Even Green Grass Isn’t Always Greener

Genesis 13 (NIV)

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.

Introduction

Having a plan for your life

Lot’s “reasonable” plan

What was he missing?

God’s promises are greater than our perceptions.

Background

Blessing in Egypt

Abraham is wealthy

Lot (who travels with him is also wealthy)

God’s blessing on Abraham is so great that it causes a problem – there’s not enough room for the two of them.

Two broke guys could easily share the land they inhabit, but they have too much.

Abraham’s Plan

Begins with worship

Genesis 13:4 “4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.”

Executed with generosity (enabled by faith)

Genesis 13:8–9 “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.””

Lot’s Choice

Values worldly prosperity

Genesis 13:10a “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.

Ignores worldly danger

Genesis 13:10b “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.)”

Genesis 13:13 “13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.”

Abraham’s Blessing

When Abraham looks at the land he doesn’t have to pick where to go, God gives it all to him.

Genesis 13:14–17 “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.””

Ends with worship

Genesis 13:18 “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.”

Application

Purpose of Genesis in Early Israel

Similarities

Israel (like Abraham and Lot) is leaving behind Egypt possessing riches and promises

Genesis 13:1–2 “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.”

Exodus 12:35–36 “35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”

Israel (like Lot) looks at the earthly prosperity of Egypt with fondness

Genesis 13:10 “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.)”

Exodus 16:3 “3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.””

Israel (like Abraham) is living in tents as they wait for the promises to be fulfilled

Genesis 13:18 “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.”

Hebrews 11:9–10 “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.”

So Moses is recording this story to encourage a people who is in the habit of shortsighted rejection of God’s blessing in favor of worldly prosperity.

This account is a reminder to them that God’s promises are greater than our perceptions.

Application for Us

God’s promises are greater than our perceptions.

Worldliness vs. faith

Faith in God’s promises results in submission to God’s purposes

Submission to God’s purposes often doesn’t match human reason

Contrasting Abram and Lot

Abraham’s faith causes him to value the promises of God over the invitation of the world.

Lot’s worldliness causes him to pursue the attractive invitations of the world instead of pursuing proximity to the blessing of God

What is it that you believe will make your life successful and meaningful?

Is it God and God alone?

Or do you look at other places?

Achievement

Family

Comfort

Security

Follow Abraham’s example of prioritizing the promises of God even over good things the world offers (like fertile farmland)

Sacrifice those things that promise success and prosperity when they do not align with the promises of God

God’s counter-intuitive demands

Forgiveness

Suffering

Sacrifice

Loyalty to Jesus

This is true in all areas of life, but nowhere more so than our salvation

All unbelief is works-based

We know this because no man-made religion sees the grace and kindness of God as its only hope

That’s not just reserved to formal religion. Every person in this room has sought to save themselves.

Instead of seeking to save yourself, run in faith to the grace of God which he offers to you in the person of the one in whom Abraham hoped