Read with Me
Genesis 13:12-18 (HCSB)
Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the LORD.
After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.”
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
Listen with Me
The place where Lot chose his headquarters was in a broad, grassy area of the Jordan Valley known as “the plain”. This was a very desirable area, and in it five cities had grown up, known collectively as “the cities of the plain” – Sodom and Gomorrah, the largest two, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, the smallest of the five.
After Lot and his group departed, Abram was feeling a bit low. Not only had division grown among his family, but Lot had chosen the most desirable portion of the whole land, at least from appearances. (God had Moses note that the people of Sodom, in spite of being blessed to live in such a lush and productive area, were wicked, and lived in rebellion against God and His commandments.)
It was into Abram’s feelings of disappointment that God spoke. He reaffirmed to Abram that He had given rights to the whole land to him. Lot might have gone to live in the fertile plain, but that area was still ultimately Abram’s. All the land in every direction from where Abram stood would be passed on to his descendants, whom God would make so numerous that they would not be able to be counted.
But Abram needed to make his own claim on the land. He was not to simply sit in one place and possess the land philosophically or metaphorically. He was to possess it and use it literally. God encouraged him to travel throughout the whole land, to explore it, and to use it. Everywhere his foot touched, he needed to be aware that that piece of the land was his, too, no matter who might be using it at that moment.
Abram did as he was commanded. And in his moving about, he found a place in Hebron that was pleasant enough to set up as his home base. So, he moved his tents there, and he built an altar to God.
Pray with Me
Father, the various zigzags that our lives take can move us to forget our mission and Your promises to us, or even to believe that that mission and those promises have somehow been forgotten or left behind. But You tell us in Your word that Your calling on our lives is irrevocable (Romans 11:28-29). If we turn back to You, we will find our calling waiting for us, along with the promises You made to help us achieve it. I know this was true in my own case. When I came back to you after ten years in the far country, You renewed your original calling on my life and helped me to accomplish it. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness. Amen.