Genesis (Part 20)
Bible Study Time 10-26-08
(From James Roberts 1-5-97)
Bible Study Time 10-26-08
(From James Roberts 1-5-97)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture, we saw that Abraham was taken from UR of the Chaldeans and was led into the land of Canaan, the land of promise. While in the land of Canaan, Abraham was tested by the Lord. During a time of great famine, Abraham chose to go down into Egypt rather than trusting the Lord to provide for him while remaining in the land that God had given him.
While Abraham was down in Egypt, Abraham dishonored his wife, he dishonored the Lord, he was rebuked by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he was sent out of the land of Egypt. But one of the things that is so refreshing about Abraham is that when he left Egypt, he went back to the place where he was before he went down into Egypt. Upon his return, he built an altar, and he began to call upon the name of the Lord.
How important this lesson is for us today. In the book of I John, Chapter 1 and verse 9, the Apostle John tells us that when we sin, we are to confess our sin. And he says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Everyone of us is just like Abraham. Many times we fail to trust God completely. As a result we go down into Egypt, away from the Lord, and we have to come back to the place where we were when we sinned so that we can confess that sin to the Lord.
After we confess our sin, the Lord restores us to fellowship with Him once again. We don’t have to be saved again. We don’t have to be born again, over and over again. But when we sin, after we are saved, we are to confess our sin. In a way, this sort of washes our feet. We don’t have to be bathed all over again, but we do have to have our feet cleansed when our walk is defiled by sin.
Abraham gives us a beautiful picture of the person who sins and then is restored to fellowship with God as he returns to God and calls upon the name of the Lord. Now notice how this restored fellowship is really used of God in Genesis, Chapter 13. We will begin reading with verse five:
Genesis 13:5-8 NKJV
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot,"Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
I don’t think we’re inappropriately reading into this when we say that Abraham was particularly concerned about this situation because of the message it was sending to the nations that lived around them. The Canaanites and the Perizzites undoubtedly were watching Abraham and Lot because they knew that Abraham and Lot believed in the true and the living God, and they were carefully observing the power of their faith. Abraham must have recognized that this situation was a problem, so he went to Lot to resolve the conflict.
The first principle that we see here is that if there is a conflict between two brothers, the one who is walking in fellowship with the Lord and is therefore sensitive to the Lord’s leading, must take the initiative to go to the other brother and endeavor to resolve the conflict. So Abraham went to talk with Lot, but he did not go with a list of demands. Abraham did not go to Lot in a judgmental way. But notice what Abraham said:
Genesis 13:8 NKJV
8 So Abram said to Lot,"Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
Clearly, Abraham took a place of humility. He besought Lot, he pleaded with Lot to resolve the conflict. Abraham said:
Genesis 13:9 NKJV
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
Abraham had every right to say:
Now Lot, there is a conflict between us, and this can’t happen anymore. So here’s what I want you to do. God has given me this land and because he has given me this land, I’m going to show you how we will resolve this conflict. I’m going to give you that particular portion of land over there, and I want you and your herdsmen to go over there. As for me, I will take this other portion of land.
No, Abraham did not do what he had the right to do. Abraham gave the choice to Lot. He said, Lot, if you go to the left I will go to the right, but if you go to the right I will go to the left. Abraham left the choice with Lot. Abraham gave up his own rights so that there might be peace and so that the conflict might be resolved. In the book of Philippians, Chapter 2, the Apostle Paul says:
Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
This carries the idea that Jesus Christ was there in heaven as God, and yet He did not think that His position of equality with the Father was so precious that He could not given it up. He did not feel that He had to hold onto that position of privilege at all cost. No, He willingly laid aside that to which He had a right.
He was willing to lay aside all of the glory and significance of His rightful position, and He was willing to come down to the earth and take a position as a servant. Here we have the God of glory laying aside His rightful position and taking the position of a servant.
As a servant, He gave His life for your sins and for my sins. He was willing to be born into a cursed world, a world that was cursed by sin, and He went to the cross to take that curse upon Himself. He died for your sins and for mine.
This was the mind of Christ, and may I say as a little aside here that there may be one of you who is listening this morning who has never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. You still have never become a child of God. Oh, I trust that you will see today that God so loved you that He was willing to give His son, and His son loved you so much that He was willing to lay aside His right to remain in heaven so that He could come down to this earth to be your Savior. I trust that if you don’t know Him today that you will come to Him and say:
Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for dying for me, and I want to trust You as my Savior. I want you to save me right now because I’m totally believing in You as my Savior, the one who redeemed me from all of my sins.
God says that when you have this kind of faith, He will count your faith for righteousness.
And it may be that you are already a Christian, but you are out of fellowship with God. It may be that you have been down in Egypt, and you sense that it is time for you to come back out of Egypt. If so, it is time for you to go back to the place where you left God, so that you can confess that sin to God, so that you can tell God that you want to serve Him and fellowship with Him, and that you want to worship Him, and that you want to have His will done in your life.
When you do that, God will begin to work in your life and reveal Himself to you though His word. Then you can be like Abraham. You can have spiritual understanding and perceive things that those who are out of fellowship with God can not perceive.
Abraham recognized the problem that was being caused by the strife between his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen, and he wanted to have that conflict resolved. It seems as though Lot was indifferent to the problem, almost unaware of the problem. In this, Lot is a picture of the worldly Christian in that the worldly Christian will not be sensitive to the spiritual dangers that surrounds him.
So Abraham let Lot choose which direction he wanted to go, but I want you to notice the basis upon which Lot made his choice. Let’s read verse 10.
Genesis 13:10 NKJV
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the well watered plains of Jordan. The scriptures declare that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. When we look at the things around us, and if we make our decisions based on the things that we see around us, we are walking just like every other person that’s in the world.
The Apostle Paul says that the believer who does this is a carnal Christian. This is typical of the Christian who is out of fellowship with God. On the other hand, the Christian who is in fellowship with God will be looking into God’s word and seeking direction from God’s word, because he will know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
If you’re in fellowship with God, you will be studying God’s word and hiding God’s word in your heart. You’ll be able to perceive spiritual truths, and you will be able to recognize spiritual dangers, so that you will be able to make decisions that are based on the spiritual truths that are taught in the word of God. The book of Psalms tells us:
Psalms 119:105 KJV
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Lot lifted up his eyes, and rather than walking by faith, He chose to walk by sight. Abraham on the other hand was walking by faith and not by sight. He was willing to let Lot make the choice.
Now notice again what Lot saw. He saw the well watered plains of Jordan. He said, this is just like paradise, this is just like Eden, this is just like the garden of the Lord. You see, when a man is walking by sight, his natural mind will always lead him in the direction of those things that appear on the outside to be beautiful. He will think, if I can just get this or that, my life will be like paradise.
Undoubtedly, Lot looked at those well watered plains, and he said, look at all of that grass. I’ll never again have to worry about pasture for my cattle. So he chose the well watered plains of Jordan.
But I want you to notice that there was another description of those well watered plains. To Lot, they looked like paradise, the garden of the Lord, but they were also described as being like Egypt as one goes down to Zoar. As we said before, Egypt is a picture of the world, and so it was that Lot chose the way of the world.
Satan never tempts us with the ugliness of the world or the destructiveness of the things of the world. He will always tempt us with the attractiveness of the things of the world. Lot saw the well watered plains of Jordan, and to him it was like paradise, it was like the garden of the Lord, but God saw that it was like Egypt.
As we go on, we are going to see the results of Lot’s desire to go down into the well watered plains of Jordan. Lot made the wrong choice because he was walking by sight, and Lot was sure to face the consequences of that choice. Oh, how important it is for us today to be in a position where we can make choices that are pleasing to the Lord.
Well, I see our time is gone. The Lord willing we will be back with you again next week as we continue our study of Lot. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
While Abraham was down in Egypt, Abraham dishonored his wife, he dishonored the Lord, he was rebuked by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he was sent out of the land of Egypt. But one of the things that is so refreshing about Abraham is that when he left Egypt, he went back to the place where he was before he went down into Egypt. Upon his return, he built an altar, and he began to call upon the name of the Lord.
How important this lesson is for us today. In the book of I John, Chapter 1 and verse 9, the Apostle John tells us that when we sin, we are to confess our sin. And he says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Everyone of us is just like Abraham. Many times we fail to trust God completely. As a result we go down into Egypt, away from the Lord, and we have to come back to the place where we were when we sinned so that we can confess that sin to the Lord.
After we confess our sin, the Lord restores us to fellowship with Him once again. We don’t have to be saved again. We don’t have to be born again, over and over again. But when we sin, after we are saved, we are to confess our sin. In a way, this sort of washes our feet. We don’t have to be bathed all over again, but we do have to have our feet cleansed when our walk is defiled by sin.
Abraham gives us a beautiful picture of the person who sins and then is restored to fellowship with God as he returns to God and calls upon the name of the Lord. Now notice how this restored fellowship is really used of God in Genesis, Chapter 13. We will begin reading with verse five:
Genesis 13:5-8 NKJV
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot,"Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
I don’t think we’re inappropriately reading into this when we say that Abraham was particularly concerned about this situation because of the message it was sending to the nations that lived around them. The Canaanites and the Perizzites undoubtedly were watching Abraham and Lot because they knew that Abraham and Lot believed in the true and the living God, and they were carefully observing the power of their faith. Abraham must have recognized that this situation was a problem, so he went to Lot to resolve the conflict.
The first principle that we see here is that if there is a conflict between two brothers, the one who is walking in fellowship with the Lord and is therefore sensitive to the Lord’s leading, must take the initiative to go to the other brother and endeavor to resolve the conflict. So Abraham went to talk with Lot, but he did not go with a list of demands. Abraham did not go to Lot in a judgmental way. But notice what Abraham said:
Genesis 13:8 NKJV
8 So Abram said to Lot,"Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
Clearly, Abraham took a place of humility. He besought Lot, he pleaded with Lot to resolve the conflict. Abraham said:
Genesis 13:9 NKJV
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
Abraham had every right to say:
Now Lot, there is a conflict between us, and this can’t happen anymore. So here’s what I want you to do. God has given me this land and because he has given me this land, I’m going to show you how we will resolve this conflict. I’m going to give you that particular portion of land over there, and I want you and your herdsmen to go over there. As for me, I will take this other portion of land.
No, Abraham did not do what he had the right to do. Abraham gave the choice to Lot. He said, Lot, if you go to the left I will go to the right, but if you go to the right I will go to the left. Abraham left the choice with Lot. Abraham gave up his own rights so that there might be peace and so that the conflict might be resolved. In the book of Philippians, Chapter 2, the Apostle Paul says:
Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
This carries the idea that Jesus Christ was there in heaven as God, and yet He did not think that His position of equality with the Father was so precious that He could not given it up. He did not feel that He had to hold onto that position of privilege at all cost. No, He willingly laid aside that to which He had a right.
He was willing to lay aside all of the glory and significance of His rightful position, and He was willing to come down to the earth and take a position as a servant. Here we have the God of glory laying aside His rightful position and taking the position of a servant.
As a servant, He gave His life for your sins and for my sins. He was willing to be born into a cursed world, a world that was cursed by sin, and He went to the cross to take that curse upon Himself. He died for your sins and for mine.
This was the mind of Christ, and may I say as a little aside here that there may be one of you who is listening this morning who has never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. You still have never become a child of God. Oh, I trust that you will see today that God so loved you that He was willing to give His son, and His son loved you so much that He was willing to lay aside His right to remain in heaven so that He could come down to this earth to be your Savior. I trust that if you don’t know Him today that you will come to Him and say:
Lord Jesus, I want to thank You for dying for me, and I want to trust You as my Savior. I want you to save me right now because I’m totally believing in You as my Savior, the one who redeemed me from all of my sins.
God says that when you have this kind of faith, He will count your faith for righteousness.
And it may be that you are already a Christian, but you are out of fellowship with God. It may be that you have been down in Egypt, and you sense that it is time for you to come back out of Egypt. If so, it is time for you to go back to the place where you left God, so that you can confess that sin to God, so that you can tell God that you want to serve Him and fellowship with Him, and that you want to worship Him, and that you want to have His will done in your life.
When you do that, God will begin to work in your life and reveal Himself to you though His word. Then you can be like Abraham. You can have spiritual understanding and perceive things that those who are out of fellowship with God can not perceive.
Abraham recognized the problem that was being caused by the strife between his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen, and he wanted to have that conflict resolved. It seems as though Lot was indifferent to the problem, almost unaware of the problem. In this, Lot is a picture of the worldly Christian in that the worldly Christian will not be sensitive to the spiritual dangers that surrounds him.
So Abraham let Lot choose which direction he wanted to go, but I want you to notice the basis upon which Lot made his choice. Let’s read verse 10.
Genesis 13:10 NKJV
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the well watered plains of Jordan. The scriptures declare that we are to walk by faith and not by sight. When we look at the things around us, and if we make our decisions based on the things that we see around us, we are walking just like every other person that’s in the world.
The Apostle Paul says that the believer who does this is a carnal Christian. This is typical of the Christian who is out of fellowship with God. On the other hand, the Christian who is in fellowship with God will be looking into God’s word and seeking direction from God’s word, because he will know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
If you’re in fellowship with God, you will be studying God’s word and hiding God’s word in your heart. You’ll be able to perceive spiritual truths, and you will be able to recognize spiritual dangers, so that you will be able to make decisions that are based on the spiritual truths that are taught in the word of God. The book of Psalms tells us:
Psalms 119:105 KJV
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Lot lifted up his eyes, and rather than walking by faith, He chose to walk by sight. Abraham on the other hand was walking by faith and not by sight. He was willing to let Lot make the choice.
Now notice again what Lot saw. He saw the well watered plains of Jordan. He said, this is just like paradise, this is just like Eden, this is just like the garden of the Lord. You see, when a man is walking by sight, his natural mind will always lead him in the direction of those things that appear on the outside to be beautiful. He will think, if I can just get this or that, my life will be like paradise.
Undoubtedly, Lot looked at those well watered plains, and he said, look at all of that grass. I’ll never again have to worry about pasture for my cattle. So he chose the well watered plains of Jordan.
But I want you to notice that there was another description of those well watered plains. To Lot, they looked like paradise, the garden of the Lord, but they were also described as being like Egypt as one goes down to Zoar. As we said before, Egypt is a picture of the world, and so it was that Lot chose the way of the world.
Satan never tempts us with the ugliness of the world or the destructiveness of the things of the world. He will always tempt us with the attractiveness of the things of the world. Lot saw the well watered plains of Jordan, and to him it was like paradise, it was like the garden of the Lord, but God saw that it was like Egypt.
As we go on, we are going to see the results of Lot’s desire to go down into the well watered plains of Jordan. Lot made the wrong choice because he was walking by sight, and Lot was sure to face the consequences of that choice. Oh, how important it is for us today to be in a position where we can make choices that are pleasing to the Lord.
Well, I see our time is gone. The Lord willing we will be back with you again next week as we continue our study of Lot. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
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