Faith vs. Sight

In an ill-advised move, Abram took his family and all those with him to Egypt in the face of a severe famine. He does some really foolish stuff—namely handing his wife over to Pharaoh to save his own skin, and trusting himself without seeking the LORD.

Abram actually profits from being in Egypt; he becomes quite wealthy. He’s very well off, just lousy with livestock.

In Egypt, the LORD comes to Abram’s rescue, inflicting Pharaoh and his household with serious diseases / plagues.

And so we read at the start of Genesis 13 that Abram and his wife and everything he had, and his nephew Lot, ventured out of Egypt, north through the Negev (the southern part of the land of Canaan) to the towns of Bethel and Ai.

So, back from Egypt, we catch up with Abram and Lot and all their livestock living in Canaan.

Both Abram and his nephew Lot are just loaded with livestock. This sounds like a good problem to have, until you’re trying to figure out how to feed and water all that livestock.

Look with me.

Genesis 13:5–7 NIV

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.

That’s a pretty nice problem to have—their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.

It’s like me having too much cash for my wallet to hold; granted, it’s all $1 bills and Monopoly money, but it’s a nice feeling. A nice problem.

For Lot and Abram, it’s a real problem. Too many animals, not enough land.

Quarreling arose, naturally. We should really almost expect quarreling. Throw more than a few people in close proximity to one another and you have the recipe for quarreling, even if the LORD has just rescued you and brought you out of Egypt (seems to be a pattern in the Bible; but that’s a sermon for another time).

Abram, seemingly having learned something during his misadventure in Egypt, proposes this selfless, gracious solution:

Genesis 13:8–9 NIV

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.”

When I read this last week, I was immediately taken back to my childhood. I didn’t have any livestock, but I was being taught to be kind and gracious and fair even when I didn’t feel like it.

I have one sister, Bethany, who is 2 years and 5 days older than me. It’s just the two of us. Bethany was a pretty good big sister, I guess. I, of course, was the perfect little brother.

We didn’t have a lot of sweets in our house. Mom was very committed to a strict Weight Watchers diet which meant we were all commited to a strict Weight Watchers diet.

On the occasion there was something sweet in the house (cookies or cake or even candy bars) my stinking sister and I would have to split that cookie or that piece of cake or that candy bar.

Mom and Dad devised a genius plan to teach us kindness and equity (they probably also enjoyed watching us reluctantly share).

One of us got to cut the dessert in half and the other got to pick which piece they wanted. As much as I wanted to take most of whatever it was for myself, if I was the one cutting, I made sure that sucker was cut in half precisely, I mean, down to the millimeter.

I wanted to make sure Bethany didn’t get any more than I had; and if possible, I would prefer for her to get a little less than me.

Logically, pragmatically, it would have made the most sense, from a business and financial standpoint, for Abram to divide the land precisely, down to the cubit.

Measure carefully, stake it out, give Lot exactly half of what there was. But Abram doesn’t do that. He’s not concerned about what’s fair. Abram is generous and gracious—unbelievably so.

He let’s Lot choose:

Genesis 13:10–11 NIV

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:

This is where we start to see the difference between Abram and Lot.

Some Walk By Sight,

In this place—Canaan and the surrounding areas—Lot is at home. He’s comfortable, deciding which place is best for him. He’s got his eyes set on what he can see.

And you can’t blame the guy. He has a ton of animals to take care of so he’s going to look around and find the best place for them. The Jordan Valley—the area on either side of the Jordan River was well-watered—the perfect place to graze animals.

Notice the phrase at the start of verse 10: Lot looked around…

Literally, this says Lot lifted up his eyes.

Lot’s looking around, but he’s only looking at what’s right in front of him.

Lot, like many of us, is shortsighted.

And no, I’m not talking about your glasses prescription. Lot might have been nearsighted or farsighted, I have no idea.

But it’s clear to me that Lot is extremely shortsighted.

Lot lifted up his eyes but he only sees what’s right in front of him. This is the problem; he didn’t really see.

He saw the advantages, but none of the dangers.

He saw the perks, but not the perils.

Lot seems to have his eyes fixed on the present, and primarily economic issues. He’s drawn to the place. It looks good to him. It looks like the garden of the LORD and reminds him of where he had just travelled: well-watered…like the land of Egypt.

We’re drawn to what’s pleasing to the eye, aren’t we? The fruit of the tree they weren’t supposed to eat from looked awful good to Eve and to Adam.

Gen 3:6 “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Lot, here, sees and observes how well-watered was the plain of Jordan, and accordingly chose this territory.

Shortsightedness is a major problem.

Poor Patience has cracked her head on the lift-gate of our SUV more than once because she’s not looking into the distance at all. She hops out of the car, shuts her door, rounds the back of the car and bingo-bango, right into the lift-gate as it’s opening. I’ve taken to telling her, “Be careful. I’m opening the back.”

Shortsightedness can hurt.

Here’s another instance: [PLAY VIDEO]

Shortsightedness is a serious issue; you might end up snuggling with a raccoon.

Spiritual shortsightedness is life and death.

When our eyes are drawn to what’s right before us, we miss the dangers and pitfalls that lie ahead.

We choose what looks good to us, when what looks good to us can kill us.

We see something we like, we follow our hearts, we do what we think will make us happy, we listen to the serpent and take and eat, and in the process, lose our souls.

As we read this text, the author puts a parenthetical note at the end of verse 10 that makes us cringe: (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Where Lot decided to move himself and his animals is right in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Genesis 13:12–13 NIV

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.

You likely already know the story. When we get to Genesis 19, the wicked sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah has a devastating effect upon Lot and his family.

And most of that arises from Genesis 13—what Lot in his shortsightedness didn’t see.

Lot saw security from famine. Lot saw some extra comforts for his family. But Lot didn’t see or sense the possibility of any hidden dangers.

And what we don’t see can be lethal.

Some People Walk By Sight, Trusting Only Themselves

How else are we supposed to walk than by sight? Well, I’ll tell you: there’s a better way.

Lot is doing what he thinks is best, trusting his gut, looking at what’s right in front of him, planning for his future as best he can with his limited sight.

Like many of us, Lot was probably so sure of himself. It seems like the wise move—a good, common sense move. He’s leaning on his own understanding.

This is precisely what God’s Word tells us NOT to do:

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Dale Ralph Davis points out that this “doesn’t say we shouldn’t use our understanding, but that we shouldn’t lean on it. Sometimes we lean on our understanding and use the LORD.”

“Lots’s assessment of things here seemed to be superficial. And so the story pushes us to plead with God for he discernment we need, not to be content with obvious appearances or merely economic factors.”

The danger for us at any age is to trust ourselves and our understanding implicitly.

Some people walk by sight, and that’s more of a problem than you might think.

>Abram seems to have learned something from his time in Egypt. He’s learned a lesson about trusting himself.

Abram, it seems, realizes he’s a stranger, an exile, a pilgrim in the land. And he’s living like it.

The Bible is insistent that we think of ourselves as such:

Speaking of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah , the author of Hebrews writes:

Hebrews 11:13 NIV

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

Some people walk by sight; others walk by faith.

Genesis 13:14–18 NIV

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.

Some Walk By Faith, Trusting in the Providence of the LORD

The way Abram dealt with Lot speaks a great deal about Abram’s faith.

Abram let Lot divide the land and pick which piece he wanted. “If you take the right, I’ll go to the left. If you want the left, I’ll go to the right.”

This suggests a deep faith in the LORD’s promise. Genesis 12:7 records the promise of the land to Abram’s offspring, and Abram seemingly rested in that.

Understand: no matter what choice Lot made, God would see to the promise part. No choice Lot made was going to affect or undo the promise of God. Nothing, in fact, can alter the promise of God. Not a thing.

Abram, with eyes of faith, places himself within God’s providence and under God’s grace.

Strangers, foreigners, pilgrims who walk by faith are folks who can say, along with the psalmist: Ps 31:15 “My times are in your hands...”

Abram can’t see the future, but He trusts the LORD who already knows the future.

Some Walk By Faith, Holding onto the Promise of God

Remember (v. 10) when Lot looked around / Lot lifted up his eyes…?

Now (v. 14) the LORD tells Abram to look around / lift up your eyes and look in all directions.

Gen 13:14-15 “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. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”

This is an expansion on the promise the LORD made to Abram in Genesis 12. Something is added.

In Gen 12:7 “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

Now, Gen 13.15 “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”

Previously the LORD had told Abram that He would make Abram into a great nation.

Now, the LORD illustrates that promise for Abram: “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth…good luck to anyone who tries to count ‘em.”

Abram held onto this promise, even though he didn’t live to see the fulfillment of this promise. He’d see the beginnings of the fulfillment, but he’d have to hold onto it as a “not-yet” promise.

We’re in the same boat. We live on this side of the cross of Christ and the empty tomb and the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of God.

But, we’re still awaiting the fulfillment of His promise.

John 14:2-3 “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

We’ve not yet received what was promised in that promise.

But we keep holding onto the promise, because we walk by faith and we trust the character and the trustworthiness of the One who promised it. Just like Abram did.

I’m currently reading a biography of Harry S. Truman. The more I read about the guy, the more I like him and respect him.

In 1948, Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina broke with the Democratic Party and was nominated for president by the ‘Dixiecrats,’ whose platform supported racial segregation.

Thurmond was displeased with President Truman’s promises to support civil rights. Someone asked Thurman why he would break with the party over this, since FDR had made the same sort of civil rights assurances as Truman.

Thurmond retorted, “Because Truman really means it!”

That makes all the difference, doesn’t it? The character and the trustworthiness of the one making the promise.

“Truman really means it.”

Abram would happily assert, “The LORD Yahweh really means it.”

We can stand strong, firmly holding onto the promise, because “Jesus really means it!”

We can’t see the end of the promise, but we walk by faith.

Some Walk By Faith, Enjoying the Goodness of God

The LORD tells Abram (v. 17) to “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I’m giving it to you.”

This is the royal treatment. I learned that this was the sort of things kings sometimes did.

In Hittite and Egyptian sources, the king would take a ceremonial walk around a field or tour his realm to symbolize his sovereignty over the land.

Abram’s walkabout was claiming his dominion, enjoying just a taste of what he was to receive.

Almost like a sample of meat the butcher will give you at the deli; it’s not a lot, but it’s a bit of what you’ll have later on.

Here and now, we only get tiny samples, small pieces of the goodness of God we’ll experience with Him in eternity.

But we enjoy the goodness of God and look forward, by faith, to receiving the whole kit and caboodle.

Some Walk By Faith, Taking Every Opportunity to Worship the LORD

I love this repeated theme in Abram’s story. To my count, this is the fourth mention in two chapters of the altars Abram built to the LORD.

This is a pattern. Abram always seems to build an altar; he worships, openly and unashamedly.

“The person with the promises consistently worships.” - Dale Ralph Davis

That applies to Abram and to us, too.

For Abram, worship was a habit. No, it was more than that. It was an indispensible part of his life. Abram was taking advantage of every opportunity to praise the LORD.

Even as he was looking around the land the LORD was giving to him and to his offspring, Abram was walking by faith, looking beyond what he could see.

Hebrews 11:8–10 NIV

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abram looked beyond what his eyes could see, and looked to the City that was to come. He was looking beyond Canaan to a lasting, heavenly country and city, designed and built by God Himself.

Hebrews 13:14 NIV

14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Lot, and many like him, are more prone to look too superficially at the stuff of life.

Abram, and those who walk by faith, know that the LORD has something for us far beyond what our eyes can see.

As Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

We are meant to walk, not by sight, not trusting ourselves and our understanding.

As Paul writes: Gal 2:20 “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Walk by faith, not by sight.

Trust God’s providence.

Hold onto His promises.

Enjoy His goodness.

And take every opportunity to worship Him.