram’s, positioning us for the fulfillment of great and many promises only received in a heart of humility and devotion. With a focus shifted from adversity to the prize of pleasing the Master, there will be ease through the most challenging difficulty. That way we might have insisted on will be given up for something filled with endless harvest no matter its present appearance.