Abraham, God’s Faithful.
Hebrews 11:8-19
11:1 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
Genesis 13:1-13
At this point in the story as we read chapter 13, we have had relatively little information about these two men. We gain some insight into the man Abram, but really little to this point has been said about Lot.
We know that Abram certainly had spiritual influences in the development of his world-view. We know that the Lord spoke to him. We know that he listened and was obedient and followed the Lord’s direction. Well almost!
We know that he had shortcomings, lying to the Egyptian about his wife. But we also see him on two occasions building an altar and calling on the name of the Lord. So Abram had a world view that had a strong spiritual influence. When he looked at the world around there was a spiritual dimension to what he saw.
To this point we know nothing of Lot really other than he should not have been there. But in ch. 13 we gain an insight into Lot’s world view.
Abram gives Lot the choice of where his people could go, to solve the contention between their workers. Abram didn’t have to do that, being his elder, but he chose to do it to save grief. Lot is free to choose whatever he sees.
We need to remember that by the standards of the the culture around them, at this time they are both really wealthy, but when Lot takes a long look at the land (or as the KJV says, he lifted his eyes up) he saw only one thing. His world view is dominated by the natural desires of human nature and the world around him. He sees an opportunity to make more wealth, and become more prosperous. His decision is made without any other consideration.
Even though Lot is making the biggest decision in his life, perhaps ever, definitely since he left his homeland with Abram, there is NO reference here that there was any consideration of spiritual guidance from God, he didn’t seek any direction from God.
Now lets read the rest of the story:
Genesis 13:14-18
Abram, but contrast to Lot who never considered the voice of God, the Lords leading; Abram has made a habit of listening for the voice of God, and following his leading. His world view is one where he listens for, hears and sees God’s plan, God’s principles and obedience to God as the main decision making factor.
Secondly, I want you to note carefully here something you may not have noticed before. God tells Abram to look. He includes every direction north, south, east, weest which would then include the land taken by Lot. In essence he is saying Lot may have chosen the best land for now, but that concession will pass away, all these lands will be given to him and his ancestors.
When we make our decisions based on material and human values and wishes, they are at best temporal. There is no eternal perspective.
VS. 12-13 Abram dwelled in land of Canaan, Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord”
There was something in his world-view that attracted him to Sodom. We don’t know the reason for this attraction, it could have been the influence of his wife or children but before very many verses pass in this Genesis account we find Lot actually living in Sodom, and he is far away from the influences of Godly Abram and the place of altars, and eventually the immersian in the culture of Sodom will take its toll.
- One of the tragedies of Christianity, is the number of people who claim to be the followers of Jesus, claim to be believers, claim to love the Lord, and yet their camp is firmly pitched in the direction of the world.
Their world view when it comes to priorities, when it comes to personal ambitions, their world view when it comes to God’s standards for Holy Living, their entrie world view is almost identical to the non Christians around them and has changed little as a result of their claim to have given their lives to Jesus.
When their faith is nothing but their personal fire insurance, when it comes to major descions in their lives, they see only their ambitious goals, money, how to get ahead in life, and they leave God out of the equation … and they don’t consider the affect that their descisions could have on their family and their future.
God has given us this wonderful gift of freedom. This wonderful gift of choice. Like LOT we frequently find ourselves lifting up our eyes and seeing choices before us.
Choice on where we live. Choices on how we will earn a living, choices about where and what sort of work we will do. Lifestyle choices, choices about relationships. Will we adopt the standards of the world, or will we apply God’s standards on how we live?
You learn a lot growing up on a farm. You cannot live and work in a barn without eventually smelling like a barn. If we make choices in life that result in us being constantly surrounded by the sin and values of the culture around us, it will eventually begin to creep in our lives.
2Corinthians 6:14 - This is NOT a call to isolation, but it is a clear call, a very clear call not to become so entangled in relationships, so immersed with the culture of the world that it will drag us down threatening our own spiritual welfare and the spiritual welfare of our families
Now, lets take a look at the ultimate impact of Lot ‘pitching his tent’ toward Sodom
1)14:11-16 - Sodom is overrun, Lot and his family are taken captive and it is only through the rescue at the hands of Abram that he is set free. -- in those days, you can only imagine that that could have been like.
2) Genesis 19 - Lot even offeres his own daughters to satisfy the lustful urges of the men of Sodom
3) When God destroyed the city, his 2 sons-in-law mocked the warning and were destroyed leaving his daughters as young widows
4) Lot and his wife and two daughters escape, but Lot’s wife is still so attracted to the city and it’s ways that she looks back and dies
5) And so Lot escapes with his life but his herds are gone, his wealth is gone, his wife is gone, and his sons-in-law are gone
6) And then his only remaining family members, his daughters manipulate him into an incestuous relationship.
The reason that God calls us to seperation is to live in Holiness for Him.
When we really understand the cost at the cross, when the Holy Spirit connects with our Spirit and makes the truth come alive in our hearts, when we really understand what the Lord did for us to free us from the penalty of our sin, from God’s wrath that would have come our way had we not been forgiven, the natural and normal and healthy response would be a desire to set aside our desire, our attraction our tolerance for sin and the standards of the world and try our best to live in the Holiness that He calls us to.
But there is a very practical reason that he calls us to live in holiness as well. He wants us to avoid the potential pain and heartache that will eventually be ours if we allow ourselves to be entangled in the sinful practises of this world.
One last thing -- At some point Lot came to his senses. Unlike his sons-in-law, he realized that if he remained in that place of sin, God’s judgement was indeed about to fall and so he was obedient to the call to leave it all behind.
Unlike his wife who apparently still was attracted to the place he, he was obedient and set his face in the opposite direction. He didn’t look back, he realized that survival required a complete about face, survival required setting and persuing a new direction.
Hebrews 11:11-12 By Faith, Abraham had a son, not in herself, it wasn’t a thing that said if I really believed in myself, I will have a child in my 90’s … but, she had faith that God would fulfill His promise (Genesis 13:16) “And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted.” This was a promise to be fulfilled. But Sarah wasn’t perfect, she did try to rush things by having her husband sleep with the servant girl which had bad ramifications later on, but God kept his promise, even though it took awhile for Sarah to grasp it.
We try to do things our way, instead of God’s.
(three men came visiting .. Angels? Vs. 18)
Genesis 18:12 “So she laughed silently to herself .. Vs. 13 “Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did she laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby? Is anything to hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
ILL. Of Rob and Valerie.
Hebrews 11:17-19 By Faith, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrafice (Genesis 22:1-19)
God asks Abraham to sacrafice his one and only son on Mount Mariah .. Which is a 3-day journey. God calls out to Abraham Twice… to stop him from killing his son.
What’s interesting is in Hebrews, we get our eyes opened up about this incident. Abraham had his faith in the promise of God … he knew that he was going to be the father of many nations. So he placed his sons life in the hands of God, and that if he killed Isaac, God had the power to raise him from the dead.
Jesus talked to the Sadducees in Mark 12:18-27 where the Sadducees believe there is no resurection from the dead, they doubted the power of God to do this, because to Moses the Lord declared that “I am the God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.” HE is the God of the living.
Do you have faith in the power of God, do you take his him at his word? Because it affects our whole outlook on life.
God’s faithfulness in times of temptation:
1 Cor. 10:12 “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” -- Abram could of said, I’ll take the land on the east, but he didn’t .. he was going to let Lot decide, and allow God to guide him.
God is Faithful even when we sin: 1Jhn.1:8-9 “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
God is Faithful to protect you 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3 “Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”
God is Faithful to Change you 1 Thess. 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
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