Gen 13:7-9 | KingComments | STEP | When Abram left Egypt, Pharaoh gave him a lot of livestock ( ). His nephew Lot also goes with him. Lot is not a man with own power of faith. He follows the faith of his uncle. He also is very wealthy. Their wealth becomes the cause of strive between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. That is not a good thing. It is telling that it says in that the Canaanite and Perizzite dwell in the land at that time. It means, as it were, that the world is watching the outbreak of strife between these foreigners. The devil and the world see with gloating the strives between people who profess to be strangers on earth. Especially when it is also a strive about earthly things. Paul points out to the Corinthians that they should not stand up for their rights in such matters ( ). The Lord can allow fraternal disputes to see in what mind they are resolved.

‏ Genesis 13:7-9

Strife

When Abram left Egypt, Pharaoh gave him a lot of livestock (Gen 12:16). His nephew Lot also goes with him. Lot is not a man with own power of faith. He follows the faith of his uncle. He also is very wealthy. Their wealth becomes the cause of strive between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. That is not a good thing. It is telling that it says in Gen 13:7 that the Canaanite and Perizzite dwell in the land at that time. It means, as it were, that the world is watching the outbreak of strife between these foreigners.

The devil and the world see with gloating the strives between people who profess to be strangers on earth. Especially when it is also a strive about earthly things. Paul points out to the Corinthians that they should not stand up for their rights in such matters (1Cor 6:7b). The Lord can allow fraternal disputes to see in what mind they are resolved.

The Choice of Lot

Abram, the eldest of the two and also the uncle of Lot, gives Lot the first choice. Abram is not standing on his right. Lot does not take the humblest place, but accepts this offer with both hands. We are informed about his considerations. He looks at everything according to his own advantage, which choice gives him the most benefit. With him it is about an immediate pleasure. With Lot, there is no future-oriented thinking. He is the man who lives for here and now. His heart follows his eyes, just like with Eve.

Lot sees the valley of the Jordan as if it is a paradise. But, it says, it also looks like the land of Egypt. Lot has joined Abram in his deviation to Egypt. He who relies on the faith of another person will fall into the mistakes of that other person. Abram learned lessons from his deviation to Egypt. Lot does not show that he has learned lessons from his deviation. The valley reminds him of Egypt. It seems that he has been overwhelmed by what he saw. That is why he chooses the valley of the Jordan.

A sideways lesson is that the deviation of Abram has caused Lot to get the taste of Egypt. Parents should take that lesson to heart. If they deviate and love the world for some time, but are then restored by God’s grace and give up the world again, it may be that their children have gotten the taste of the world and stay in it.

Lot then moves to live close to Sodom, as it were under the smoke of the city, a smelly smoke. The wickedness of that city is indicated, as a preparation for the history in Genesis 19. All men are sinners. But there is a difference in wickedness (cf. Rev 20:12). God says of the people in Sodom that they are “wicked exceedingly and sinners”. This they are proverbial (Isa 3:9; Eze 16:49), but Lot seems to be insensitive to it. The way down has been taken by him. Later he lives in Sodom, in a house – the tent has disappeared – and is even part of the city council – he is in the gate.

He settles in the city on which God’s judgment comes. He helps them to build it up, because he sees a future for it. But he loses everything, it all perishes in judgment. He does save his body, but he ends his life in the darkness of a cave and in acts that arouse disgust. He lets himself get drunk and begets Israel’s enduring enemies with his own daughters.

A practical application can be made when we face the choice of changing jobs, moving, or which school we let the children go to. What then are our considerations, the criteria of assessment? Do we have an eye for the moral and religious atmosphere that prevails somewhere? Do we think future-oriented, that is to say that we look beyond life on earth? Do we have in mind the spiritual well-being of our family, or only the social well-being?