Be Thou My Vision

Genesis 13:5-18

Abram and Lot Separated

Abram responded to God’s call by leaving his father’s household to go to Canaan—God’s Promised Land. He brought along his nephew, Lot. God blessed Abram and Lot, and they became very wealthy with livestock, gold, silver and tents. (v2,5)

But the land could not support them for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarrelling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling 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.”

Abram was very generous and he placed his relationship with Lot above all else. Hence, he let Lot choose first. 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.  (v10)

Lot chose what was perceived as good and beautiful outwardly. He looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, and he made his mind to take the land.

There were illustrations found in Genesis where the idea of “man looked up – saw and took” was described. The precedent cases were found when Eve saw the fruit of the tree was good for food and she took some and ate it (3:6); and the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose (6:2). Therefore, this was a negative description on Lot.

The narrator mentioned “Zoar”, the place Lot would like to flee to from Sodom. The narrator also said that, “This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah”, as a way to inform readers in advance the consequence of Lot’s choice.

What Lot could see with his natural eyes was completely different from the actual condition of the land—bad land. Lot did not realize the truth and he chose the land that looked well-watered, and he set out towards the east. The two men parted company (v11).

In the book of Genesis, “set out towards the east” is a metaphor of being away from God’s Promised Land and missing out of His blessings. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life; Cain went to the land of Nod, east of Eden after his fall; the people of the tower of Babel shifted eastward.

Lot measured the value of the land with his own eyes, and he perceived the economic potential of the land with his secular perspectives. Hence, he chose what he considered the best. Lot thought that the land he saw was like the land of Egypt and Eden, a land of abundance. But it was totally opposite in reality.

The land which seemed to be fertile and rich gave Lot the hope for a better future. He was indifferent towards the wickedness in the land. He only saw the possibilities of gaining wealth for himself. 

He thought that with his own effort to toil, the land could yield great harvest. His foundation of life was laid upon such perceptions, filled by his greed for worldly interests and a trust in his own personal effort. God was not in his heart.

If we were to make choices by sight like Lot, we would indeed be worldly in our perspectives and our measurements would be based on worldly values. Hence, we would not measure our choice with God’s eternal perspectives and values. We often choose to live for the moment, and the choice is often influenced by our five senses. What we seek is physical pleasure that the world could offer to us.

We live by sight and not by faith, and we lose our sense of eternity. Lot thought the land would provide him the greatest return and security, but he ended up losing all. What his worldly mind perceived as good turned out to be bad. What he considered as opportunities caused him destruction!

Lot moved his tent bit by bit nearer to Sodom, and eventually settled in Sodom. The people in Sodom was extremely wicked in God’s sight, but Lot did not care about it. All he was concerned was merely to live an affluent life in the city. His life slowly eroded and caught up by the wickedness in it.

Lot had already been far away from God’s presence, and his end was disastrous.

The following text informed us about the invasion of Sodom and Gomorrah by the four kings and Lot’s capture by them. He was, however, fortunate enough to have Abram who came in time to his rescue. At first, Lot was confident that he would lead a happy and blessed life on his own effort, but in the end he actually needed his uncle’s help.

Furthermore, Chapter 19 recorded God’s raining down sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the two cities were destroyed by fire because of their grievous sins. Abram pleaded with the angels, and Lot was spared at the last minute though he literally lost everything he had.

If we were to face ourselves honestly this day, we would come to discover that our decision process in lives was very much similar with Lot’s. Often we hold a worldly perspective towards our life.

Instead of fleeing from sin and desiring for holiness and things that have eternal values, we place a high value on temporal happiness and, as a result, we end up paying big prices many times.

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. (v14-15)

Lot looked around and he made a choice based on what he saw was good, but ultimately the land he chose was destroyed by God because of its wickedness. However, when God asked Abram to look around, he saw the land God intended to give to him.

There is a difference between what men sees with his own eyes and what God wants him to see. What they saw were the same, “all the land”. Yet, Lot’s portion was only the whole plain of Jordan, while what God wanted Abram to look around was the whole land of Canaan.

Subsequent to this, God promised Abram and He said, “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.” (v16-17)

God wanted Abram to walk through the length and breadth of the land, to declare that the land was symbolically his, although in reality the Canaanites were dwelling in that land.

By using “look around” and “see”, the narrator described how God had directed the eyes of Abram. Abram was able to see things from God’s perspectives. It is all about God’s grace.

We are to trust in God this day in all things and make our choices with the vision of God. Then shall we be able to find rest in the Promised Land of God and then shall we be blessed.

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. （v18）

Lot moved gradually towards the sinful city of Sodom, but Abram moved gradually towards Hebron, the hill country of Judea. The hill country was barren but it was a place more suitable to draw near to God and to worship Him.

By drawing near to God and dwelling in His presence, we shall definitely be granted true rest and blessing.

Conclusion

What made the difference between Lot and Abram was the way they made decision. Lot made his choice based on material gains he could see with his eyes. He relied on his own abilities to strive to work, and he never considered God’s way of measurement.

Abram allowed Lot to choose the land before him, because his concern was not so much on worldly gains, but more on his love for Lot. Love for people comes from God, and there is eternal value in it.

God helped Abram to see that he could receive more than what Lot had gained for himself. Abram would inherit the entire land of Canaan and his descendants were to be as many as dust on the earth.

Abram saw with his eyes of faith and he trusted in God’s promise. What Lot chose was something within his arm’s length, but what Abram chose was God’s grace. There was a tremendous difference between the two choices they made.

Application

The Lord Jesus taught us to walk on the narrow road and enter the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14）, and this is meaningful for us being the disciples of Christ.

Many of us feel that it is difficult to be disciples of Christ, because we do not really know our needs. We make a mistake when we desire less of God and more of the world. We often are uncomfortable about God’s demands and commands, but that is when we really need to obey to harness the grace of God.

1 John 2:15-17 warns us that, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Jesus gave a stern warning to his disciples in Matthew 6:24. He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

However, we will definitely become worried when we are under the pressure of our peers or the trends of the world, and we are afraid of being left behind. 

In Matthew 6:31-34, Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In Luke 12:15, Jesus reminded the believers by saying that, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Choices we made today shall determine our relationship with God and hence our fate. Worldly perspectives will draw us away from God and we will certainly regret over our choices in times to come.

We should rely on the grace of God and we should put our trust in God’s promises. By which, it means that we walk not by sight but by faith, and we make choices based on perspectives of God with His will in mind. God shall honour us and bless us abundantly.

Today we have to consider how to make choices in all aspect of our life seriously. Let’s set apart some times to focus in prayer and in reading of the Bible, and to listen attentively to God for Him to speak to our hearts, and to reflect upon the conditions of our lives.

What are we living for? What are the things that entangle our lives? Ask the Holy Spirit to set us free, so that we can rely solely on the grace of God. God often put us on the infertile highland of Hebron so that we would cling on to Him. Nevertheless, the grace of God is sufficient for us!

May we submit to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and to make God our first priority when it comes to making decisions in life. May our choices and discernment not by sight but by faith.

May we seek not the temporal pleasure, and rely not on our capabilities, but trust in God’s grace in our daily living. May we desire to fulfil God’s will and desire after His promised blessings in eternity.