Hello my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends around the world.
Would you permit a personal note today? This is a special weekend for me. I have the opportunity to return to the small town of my family ancestral roots, which go back to 1892. My immigrant great grandfather helped to birth a church in this little town in 1921, so we return this weekend for the ‘Centennial celebration’. That church sent my parents out to serve as foreign missionaries in the 1950’s and also sent my wife and I to do the same in 1986, and in 2014 that church sent our daughter and her family to a different part of the world, to do the same privileged work… bringing the Gospel of Jesus to far away places and the people who live there.
My father is still living at age 94, and he will be there with us, as will our daughter and family who are coming back from overseas to that small village for this weekend as well. Thus there will be four generations of us together in celebration of what Jesus has done in that town in 100 years, and from that town all over the world! When you consider your heritage, your ‘roots’ may I ask what you see? Of course neither you nor I can take any credit or blame for our family heritage, we were born or adopted into it. But family is very powerful in affecting who we become as adults and what we pass on to our descendants, isn’t that true?
These days we’re on a journey with a special family… Abram, his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. Let’s join the story in Genesis 13. There is a gap of time between verse 4 & 5, but probably not a long time. Lot was a man now, an experienced herdsman, having learned this complicated business from his uncle Abram, and both men were very successful. The record says “Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 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.” (Gen. 13:5,6) In many parts of the world families stay together as long as they possibly can, several generations learning from and caring for each other. In other cultures, kids are anxious to leave and pursue their dreams away from family, as early as possible. What is this like where you live, in your extended family?
For most people, in most places, we have a natural tendency to accumulate the ‘stuff’ of this world. But the more stuff, the more complicated life becomes, right? In this case their accumulation actually made it impractical for the family to stay together, so uncle Abram and nephew Lot finally agreed they needed to part ways and move far enough apart so their large bounty of animals could find pastureland. Sometimes affluence brings with it painful decisions.
The record shows us Abram took the lead in this process of separation in two important ways. First, hoping to retain their relationship and second, giving young Lot first choice as to land preference. Do you see wisdom in that? Do you notice what led Lot to choose the land that he chose? “Lot saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered…so Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out to the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.” (Gen. 13:10-12)
So I ask you friends, what motivated Lot in his land choice, and the place where he would first set up his tents? Please notice both Abram and Lot lived in tents, that means they lived like modern day Bedouin herdsmen, moving their base camp from time to time assuring that their huge flocks had sufficient grazing land and water. I find Lot’s choice of pitching his tents near Sodom very interesting. Lot had lived with Abram & Sarai since his father died when he was a young lad. They lived in the big city of Ur, then moved 700+ miles north to the city of Haran and after several years there, moved another 400 miles or so southwest to Canaan, modern day Israel. But then famine struck and they relocated to Egypt, and then after the famine, back to the Canaan region. So Lot had experienced both city and wide open country. He’d experienced stationary life and mobile life and it appears to me he was trying to now live both. In tents with lots of herds and flocks, but close to Sodom and all the activity of the city.
I wonder what you conclude from the statement “Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.”? What had Lot learned about the God who was building a special relationship with Abram over these years? Evidently, whatever he had learned wasn’t enough to withstand the strong draw of the city life of Sodom, despite its wicked reputation? Could it be their time in Egypt gave Lot an appetite for Sodom style living?
In closing today, please notice a huge contrast. As Lot is settling down near Sodom, finding the excitement of Sodom life attracting him, look what uncle Abram is doing… Abram and God are having an important meeting: “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north, south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever! 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. Go, walk through the length & breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’ So Abram moved his tents to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.” (Gen. 13:14-18)
This is now the second time God has promised Abram and his barren wife Sarai a huge number of descendants, and the land to which God had led them would be the inheritance of those descendants. (Gen. 12:7) Abram’s understanding of God and his ability to trust God’s promises was being stretched, again! Each day he and Sarai grew older…without children. But I am greatly encouraged that despite the harsh reality that the facts did not agree with God’s promises, still Abram built an altar and worshiped! He was determined to pursue knowing God, understanding God, growing his trust in God, and ultimately experiencing God’s promises, even if they seemed unrealistic at their age, and with no children!
So friends, this weekend, will you worship God, where and how? With doubt, or confusion or confidence and trust? What god will you worship? Something man made, or the only true, living, holy God who made you and is sovereign over all things at all times in all places? I’ll be worshiping in a place where God has been powerfully present and working for a century!! And here’s a song, I assume we’ll sing it… is it true for you? Oh my the memories that flood my mind of so many places in the world where I’ve joined with Christ followers in singing this great song…in several languages. I hope you can sing it as a proclamation of God’s truth in YOUR life my friends! For Abram, this song was beginning to become reality:
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 13:5-18.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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