Look to the stars part 5
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We’ve been studying in walking through the life of Abraham beginning in chapter 12
We’ve seen God use Abram and call him to make a great nation so that all the peoples may be blessed through him
So we see Abram as a type of Christ
One sent for the sake of humanity, a deliverer, savior
All pointing to the ultimate Christ in Jesus
Last week we saw that God chose Abram, tells him to go to a place God will show him, He creates a covenant with him, and then Abram begins to obey until there is a great famine in the land
Difficult circumstances display our true character
When difficult circumstances happen in our lives, our heart will be put on display. Who we truly are will be seen.
But that’s not the only time this happens.
And so today we are going to talk about another circumstance, that my guess is probably more relatable for a lot of us, that shows who we really are
So we will look at Abram’s response to this situation, see if he might handle this one a letter better, learn from his last mistake and be a man of integrity and character in the midst of his circumstance
So I’m going to read all of chapter 13 today so it will be a little bit but just hang in there with me.
I really want to by the end of this series to have read all of Genesis 1-24 from the stage
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.
pray
So now Abram faces another problem
The problem of plenty
So here we are reintroduced to Lot, Abram’s nephew that was last mentioned in 12:4.
And we see that they had a very different problem than they had in the last chapter
It’s almost as if the narrative has completely flipped
But although the problem may be different, the temptation is still the same
Now Abram is not faced with a famine or a lacking of something
He’s now faced with wealth and an abundance of earthly possessions
Those same temptations still exist
What will this show of Abram’s true character?
He will still have the choice to not fear the Lord
He will still be tempted to become selfish
Now, it’s clear to see the issues we face when we have little
It is not as clear when we have plenty
this may seem completely countercultural to what we have been taught but there is a problem we face when we have plenty.
But the temptation is still the same whether we have little or we have much
In fact, I would argue it is greater when we have much
Do you trust God or not?
Who is God of your life?
Who is God of your life?
Whether you would say or feel that you have very little wordly possessions or you would say or feel like you have very many or you think that you are somewhere in between…who is God of your life?
The path to get there may be different but this is the question we find at the end of the road?
If you have little or if you are in a season of struggle or pain or persecution you may say well God is out to get me or God is not near or God is not good and you must wrestle with the question…who is God of your life?
If you are wealthy or you have much or things are going well for you in this season of your life you may be tempted to believe that there isn’t much need for God because there isn’t much need for much in your life at all but you must wrestle with the question…who is God of your life?
But you know what usually happens, we want to be god until we are met with the reality that we are fragile, broken, weak, terrible gods and then we run to something else that may satisfy our thirst to worship and serve something far greater than ourselves.
And we end up playing a game of give and take with God when all along He is begging for us to just give it all to Him
My girls love to play different things with each other. They are probably like most siblings. They will typically play pretty well together. But then they have these moments where they don’t want to play or share with one another. The on that always gets me is when they don’t want a toy until their other sisters do. So there will be a toy sitting in the middle of the room and one of them will go for it and then all of sudden that is the best toy in the entire house and so one of them will snatch it up and clinch it tightly to their chest and won’t let anyone else have it or see it. It is there’s and you can’t have it
We often have a very similar mindset with Christ
God you can come and hang out and you can entertain and you can be fun but don’t you dare try to take something from me
And the more we have, the more we have to lose
so again, in famine and in plenty, who is God of your life?
Here we see Abram change.
And I noticed something this time that I had not seen before.
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.
I picture Abram returning from Egypt.
He’s been on this long journey back home
He’s thinking about the mistakes he’s just made
The decision to lie and deceive
The decision to only think about himself
He’s tired, worn out, downcast, and defeated feeling
But then he gets between Bethel and Ai and he sees something
Something familiar and as he approaches it become clearer and clearer
He was approaching the place which he built an alter
And it was at this place that he “called on name of the Lord.”
And i just imagine Abram in this moment beginning to remember what that moment was like
He begins to remember all that he declared about Yahweh his God
He remembers and he reflects and he recalls and rejoices and so he returns
He returns once again to that same place and he once again “calls on the name of the Lord.”
He begins to declare that God is:
Self-existent
That He needs nothing or no one outside of Himself
He is lacking in nothing
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Eternal
That Yahweh is and always has been and always will be
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Holy
He is completely and totally pure and He is set apart from anything and everything else
All else pales in comparison to Him
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
He is omnipotent
All powerful, able to do anything and accomplishes all he sets out to do
17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
He is omnipresent
His presence is everywhere and ever near
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
He is omniscient
He knows all that there is to know
There is nothing outside the scope of His conception, understanding, or attention
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
He is Merciful
Witholding of wrath that is rightfully deserved
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
He is gracious
Giving of unearned unmerited blessings and gifts
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
He is good
Not just because He keeps a moral standard
or because it’s attractive
But also because He is actually so good that He is the source of all goodness
8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
And He is love
Not just a feeling not just an emotion not something that fades
But the source of a love that’s depths and width is incomprehensible
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
And I just imagine Abram in this moment declaring these things about his God
About Yahweh the King of all kings the Lord of all Lord’s
And in this moment he is reminded that although I may fail, although I may fall, although I may change my God never does!
And he may have a clearer picture of this now more than ever
And so now being faced with this new problem he can look back and see “I know what happened when I took things into my own control and into my own hands. This time I will let the God of all of these divine attributes rule and reign over my life.”
Abram decides who is really God of his life.
And it is clearly seen, not by Abram performing some crazy miracle, not by Abram declaring “thus saith the Lord.”
Yahweh as God over Abram life is displayed by Abram loving his neighbor
PERHAPS THE CLEAREST WAY WE KNOW IF THE LORD IS GOD OVER US IS SEEN BY THE WAY THAT WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
He could have very easily gone
You know what I’m in charge here
I’ve built this wealth
I’ve lead us to this place of prosperity so I’m going to choose what I want and how I want it
But Abram has just learned the consequences of such a choice
So instead, he chooses to love his neighbor
He looks to Lot and says, “you choose” whatever you want, i’ll sacrifice for you
And God’s response to this is a powerful one
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.”
May we love our neighbors
Because in doing so we are loving God
And may God be pleased with our love
Because He is worthy of it all