Genesis 13

Genesis 13 ESV

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Prayer

Father, Thank you for your Word. May it, with your aid, convict us of our sin, show us Christ, and may the the Spirit apply faith. By the merits of Christ we pray. Amen.

We live in a culture today that talks a great deal about the power of faith.

When your sports team is going through a dry spell the supporters are encouraged to keep the faith.

Disney even included a song in the movie “The Prince of Egypt” that repeated… “there can be miracles, when you believe.”

That pretty well sums up our cultures attitude towards faith.

Faith is something that I do that somehow mysteriously unlocks the power of the universe for my blessing.

Faith in other words is all about me and the my power of positive thinking.

Not so with Abram.

You see if Abrams faith would have been in his ability to unlock cosmic power it would never have withstood the events of Gen 12.

you see after God had command Abram to leave his country and go to a land that He would show him and God promised to bless him there…Abrams faith immediately faltered.

God blessed Abram even while disobedience

There are a lot of resources and instruction for how to be a success. But here is a resource for how to deal with being a failure.

The truth is you are not a success nor will you ever be. You are a complete and utter failure.

Christ must be your success

If you faith is in yourself. Your ability to call on the cosmic powers to act on your behalf… there is two ways you will deal with your failure. you will either deny, ignor, or run from your failure or it will utterly wreck you. Both will show itself in you running from God.

If your faith is in Christ, and His success in place of your failure, you will run to God

Ways in which he found himself outside the promises

Ways in which he returned.

Returned to the Negeb. Then on to bethel to where he built the alter