Fork in the Road

Genesis 13

Basic Proposition:  When you come to a fork in the road, the best decision isn't always to just take it.  Abram gave Lot the decision of which way to go and ultimately Abram got the better deal.

1)      The Path After Falling (13:1-4) – A saved man when he drifted into Egypt, Abram now emerged a spiritual man who was learning from his mistakes.  The marks of a spiritual person as shown by Abram are seen as:

a.        Separation (13:1) – He left the world of sin, which is often portrayed as Egypt. 

b.       Sanctification (13:2-3) – He put some distance between himself and sin.  He got himself back to Bethel.   

c.         Sacrifice (13:4) – He called on God at the altar as a pilgrim ready to sacrifice his worldly life.

2)       The Proverbial Fork (13:5-13) – God always seems to place the proverbial fork in the road for us once we have followed the call to see how we will live out our faith.  This was Abram’s second chance.  Notice the mindset of the now spiritual Abram.  

a.        The Dilemma (5-9) – Something had to be done between Abram and Lot.  The solution was that Abram gave the option to Lot for him to decide.

b.       The Decision (10-11) – Lot’s choice was for Fool’s Gold.  He acted by greed and not wisdom.  

c.         The Distinction (12-13) –

                                                   i.      Abraham built his altars, while Lot pitched his tents.

                                                  ii.      Abraham had his own altars, while Lot borrowed Abraham’s altars. (Not one single reference of Lot building his own altar.)

                                                iii.      Abraham walked by faith, Lot walked by sight. His eyes lingered too long on the well-watered plains of Jordan.

                                                iv.      Abraham was generous and selfless, while Lot was worldly and greedy.

                                                  v.      Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was God, Lot found a city built by men and destroyed by God.

                                                vi.      Abraham became an heir of the world through righteousness; Lot’s last mention in Genesis finds him in a deserted cave with all of his possessions.

3)      The Prize of His Faith (13-18) – Abram was rewarded for making the spiritually correct choice of sacrificing this world for the faith of God.

a.        Rewarded by God (14-15) – All was given to Abram that he could see. (Matthew 19:29)

b.       Reassured by God (16) – The promise is reiterated.

Personal Application

We all walk the path of following God, but how we walk will determine how we make decisions in life.  Will we build altars of sacrifice to God or pitch our tents toward the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah?  Will we cling to the glory and possessions of this life or let them go?

After a massive collision and derailment of two trains in Europe, it was a grim scene that greeted the rescue workers. It was evident from the start that there would be few survivors if any at all.   As they worked on during the day, it seemed as if one frozen picture captured the entire feeling of the mishap. A young mother’s lifeless body had shielded her small three-year-old daughter. Somehow, the young child’s body had missed death because the mother had wrapped her own body around that of her child. As the rescuers worked, they pulled the small girl from the arms of her dead mother. Amazingly, the small child did not cry or even whimper upon the separation from her mother.

They took the tiny child to the hospital for X rays and found that there were only a few minor scrapes and bruises. The little girl endured all of the tests and examinations of the physicians without any agitation. It was then that the doctors began to notice a tiny balled up fist. The child was apparently holding something. Perhaps, it was something that could assist them with identifying the child. They began to attempt to coax the little girl into opening her hand but could not. Finally, after understanding that the child was not going to open her hand, they pried the little fingers away from an object. The child immediately began to scream and cry. She had not cried when the rescuers took her from her dead mother’s arms. Nor had she cried in the back of the ambulance. She had not even cried during the battery of her tests. But when she lost her small piece of penny candy her little life was shattered.  What worthless piece of shiny candy are you holding onto today? (Source unknown)