Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Abram and Lot Separate - The Book of Genesis

Transcript

Abram and Lot Separate - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

0:00
Speaker 1: After these things the word of the Lord came unto
0:02
Speaker 1: Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham, I am
0:07
Speaker 1: thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15.1 Dear
0:14
Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, when the season comes, help me to make
0:18
Speaker 1: the choice to separate and move on when a relationship
0:23
Speaker 1: must transition and come to an end. When I must
0:27
Speaker 1: choose a new location to move to, I will not
0:30
Speaker 1: only look at the outward appearance, but will look intently
0:34
Speaker 1: at the new land and opportunity to make sure your
0:37
Speaker 1: spirit and presence are there. As I continue to move
0:42
Speaker 1: in sync with your commands, I thank you that you
0:46
Speaker 1: will continue to bless me and send words of encouragement
0:49
Speaker 1: through various people like Abraham. I declare that multiplication is
0:55
Speaker 1: in my future. I declare that you will not depart
0:59
Speaker 1: from me. nor leave my side until you've accomplished your
1:03
Speaker 1: covenant and promises through me. Thank you, Lord, that you
1:09
Speaker 1: are for me like you were for Abraham in the
1:13
Speaker 1: book of Genesis. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these
1:21
Speaker 1: daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from
1:25
Speaker 1: the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year.
1:29
Speaker 1: brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
1:40
Speaker 2: Abram and Lot separate. Before this story, we learned about
1:45
Speaker 2: how Abram was called by God to leave his country
1:48
Speaker 2: and God would bless him, make his name great, and
1:52
Speaker 2: make him into a great nation. Yet, in Abram's heart,
1:57
Speaker 2: was imperfections, fears, and faithlessness. Now we will learn about
2:02
Speaker 2: how Abram and Lot separate and go their own ways,
2:07
Speaker 2: and how God's faithfulness to Abram saves Lot from danger.
2:11
Speaker 2: Then we see a promise made by God that would
2:15
Speaker 2: change the course of history, inspired by the book of Genesis.
2:21
Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
2:24
Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Yesterday, we looked at the
2:28
Speaker 3: story of Abram leaving his home and journeying to a
2:31
Speaker 3: new land, to Canaan. When he left, he brought with
2:34
Speaker 3: him his wife, Sarah, and also his nephew, Lot. Today,
2:39
Speaker 3: we're going to cover a lot of ground, starting with
2:41
Speaker 3: Lot and Abram and how their stories differ. You're about
2:45
Speaker 3: to see Lot's story. Though he was with Abram, he
2:48
Speaker 3: took a decidedly different direction. It's a sad story about decisions.
2:54
Speaker 3: being seduced by the apparent beauty of a place while
2:57
Speaker 3: neglecting to see the wickedness, the toxic wickedness that was
3:02
Speaker 3: brewing beneath the surface. We contrast that with the choices
3:05
Speaker 3: made while seeking God and depending upon Him. You'll also
3:10
Speaker 3: hear how Abram is coming into his own as a
3:13
Speaker 3: wise man who worships God and who cares more about
3:17
Speaker 3: honoring the Lord than receiving honor to himself. Finally, we'll
3:21
Speaker 3: see how Abram has learned, at least for now, to
3:25
Speaker 3: wait on God's timing and to plead with him, to
3:28
Speaker 3: plead with God for answers when the promise of descendants
3:32
Speaker 3: is still not fulfilled. It's a lesson for how you
3:36
Speaker 3: can approach God, how you can approach God honestly, asking
3:40
Speaker 3: for the desires of your heart, even as you wait
3:43
Speaker 3: faithfully on his timing. Now, here is today's reading.
3:50
Speaker 2: Abram and Lot both increased in riches and influence, so
3:55
Speaker 2: much so that their livestock, servants, and warriors could no
3:58
Speaker 2: longer inhabit the same land. To keep their people from
4:02
Speaker 2: warring against one another, Abram proposed they separate. Separate from me.
4:08
Speaker 2: If you take the left, then I will go to
4:10
Speaker 2: the right. Or if you take the right, then I
4:13
Speaker 2: will go to the left. Lot took Abram up on
4:16
Speaker 2: his generous offer. and looked out at the Jordan Valley,
4:20
Speaker 2: and saw that it was full of fertile plains in
4:22
Speaker 2: the direction of Zohar. The plains were watered everywhere, and
4:26
Speaker 2: reminded him of the old stories of the Garden of Eden.
4:30
Speaker 2: Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley, and everything east of them.
4:35
Speaker 2: He then took his flocks and servants there, then parted
4:39
Speaker 2: with Abram, and settled in the land of Sodom. Though
4:43
Speaker 2: the land was beautiful, Lot had wandered into a city
4:46
Speaker 2: filled with all kinds of evils. Men and women plagued
4:51
Speaker 2: with a wicked and debased culture lingered there, and Lot
4:54
Speaker 2: later on would find himself in great danger. Abram looked
4:59
Speaker 2: to the west towards Canaan. God, who had promised fruitful
5:03
Speaker 2: land to Abram, met him there and spoke. Lift up
5:07
Speaker 2: your eyes and see where you are, north South, east,
5:12
Speaker 2: and west. Every piece of land you see I will
5:15
Speaker 2: give to you and your descendants forever. From you I
5:20
Speaker 2: will fill the earth with my righteousness. So Abram moved
5:24
Speaker 2: his tent and settled by the oaks of Mamre, beside Hebron.
5:29
Speaker 2: And there he worshipped the Lord with a full heart.
5:33
Speaker 2: Towards the east, a great war spread like a plague
5:36
Speaker 2: across the region. The four kings of the cities in
5:40
Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah rebelled against the confederation of five kings
5:44
Speaker 2: ruling over them. War, bloodshed, theft, and rape burned through
5:49
Speaker 2: Lot's land like a wildfire. A fierce and brutal battle
5:53
Speaker 2: traveled towards the valley of the Dead Sea. The four
5:57
Speaker 2: rebel kings clashed against their overlords. with thousands of men
6:01
Speaker 2: behind them. Running into battle, the armies of Sodom and
6:05
Speaker 2: Gomorrah were gripped by the tar pits below the valley,
6:08
Speaker 2: trapped and slaughtered slowly by their enemies. While some were
6:13
Speaker 2: mercilessly torn apart, others fled to the hills to die
6:17
Speaker 2: slowly in shame. In the aftermath stood Lot, helplessly robbed, beaten,
6:24
Speaker 2: then kidnapped by the Confederate kings. They had taken everything
6:28
Speaker 2: he owned, including all of the women and children under
6:32
Speaker 2: his care. Lot was now totally consumed by the wicked
6:36
Speaker 2: land he had chosen as a home, and a slave
6:39
Speaker 2: to the people he chose to dwell with. One of
6:42
Speaker 2: Lot's spies escaped the Confederate kings, and ran towards the
6:46
Speaker 2: west where Abram lived in peace with his allies, Mamre, Escol,
6:50
Speaker 2: and Aner. The word of Lot's captivity came to Abram,
6:54
Speaker 2: and there was no time wasted. Abram assembled 318 of
6:59
Speaker 2: his trained men and prepared them for battle. Together they
7:03
Speaker 2: traveled a great distance to retrieve Lot. Abram's land was
7:07
Speaker 2: at peace. This was not his war. Yet God was
7:11
Speaker 2: grooming him to be a hero. Abram did not storm
7:15
Speaker 2: the valley on horseback, nor did his army charge into
7:18
Speaker 2: battle with the horns of war behind them. They waited
7:22
Speaker 2: for the dark quiet of the night. Abram divided his army,
7:27
Speaker 2: and had them swiftly take over the enemy. With quiet
7:31
Speaker 2: tact and swiftness, Abram took back Lot, his possessions, his people,
7:37
Speaker 2: and drove the rest of the enemy out to the
7:39
Speaker 2: north to be killed. Afterwards, Abram was met by a
7:43
Speaker 2: mysterious king and priest named Melchizedek. He brought Abram bread
7:49
Speaker 2: and wine, then blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram from
7:53
Speaker 2: the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
7:58
Speaker 2: Blessed be the Most High God, who delivered your enemies
8:01
Speaker 2: to you. Melchizedek spoke of Abram's God in a land
8:05
Speaker 2: that did not know him, and was a priest of
8:08
Speaker 2: God before priests existed. Melchizedek's blessing mirrored that of God's,
8:13
Speaker 2: and Abram was astounded. Of all the possessions Abram had,
8:19
Speaker 2: he gave Melchizedek a tenth. This interaction between Abram and
8:23
Speaker 2: Melchizedek would be important for years and years to come.
8:28
Speaker 2: Shortly after, Abram was approached by the king of Sodom.
8:32
Speaker 2: The king desired to reward Abram for his victory and
8:36
Speaker 2: offered Abram the spoils of war. Yet Abram knew the
8:39
Speaker 2: wickedness lying beneath. He saw the king lying through his teeth.
8:44
Speaker 2: He knew that the king wanted Abram to be indebted
8:47
Speaker 2: to him. Abram, in a moment of honor, said, I
8:51
Speaker 2: have fought for the Lord, owner of heaven and earth.
8:54
Speaker 2: I will not take even a sandal strap from you,
8:57
Speaker 2: lest you think it is you who has made me rich.
9:01
Speaker 2: So Abram allowed his allies to take their share, but
9:04
Speaker 2: he took nothing and returned home. After rejecting the reward
9:09
Speaker 2: from the king of Sodom, the Lord then visited Abram
9:12
Speaker 2: in a vision. Again, he made a promise to Abram, saying,
9:16
Speaker 2: I am your shield.
9:18
Speaker 1: And I will.
9:19
Speaker 2: Provide you with a great reward. Abram, filled with sadness,
9:24
Speaker 2: looked to God, saying, O Lord, you say you want
9:28
Speaker 2: to bless me and my descendants, yet I remain childless.
9:32
Speaker 2: Shall I be forced to give all that I have
9:34
Speaker 2: to a servant of my household? Shall he inherit my land? God,
9:40
Speaker 2: with tender love and compassion, spoke gently to Abram. Look
9:44
Speaker 2: to the skies. See how the stars are countlessly scattered
9:48
Speaker 2: throughout the universe. Your descendants will be just as these stars,
9:53
Speaker 2: great in number and abounding in beauty. Abram, despite the
9:58
Speaker 2: doubt and anguish in his heart, believed God. It was
10:02
Speaker 2: this faith that God counted as righteousness. It was this
10:06
Speaker 2: faith that God would bless him with. Again, God spoke, saying,
10:11
Speaker 2: I am the one who brought you out of Ur
10:13
Speaker 2: and the land of the Chaldeans. I brought you out
10:16
Speaker 2: to give you this land to take possession of. because
10:20
Speaker 2: I am the Lord. Abram, still in faith, asked how
10:25
Speaker 2: he would take possession of the land already inhabited by
10:28
Speaker 2: so many people. God responded with a task. Bring me
10:32
Speaker 2: a female calf who is not given birth, a goat
10:36
Speaker 2: and a ram all three years old, along with a
10:39
Speaker 2: dove and a young pigeon. So Abram brought all of
10:43
Speaker 2: what the Lord asked for, cut them in half and
10:46
Speaker 2: arranged the halves opposite of each other. The birds he
10:50
Speaker 2: did not cut in half, though. Blood scattered all around Abram,
10:54
Speaker 2: and his hands stained in red. Abram fell into a
10:58
Speaker 2: very deep sleep, and a dreadful darkness came over him.
11:02
Speaker 2: God met him in his sleep, saying, Know for certain
11:06
Speaker 2: that your offspring will be sojourners and strangers in a
11:09
Speaker 2: land that is not theirs. There they will be servants,
11:14
Speaker 2: and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But
11:17
Speaker 2: I am faithful. and I will bring judgment on the
11:20
Speaker 2: nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out
11:24
Speaker 2: with great possessions. This he spoke of regarding the captivity
11:29
Speaker 2: of Egypt. As for you, you shall go to your
11:32
Speaker 2: fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good
11:36
Speaker 2: old age. The night had continued, and Abram awoke to
11:41
Speaker 2: a burning flame between the pieces of flesh. And just
11:44
Speaker 2: as God had provided a covering for Adam and Eve
11:47
Speaker 2: in the garden with the furs of an animal, and
11:50
Speaker 2: protected Noah from the flood using the ark, so God
11:53
Speaker 2: provided a promise to Abram there. That day the Lord
11:58
Speaker 2: made a covenant with Abram, saying, I give this land
12:01
Speaker 2: to your descendants. And God would not depart from Abram's
12:05
Speaker 2: side for the rest of his days, nor would he
12:08
Speaker 2: forsake his children.
12:14
Speaker 3: Today's reading opens with two men who are greatly prospering
12:18
Speaker 3: in the land God has brought them into. Abram is
12:23
Speaker 3: older and wiser, and he sees the potential for conflict,
12:27
Speaker 3: even within a family, over land and prosperity and property,
12:31
Speaker 3: and as he and Lot both grow in riches and
12:34
Speaker 3: in influence. So he gives Lot the first pick of
12:38
Speaker 3: which land to settle, and he agrees that he will
12:41
Speaker 3: take what Lot does not choose. Lot sees the beauty
12:46
Speaker 3: and the glory and the riches of the land near
12:48
Speaker 3: the Jordan River, where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
12:51
Speaker 3: were located. This is the land he chose. Perhaps he
12:55
Speaker 3: was blinded by the abundance and lushness of the area,
12:59
Speaker 3: but for whatever reason, he did not take into account
13:02
Speaker 3: the wickedness, the vile wickedness of the people in that area. Abram,
13:10
Speaker 3: on the other hand, went to God, and God showed
13:12
Speaker 3: him where he would settle. So we see the contrast
13:16
Speaker 3: of acting based on our own wisdom, as Lot did,
13:19
Speaker 3: versus seeking God's counsel and guidance in every aspect of life.
13:24
Speaker 3: The difference could not be more pronounced. Abram was blessed
13:28
Speaker 3: and continued to grow in riches and influence. But Lot?
13:32
Speaker 3: It wasn't long before Lot was in deep, deep trouble.
13:36
Speaker 3: Wars and rebellion threatened Lot's very life, and he was beaten, robbed,
13:40
Speaker 3: and kidnapped. Abram steps in as the hero and comes
13:44
Speaker 3: to the rescue of his nephew. We see Abram not
13:47
Speaker 3: as a nomadic traveler, but a warrior who comes in
13:50
Speaker 3: and conquers the enemy, driving them out of the land
13:53
Speaker 3: and restoring his nephew Lot. This wasn't Abram's war, but
13:58
Speaker 3: he intervened. As a result, Abram has an encounter with
14:02
Speaker 3: a high priest named Melchizedek who worshiped Abram's God. This
14:07
Speaker 3: priest blesses Abram and astounds him as his blessing reminds
14:11
Speaker 3: Abram of the blessing God has given him. There is
14:15
Speaker 3: another lesson we learn in this story, and that is
14:17
Speaker 3: with Abram's interaction with the king of Sodom, who tries
14:21
Speaker 3: to align himself with Abram. But Abram, rather than accepting
14:24
Speaker 3: the glory and the honor, trusts in the Lord. He
14:28
Speaker 3: turns back to the Lord. We can be tempted to
14:32
Speaker 3: accept praise from other men for our victories, but Abram
14:35
Speaker 3: reminds us that God is the source of our strength.
14:38
Speaker 3: He is our victory and the one for whom we
14:41
Speaker 3: live and strive. Finally, we see Abram pleading with God
14:46
Speaker 3: for his promises to be fulfilled. He is yet without descendants,
14:51
Speaker 3: and rather than taking matters into his own hands, he
14:53
Speaker 3: goes before God. I love the honesty of his interaction
14:57
Speaker 3: with God and the Lord's gentle and loving response. Here
15:01
Speaker 3: is what Genesis 15 verses 2 through 6 says, But
15:06
Speaker 3: Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me since
15:10
Speaker 3: I am childless and the heir of my house is
15:12
Speaker 3: Eleazar of Damascus? Abram also said, since you have given
15:16
Speaker 3: me no son, one who has been born into my
15:19
Speaker 3: house and is my heir. Then behold, the word of
15:22
Speaker 3: the Lord came to him saying, this man will not
15:25
Speaker 3: be your heir, but one who will come from your
15:28
Speaker 3: own body shall be your heir. And he took him
15:31
Speaker 3: outside and said, now look toward the heavens and count
15:35
Speaker 3: the stars if you are able to count them. And
15:38
Speaker 3: he said to him, so shall your descendants be. Then
15:42
Speaker 3: he believed in the Lord and it was credited unto
15:45
Speaker 3: him as righteousness. God comforts Abram and adds to the promise.
15:51
Speaker 3: He will give him more than he could ever even fathom.
15:55
Speaker 3: How gracious of God to not only reaffirm the promises
15:58
Speaker 3: he'd made to Abram, but to point to the night
16:01
Speaker 3: sky as a reminder of that promise. You can just
16:04
Speaker 3: imagine how every time Abram grew discouraged, or tired, and
16:09
Speaker 3: felt that his faith was giving way, he looked up
16:12
Speaker 3: into a brilliant night sky lit up with the stars
16:15
Speaker 3: and remembered God's promise. In response, Abram offers a sacrifice
16:21
Speaker 3: and the Lord makes a covenant with him then and there.
16:24
Speaker 3: This is where we leave Abram for today. Once again,
16:28
Speaker 3: his story offers you a wonderful example of faith and
16:31
Speaker 3: submission to God and the timing the Lord brings. Oh,
16:35
Speaker 3: that we would trust in our Lord so fully as Abram.
16:40
Speaker 3: Dear Father in heaven, thank you that we can trust
16:43
Speaker 3: you and seek you for wisdom in every aspect of
16:46
Speaker 3: our lives. We are so grateful for Abram's story and
16:49
Speaker 3: how it teaches us to always live by faith and
16:53
Speaker 3: not sight and to trust in his promises always. In Jesus' name, amen.
17:00
Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
17:03
Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
17:08
Speaker 3: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
17:11
Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love.
17:14
Speaker 3: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in
17:16
Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how
17:20
Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be
17:24
Speaker 3: sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless.
17:33
Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
17:37
Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.