Genesis 13.5-13-Abram Separates From Lot
Tuesday November 22, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 13:5-12-Abram Separates From Lot
Lesson # 65
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 13:1.
On Sunday morning, we studied the magnanimous behavior of Abram towards his nephew Lot and this evening, we will study Genesis 13:5-12, which records Lot separating from Abram.
Genesis 13:5, “Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.”
Genesis 13:6, “And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.”
Genesis 13:7, “And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.”
Genesis 13:8, “So Abram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.’”
Genesis 13:9, “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
The separation of Abram from Lot reveals the spiritual principle that the servants of God who walk by faith and not sight and avoid strife and other temptations must not only separate themselves from unbelievers (Ex. 6:6; 2 Cor. 6:17) but also from believers who are in apostasy or reversionism (1 Cor. 5:5-7; 2 Jn. 10-11).
The apostle Paul taught the principle of separation in relation to choosing a marriage partner where the believer is not to marry an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14-18).
2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
The apostle Paul also taught the principle of separation from believers who are involved in a lifestyle of immoral degeneracy (1 Cor. 5:1-11).
1 Corinthians 5:9, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people.”
1 Corinthians 5:10, “I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.”
1 Corinthians 5:11, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler -- not even to eat with such a one.”
The apostle Paul taught the principle of separation in relation to the believer separating from believers who did not obey the apostle’s teaching.
2 Thessalonians 3:6, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.”
Romans 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”
Romans 6:18, “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
The apostle John also taught the principle of separating from those who did not adhere to the apostolic teaching.
2 John 10, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting.”
2 John 11, “for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”
Genesis 13:10, “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere -- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah -- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.”
When Lot looked out over the valley of the Jordan, he more than likely was standing on an elevation close to Bethel, which is 2,886 feet above sea level and has a magnificent view of the Jordan Valley to the southeast.
“The valley of the Jordan” was a tropical area between Jericho and Zoar, 800 to 1200 feel below sea level, where crops could grow all year-round.
Like the rich delta of the Nile area in Egypt, the valley of the Jordan was well watered land stretching to Zoar at the southeast end of the Dead Sea and reminded Abram and Lot of the stories of the Garden of Eden (the Lord), which were passed on from Noah to his three sons and their descendants.
Like Egypt, which has the Nile, the valley of the Jordan is fed by streams, brooks, springs and oases from the base of the Jordanian Rift.
Today, the valley of the Jordan is no longer a green, well-watered land since the Lord’s judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah brought a drastic change to the entire area.
“Sodom” and “Gomorrah” are on the east at the south end of the Dead Sea and helped to form a confederation of cities, which included Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar according to Genesis 14:2, 8 and are called by theologians “the cities of the plain.”
Abraham pleaded to the Lord to spare these cities on account of Lot, which is recorded in Genesis 18:16-33 and the Lord fulfilled Abraham’s request but destroyed the rest of the inhabitants of the city, which is recorded in Genesis 19.
The phrase “like the garden of the Lord” is a reference to the Garden of Eden and indicates that like the Garden of Eden, the valley of the Jordan, possessed breathtaking beauty and was full of lush vegetation.
The phrase “like the land of Egypt” tones down the previous comparison and indicates that like rich fertile land of Egypt, which tempted Abram to depart from Canaan, the valley of the Jordan was also a rich fertile land, but points us back to Abram’s disastrous choice to go to Egypt, implying that Lot’s choice was a bad one.
“Zoar” was a small town situated on the south or southeast of the Dead Sea and was the only one of the five cities of the valley or plain that were not destroyed by fire in God’s judgment recorded in Genesis 19:24-28 and is the town to which Lot escaped from the coming judgment (Gen. 19:20-23, 30).
Genesis 13:10, “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere -- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah -- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.”
Genesis 13:11, “So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.”
In Genesis 13:10-11, we see Lot yielding to the temptation of the lust of the eyes, which the believer is prohibited from doing in 1 John 2:15-17 and which temptation Eve was exposed to by Satan in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
“Lust of the eyes” is a temptation appealing to personal gain and was used against the Woman and is recorded in Genesis 3:6b, "that it was a delight to the eyes.”
Therefore, in Genesis 13:10-11, we see Lot yielding to the temptation of the lust of the eyes.
The fertile tract of land called the valley of the Jordan and in particular the southern region of it, appealed to Lot for personal gain.
Genesis 13:11, “So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.”
Lot also makes this choice without concern for his uncle Abram who could have left him in Haran but instead took him along when he was orphaned.
Lot displays an ungrateful attitude towards his uncle Abram.
Lot made the choice of sight rather than the choice of faith.
Abram operated in faith and not by sight, trusting in the Lord, confident that the Lord would take care of him wherever he settled whereas Lot is not walking by faith, but rather by sight, which the believer is prohibited from doing.
2 Corinthians 5:8, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Lot is in danger because he has separated from God’s people who are led by Abram at this time and has yielded to temptation and will dwell among unbelievers who are immoral degenerates (Gen. 13:10; 19:1, 33).
Lot’s decision to leave Abram is another manifestation that he is “backsliding” or in “apostasy” or in “reversionism” meaning he is disobedient and negative towards the will of God and is under divine discipline.
Genesis 13:12, “Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.”
As a result of Lot’s choice, Abram was left on the dry hillsides of central Canaan and having to compete for grazing land with the indigenous population while Lot settled among the five cities of the plain, pitching his tent near the city of Sodom whose inhabitants were wicked.
Lot failed to see Sodom from the Lord’s perspective and if he did he would have never settled there.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses contrasts the choices made by Lot and Abram.
Abram stays in the land of promise and the place of blessing, obedient to the Lord and thus in fellowship with Him whereas Lot has settled in an evil place, which is the result of his disobedience and prevents him from experiencing fellowship with the Lord.
Genesis 13:12 anticipates Genesis 14, 18 and 19.
Genesis 13:13, “Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD.”
“Wicked” is the adjective ra` (ur^), which describes the men of Sodom as conducting their lives independently of God and in the context of Genesis 13-19, this independence from God expressed itself gross immorality and specifically, homosexuality.
“Exceedingly” is the adverb me’odh (da)m+) (meh-ode), which intensifies the meaning of the verb ra’, “wicked,” thus indicating that the evil that the men of Sodom were involved was “gross” immorality, which is defined as homosexuality in Genesis 19.
“Sinners” is the noun chatta (aF*j^) (khaw-taw), which describes the men of Sodom as involved in gross immorality, namely, homosexuality and this is confirmed in Genesis 19.
The phrase “against the Lord” describes the men of Sodom as opposed to the laws of God that regulated conduct between the sexes and which laws are later reflected in the Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:1-10.
Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”
Leviticus 20:13, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.”