A. Abraham parts from Lot, Gen. 13
A.1 Introducing Lot, 13:1-7
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 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 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. 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. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. (NIV; for other versions see here.)
For Abraham's altars, see 35:1-4.
We have met Lot's name before this. In 11:27 he was first mentioned as a son of Haran, who was Abram's brother. Four verses later, in 11:31, we are told that, when Terah left "Ur of the Chaldees" to travel toward Canaan, he took with him Abram, Lot, and Sarai (AKA Sarah). But after that, he is not mentioned. We are led to believe that he accompanied his uncle Abram from that time on. this is confirmed by 13:1, which shows that he also visited Egypt with Abram, as recorded in chapter 12. You remember that the pharaoh was very generous to Abram, when he believed Abram's lie that he was Sarah's brother. the many gifts and favors conferred on Abram in Egypt probably included livestock, silver and gold. Gold was particularly plentiful in Egypt, where there were gold mines. That metal was much rarer in the rest of the ancient Near East, where silver was the basis of exchange. We might also conclude that Lot shared in the pharaoh's largesse, at least indirectly, because of his relationship to Abram. Both men became extremely wealthy, and this precipitates trouble.
At that time the areas around Bethel and Ai were already populated by local farmers and livestock breeders (v. 7). They needed grazing lands. When the numerous cattle and sheep of Abram and of Lot were added to the mix, it became clear that coexistence was impossible. "Good fences make good neighbors," and in this case the fencing needed was distance!
A.2 Why the Two Men Separated, 13:8-13
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. 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.” 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.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward 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 people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. (NIV; for other versions see here.)
We don't know if there was "strife" between the herdsmen of Abram or of Lot and the local populace. Abram's concern was with his close relative. He makes that clear by referring to themselves as "kindred" (literally אַחִ֖ים "brothers", v. 8). In v. 9 Abram makes a generous offer: he lets Lot choose the grazing (and living) area he wants, and promises to take another area farther away for himself. Abram was the older man, and should have been given preference in choosing grazing land. But he relinquished this right in the interest of peace and goodwill with his nephew.
In vv. 10-13 we learn what Lot's choice was. He surveyed what could be seen of the surrounding areas from the vantage point of the elevations around Bethel and Ai, and saw that the lowlands around the Dead Sea, far off to the east and southeast, had ample water supply, which meant reliable, year-round grazing for his numerous livestock. But as readers we are given advance warning of the dangers that lay ahead for Lot, for this area is compared to Eden, "the Garden of Yahweh," and to Egypt, both places associated with either catastrophic sin (Gen 3) or catastrophic oppression (Exod 1-12), requiring God's judgment. And in fact the narrator adds, "This was before Yahweh had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah"! Not good! And in case we didn't catch on already, in v. 13 it is made crystal clear: "The people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against Yahweh"! The stage is now set for the following chapter, which will be the subject of our next study.
A.3 God Reassures Abram, 13:14-18
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. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring 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 and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” 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. (NIV; for other versions see here.)
The Lord never fails to reward the good choices made by his servants. Sometimes that reward is not a physical one, but a spiritual one. Here it takes the form of an augmentation of his original promise to Abram, enlarged to include the promise of the land in which he was presently living as a landless foreigner. Did Abram comprehend how long it would take before that promise was realized in the days of Joshua? Probably not. But he was learning to trust the God who had called him by name and stood by him in all his wanderings. Isn't that what we do too? He had "given away" to his nephew what looked like a treasure-land in the lush lowlands around the Dead Sea. But God was promising him the highlands to the west of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and much more!
What shall we take away from this one? Generosity is always a good thing, and notice even if it is given to someone "undeserving"—think Lot! Furthermore, what Abram "gave away" was not something he could have or should have kept: it was an area of wicked sinners, which would eventually become a pile of smoldering ruins, and centuries later the home of the Moabites. This was not the "Promised Land" at all! "(S)he is no fool who gives what (s)he cannot keep to gain that which (s)he cannot lose!" (Jim Eliot).
Think of that this week, as you make new acquaintances and learn to treat them as if they were Jesus in disguise.
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