Choices, Choices, Choices
Two men made choices in Genesis 13, and their choices had consequences. After the famine, Abram goes down to Egypt, where things do not turn out well. Chapter 13 opens with him coming back, and the text says he returns to where the altar was at the beginning. When you go down to Egypt, you need to go back to where the altar and the worship were. That is repentance. “If you ever go down to Egypt and you come to yourself and you realize I need to get back to where I was in the beginning can I tell you that God will meet you there.”
What the Passage Teaches About Wealth
Verse 2 says Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold, the first time wealth is mentioned in the Bible. “Wealth and worship are not diametrically opposed.” Some think you have to be poor to love God. Abram had wealth, and he built altars in verses 4 and 18. The test of faith sometimes comes not from the famine but from prosperity. If you live in America, you are among the wealthiest people in the world. As Thomas Carlyle said, for every man who can stand prosperity there are a hundred who will stand adversity.
“You are stewards of wealth not owners of it.” Everything Abram had was a gift from God, even what Pharaoh gave him. And Scripture warns us about wealth. Achan coveted, and Ananias and Sapphira lied about giving. “Love of God and possession of money are not diametrically opposed it’s the love of God and the love of money that is diametrically opposed.” First Timothy 6:10 says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Jesus says in Matthew 6 that you cannot serve God and money. If you think your money is yours to do with as you please, you have a wrong doctrine and probably a wrong practice. “More is not always better.”
What the Passage Teaches About Conflict
Wealth creates conflict. Abram and Lot had so much livestock that the land could not hold both. A cow and a calf need at least two acres, so a hundred pairs need 400. The conflict was not caused by a famine but by blessing, and money brings problems as well as solutions. Even people who win the lottery say they wish they hadn’t. Verse 7 tells us six things about conflict.
When conflict occurs, “address the problem don’t attack the person.” The strife began between the herdsmen, and Abram took the initiative. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. “Nip it in the bud,” and do not sweep it under the rug.
“Remember your testimony.” The Canaanites and Perizzites were in the land, watching how God’s people handled it. Jesus said in John 13:35 that by our love for one another people will know we are his disciples. That is why church splits are such a poor testimony.
“Value people over your possessions.” Abram had every right to the land, because it was promised to him, and still he put relationship ahead. Matthew 5 says if you remember at the altar that your brother has something against you, leave your gift and be reconciled first. Focus on what you have in common. Verse 8 says, we are kinsmen. Abram was like a father figure to Lot, and he reminded him of that.
Show deference, generosity, and humility. Abram could have said, don’t you realize you are where you are because of me? Instead he said, if you take the left, I’ll go right. Spurgeon said “it takes more grace than I can tell to play second fiddle.” Romans 12:18 says as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Finally, trust God to make things right. Abram did not get all the land that day or by the time he died, and Israel does not yet have all it was promised. But one day God will make things right. “God’s not called you to make every wrong right.”
What the Passage Teaches About Choices
Circumstances do not make the person but reveal him. “What you are determines what you see and what you see determines what you do.” Lot lifted up his eyes and chose the Jordan Valley, as green as Eden or the Nile, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. He picked “a great place to raise his cattle but a lousy place to raise his daughters.” Four things stand out.
Your choices reveal your heart. Abram trusted God and gave up what was promised him, and Lot, who should have deferred to his uncle, took what was offered. Your choices can have disastrous effects: Lot gained prosperity but lost his wife, his children, and his testimony. Your choices are to be made by faith, not by sight, as Eve saw the fruit and Achan saw and took. And your choices will impact others, including your spouse, children, and grandchildren. Donald Barnhouse said, “Abram became the father of all the faithful and lot became the father of all the compromisers.”
Where Is God in This Chapter?
God is there in verse 1 to receive Abram’s worship. He is the one who gave the wealth. And after Lot left, God showed up in verses 14 through 17 to reassure Abram that he had made the right choice. “He gives the very best to those who leave the choice with him.” But I would fail if you left thinking you should be like Abram, because Abram nosedived the week before. There is someone who will never fail us, and that is Jesus. He was rich yet became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9), he did not grasp his rights (Philippians 2), and by his obedience many are made righteous (Romans 5:19).
Discussion Questions
- Abram had wealth and worship together. Do you see your possessions as something you own or as a stewardship from God?
- When conflict comes, do you address the problem or attack the person? Is there a conflict you need to raise with someone?
- Lot chose by what he could see. Is there a decision in front of you that you are making by sight rather than faith?
His mercy is more. If you have gone down to Egypt, come back to the altar.
