Latest / The Chosen People / Separation: Abram & Lot
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- 0:04Speaker 2: Previously on The Chosen People. Abram and Lot were exhausted
- 0:11Speaker 2: after overseeing the grueling sojourn south through the notoriously treacherous
- 0:16Speaker 2: desert called the Negev. A devastating famine had swept through
- 0:21Speaker 2: the land. It compelled their band of expatriates to carry
- 0:26Speaker 2: their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures
- 0:29Speaker 2: on the humps of camels until they were eventually forced
- 0:32Speaker 2: to enter the lions' and vipers' territory on the long,
- 0:36Speaker 2: barren desert road to Egypt.
- 0:39Speaker 3: Abram!
- 0:39Speaker 4: Abram!
- 0:40Speaker 1: What did I tell you?
- 0:41Speaker 5: No, no, don't look over. But listen carefully.
- 0:44Speaker 3: That's the fifth time I've caught them staring today.
- 0:48Speaker 5: That's all right. If I tell them she's my wife,
- 0:52Speaker 5: they'll kill me. But if I tell them she's my sister...
- 0:57Speaker 5: They'll probably spare me.
- 1:00Speaker 3: Yeah, not to mention, we'd probably benefit from any potential
- 1:05Speaker 3: suitors Sarah might have.
- 1:09Speaker 4: Abram, you would tell a half-truth and deny me the
- 1:12Speaker 4: protection of my husband? Lie to spare yourself and ship
- 1:17Speaker 4: me off to an Egyptian warlord?
- 1:22Speaker 5: Abram, who is Sarai to you? I beg forgiveness. Sarai
- 1:31Speaker 5: is my wife. Just as your spies have surely told you,
- 1:37Speaker 5: the gossip is true. I was afraid of what would
- 1:41Speaker 5: happen to me if a man desired my wife.
- 1:45Speaker 2: Abram felt rebuked by Pharaoh's words, by God's words, and
- 1:50Speaker 2: knew that despite his assuredness that he was doing what
- 1:53Speaker 2: he thought was right, he never should have left the
- 1:56Speaker 2: land he had been promised. His mistakes had almost cost
- 2:00Speaker 2: him and Sarai their integrity and their lives.
- 2:05Speaker 1: I love you, Abram. And I always will.
- 2:08Speaker 3: You've always been a bit of a brother to me.
- 2:12Speaker 3: And you're everything an older brother should be. Your sense
- 2:15Speaker 3: of duty and loyalty are unmatched.
- 2:18Speaker 1: When I look back on my life, I.
- 2:21Speaker 3: Want to feel like I did something of significance. That
- 2:24Speaker 3: I achieved something that no one else has done before.
- 2:31Speaker 2: Lot pinched the bridge of his nose, a futile attempt
- 2:35Speaker 2: to stave off the headache that had been building since
- 2:38Speaker 2: they left Egypt. His men's constant grumbling had become a
- 2:42Speaker 2: persistent drone, amplified by the slow, torturous pace of their
- 2:47Speaker 2: journey through the desert. So large had he and Abram's
- 2:51Speaker 2: caravans become that they were forced to move through the
- 2:55Speaker 2: miserable wilderness in stages. He guessed that even a tortoise
- 2:59Speaker 2: could have outpaced them. and if they had thought resources
- 3:02Speaker 2: were scarce during the famine and then again in the desert,
- 3:05Speaker 2: returning to Canaan was nothing but a disappointment. Lot was
- 3:10Speaker 2: shaken by their experience in Egypt. Being rebuked by Pharaoh
- 3:14Speaker 2: bruised his ego, and now they were forced to return
- 3:18Speaker 2: to the place between Bethel and Ai, where they had
- 3:21Speaker 2: first settled in Canaan. They were not exactly welcomed back
- 3:24Speaker 2: with open arms from their neighbors. The Canaanites and Perizzites
- 3:28Speaker 2: had barely survived the famine in their region. If they
- 3:31Speaker 2: had been indifferent to Abram and Lot's people before the famine,
- 3:35Speaker 2: they had turned downright hostile at their return. It certainly
- 3:39Speaker 2: didn't help that their numbers had tripled, straining the resources
- 3:43Speaker 2: of the land past their limit. The hill country had
- 3:46Speaker 2: already been limited in its ability to provide the flocks.
- 3:50Speaker 2: As Lot surveyed the expanse, he realized how much famine
- 3:54Speaker 2: had devastated the already limited region. Lot then considered the riches.
- 3:59Speaker 2: Their camp was laden with silver and gold from the Egyptians,
- 4:03Speaker 2: gifts that would have been Sarai's dowry. Abram considered them
- 4:07Speaker 2: bitter reminders of his deceit, but Lot refused to assign
- 4:11Speaker 2: such sentiments to the fortune that had made him a
- 4:14Speaker 2: very rich man. Their accumulated wealth made them easy targets
- 4:19Speaker 2: for raids from their aggressive neighbors. So, Everyone was on
- 4:23Speaker 2: edge between being on their guard for any threats and
- 4:26Speaker 2: squabbling over watering holes and grazing pastures, especially Lot. Lot's
- 4:32Speaker 2: camp buzzed with unrest. His herdsmen, wearied and wary, approached
- 4:37Speaker 2: him with grievances.
- 4:39Speaker 6: So, you see, Master, this is the fourth time we've
- 4:43Speaker 6: caught one of Abram's shepherds herding our goats away from
- 4:46Speaker 6: the grazing land.
- 4:47Speaker 5: Right, right, right. So ten times, Master. And And there's
- 4:51Speaker 5: not enough to go around as it is. Abram's men
- 4:55Speaker 5: are getting greedy. They think they're more important than us.
- 5:00Speaker 7: Lot, you see, it's just as I was telling you
- 5:03Speaker 7: this morning. Your uncle overreacts. His high opinion of himself
- 5:08Speaker 7: trickles down to his men. He may be content to
- 5:11Speaker 7: rot here and feel guilty about what happened in Egypt,
- 5:14Speaker 7: but in the meantime, he will drive our resources into
- 5:16Speaker 7: the ground.
- 5:18Speaker 2: Lot's headache flared as his wife continued, her criticism relentless.
- 5:23Speaker 2: She never understood their hasty departure from Egypt and resented
- 5:27Speaker 2: Sarai's now withdrawn demeanour. Edith's constant meddling felt like a
- 5:32Speaker 2: thorn in Lot's side.
- 5:34Speaker 7: And I'll tell you another thing, Lot. I suspect our
- 5:36Speaker 7: flocks have intermingled in these tight quarters. Boy, weren't you
- 5:40Speaker 7: just saying that to your father as you came to
- 5:42Speaker 7: our tent? Tell me, Shepard, how have you been tracking
- 5:45Speaker 7: what is ours?
- 5:47Speaker 5: My lady.
- 5:48Speaker 6: We're doing all we can to protect the flocks, but
- 5:51Speaker 6: our men are spread thin, taking on watches outside and
- 5:55Speaker 6: inside the camp. We're watching for more than just Abrams shepherds.
- 6:00Speaker 6: We've fended off a couple of raids these last few days.
- 6:03Speaker 6: The clansmen from the hill country know that we've got
- 6:06Speaker 6: silver and gold.
- 6:09Speaker 1: We can't afford our wealth to just walk off.
- 6:13Speaker 3: Listen, do what you can to maintain the defenses at camp,
- 6:17Speaker 3: and I'll have a talk with Abram about his men.
- 6:19Speaker 7: Maintain the defenses? Shouldn't we strengthen them? You wouldn't want
- 6:24Speaker 7: something terrible to befall me or our daughters, would you?
- 6:27Speaker 1: That's enough, Edith! I said I'll take care of it,
- 6:31Speaker 1: all right? I know how to take care of this family.
- 6:36Speaker 3: Thank you for the report, men. I'll send Abram straight away.
- 6:39Speaker 3: Report back to me tomorrow.
- 6:41Speaker 1: You're dismissed.
- 6:43Speaker 2: Lot rubbed his temples. The headache had at last settled in.
- 6:48Speaker 2: His wife sauntered off once the two shepherds filed out
- 6:51Speaker 2: of their tent. He wasn't sure how Abram would respond
- 6:54Speaker 2: to these allegations, or even what resolution they could come to.
- 6:58Speaker 2: They would likely need to move on from this area
- 7:01Speaker 2: before they were in all-out war with the neighbouring clans.
- 7:04Speaker 2: But then that didn't solve the problem of their two
- 7:07Speaker 2: caravans living side by side. They were sure to deplete
- 7:11Speaker 2: any area they settled within months, if not weeks. The
- 7:14Speaker 2: old Abram, the Abram Lot had known all his life,
- 7:17Speaker 2: would have a solution. But with this new Abram who
- 7:20Speaker 2: followed a god Lot did not fully understand, with this Abram,
- 7:25Speaker 2: Lot was not so sure of what he would do.
- 7:28Speaker 2: Lot was eager to step into this legacy Abram spoke about,
- 7:32Speaker 2: and when their path had led to such fortune in Egypt,
- 7:35Speaker 2: he could not have been more pleased with that turn
- 7:37Speaker 2: of events. though it was not the original plan Abram
- 7:42Speaker 2: had relayed from his god. As for Lot, he wanted
- 7:45Speaker 2: to believe and could believe in a god who could
- 7:47Speaker 2: make him so rich, but they seemed to have come
- 7:50Speaker 2: up against an obstacle here. He just hoped Abram would
- 7:54Speaker 2: be in the right frame of mind to help him
- 7:56Speaker 2: solve it. Lot approached Abram, where he kneeled at the
- 8:00Speaker 2: altar he had built the last time they settled in
- 8:02Speaker 2: this land. Lot made sure to announce his presence with
- 8:06Speaker 2: the scuff of his feet against the dusty ground.
- 8:11Speaker 5: Uncle? Yes, dear nephew.
- 8:14Speaker 1: I had a matter I wished to discuss with you.
- 8:17Speaker 2: Abram stood and remained silent. Lot took this as his
- 8:21Speaker 2: cue to speak first.
- 8:23Speaker 1: My herdsmen, they're at it again, Abram.
- 8:25Speaker 3: They're complaining that your herdsmen are depriving my animals of
- 8:30Speaker 3: water and grazing land.
- 8:34Speaker 5: Has it come to blows this time?
- 8:36Speaker 1: Not yet, but give it time and it will. I mean,
- 8:40Speaker 1: come on.
- 8:41Speaker 3: We can't afford to have our men fighting each other
- 8:44Speaker 3: when we've got enemies all around us. This is a
- 8:46Speaker 3: disaster waiting to happen, Abram.
- 8:48Speaker 1: A total disaster.
- 8:50Speaker 5: Yes, we must find a way to deal with these clans.
- 8:53Speaker 1: Deal with them? Deal with them?
- 8:55Speaker 5: Perhaps we can move about and.
- 8:57Speaker 7: How?
- 8:58Speaker 1: We can't match them if they raise an army, Abram.
- 9:00Speaker 5: A truce?
- 9:02Speaker 3: Please, a truce isn't going to happen unless they get
- 9:05Speaker 3: something out of it. Maybe we need to think of
- 9:08Speaker 3: some sort of alliance. You know, my daughters will be
- 9:10Speaker 3: of age soon if you get my drift.
- 9:14Speaker 5: Lord, we've seen how these clans treat their people. They
- 9:19Speaker 5: sanction such cruelty in their warfare. And the worship of
- 9:22Speaker 5: their vengeful gods involves human sacrifice and other unsavory acts.
- 9:29Speaker 5: I'm not so sure we should... compromise our ways.
- 9:33Speaker 1: Our ways?
- 9:34Speaker 5: What ways, Abram?
- 9:36Speaker 1: What are you talking about?
- 9:37Speaker 5: To assimilate into their culture.
- 9:39Speaker 1: This God you're following, he's got no written texts, no priests, nothing!
- 9:44Speaker 5: We are following the God who led us here, and.
- 9:47Speaker 1: We're just out here making it up as we go along.
- 9:51Speaker 1: I mean, what are we even doing here, Abram?
- 9:57Speaker 5: As we obey and follow him, I beginning to peel
- 10:01Speaker 5: back the layers of this God he's still a mystery
- 10:05Speaker 5: to me but I know these tribal gods bring out
- 10:08Speaker 5: the worst in people while the God I'm following brings
- 10:12Speaker 5: out the best I can't bind myself to them lot but.
- 10:16Speaker 3: What are we supposed to do Our men are at
- 10:19Speaker 3: each other's throats, Abram. And we can't agree on anything.
- 10:22Speaker 1: It's like a bad fever dream.
- 10:26Speaker 5: Tensions are high. It seems that there are quarrels to
- 10:30Speaker 5: settle every other day. And our herds are only getting thinner.
- 10:35Speaker 5: The land never fully recovered from the famine. It cannot
- 10:38Speaker 5: sustain us both. Not for much longer, anyway. What are
- 10:42Speaker 5: you suggesting? We must separate. Separate?
- 10:46Speaker 6: What?
- 10:47Speaker 1: What are you talking about separate? What about the legacy
- 10:50Speaker 1: of our families? We left everything behind. Our homes, our friends,
- 10:55Speaker 1: our land. And now you're telling me we're just going
- 10:58Speaker 1: to split up? Just like that?
- 11:01Speaker 5: It's not so easy, Lot. I asked you to come
- 11:04Speaker 5: with me because you've always been more of a brother
- 11:07Speaker 5: than a nephew. With Nahor hundreds of miles away, looking
- 11:12Speaker 5: after our father's legacy, you and Sarai are the only
- 11:16Speaker 5: family I have left. but we cannot live in strife
- 11:20Speaker 5: like this. Look, look at what is before you.
- 11:25Speaker 2: Abram closed the gap between himself and Lot, clapping a
- 11:29Speaker 2: hand on his shoulder as he turned him to see
- 11:32Speaker 2: the sweeping vista his raised altar site offered. The Jordan
- 11:36Speaker 2: River cut through the circular plain before them, generously watering
- 11:41Speaker 2: the lands on either side of its mighty banks. The
- 11:44Speaker 2: Jordan flowed into the Salt Sea, and off in the distance,
- 11:48Speaker 2: almost due south, they could just make out the shape
- 11:51Speaker 2: of the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah on the horizon.
- 11:55Speaker 2: So fertile was the river valley that it reminded Abram
- 11:59Speaker 2: of their time in Egypt along the Nile. It even
- 12:02Speaker 2: stirred memories of a story passed down through their family
- 12:06Speaker 2: history of a lush, forgotten garden that had disappeared at
- 12:10Speaker 2: the beginning of time. Abram watched as Lot turned to
- 12:14Speaker 2: look over their shoulders to the east, toward the great sea.
- 12:19Speaker 2: They could not see it because of the rocky foothills
- 12:21Speaker 2: that eventually gave way to mountains. The terrain was dry
- 12:25Speaker 2: and cracked, and what resources were to be had were
- 12:28Speaker 2: hoarded by walled cities and untold numbers of foreign enemies.
- 12:33Speaker 2: Lot turned back to the rich plain, and Abram watched
- 12:37Speaker 2: his hungry eyes take it all in, presumably calculating the
- 12:41Speaker 2: productivity of the land that would now be unburdened from
- 12:44Speaker 2: having to share it with Abram. Lot seemed irritable when
- 12:48Speaker 2: he first confronted Abram, but all discomfort appeared to be
- 12:52Speaker 2: gone now, as Lot had turned positively ravenous, taking in.
- 12:55Speaker 8: The land before him.
- 12:58Speaker 2: Abram knew in his heart what Lot's decision would be,
- 13:01Speaker 2: before he even asked the question. But he asked regardless.
- 13:06Speaker 5: What do you think? The whole land is before us,
- 13:10Speaker 5: but I will let you decide. Which way will you go?
- 13:13Speaker 6: You....
- 13:15Speaker 1: You would let me choose?
- 13:17Speaker 5: Me?
- 13:18Speaker 1: I would.
- 13:21Speaker 5: If you go to the left, I will go to
- 13:23Speaker 5: the right. If you go to the right, I will
- 13:25Speaker 5: go to the left.
- 13:29Speaker 2: It was an effort for Lot to tear his gaze
- 13:31Speaker 2: from the more favorable river plain and to look at
- 13:33Speaker 2: Abram in genuine surprise. Though his mind had been made
- 13:38Speaker 2: up long before this inevitable conversation, Abram still felt the
- 13:42Speaker 2: weight the decision would surely bring. In his time praying
- 13:47Speaker 2: and waiting to hear from his God by the altar,
- 13:50Speaker 2: this idea of separation had been stirred up in his mind.
- 13:54Speaker 2: Abram couldn't help but wonder if this was another test.
- 13:59Speaker 2: He had not trusted his God when the famine struck
- 14:01Speaker 2: the land, leading to disastrous results.
- 14:05Speaker 5: He was still.
- 14:06Speaker 2: Navigating the damage it had caused Sarai and was rebuilding
- 14:09Speaker 2: her trust. Abram felt more alone than he had in years.
- 14:15Speaker 2: Second only to Sarai, his relationship with Lot was the
- 14:19Speaker 2: most dear to him, but he was feeling the strain
- 14:22Speaker 2: of quarreling between their people and feared that it would
- 14:25Speaker 2: undo them. Abram had prayed to his God about how
- 14:29Speaker 2: to bring this up with Lot, and to his surprise,
- 14:32Speaker 2: Lot suddenly appeared before him. It seemed time to present
- 14:36Speaker 2: him with this decision and see what he would choose.
- 14:40Speaker 2: Abram had resolved to trust that his God would provide
- 14:43Speaker 2: for him and his people regardless of which direction Lot
- 14:47Speaker 2: decided to go. To his credit, Lot stuffed down his
- 14:52Speaker 2: gluttonous expression and turned to face Abram again.
- 14:55Speaker 1: But we would be apart?
- 14:58Speaker 5: Just like that? You will always be my family, Lot.
- 15:03Speaker 5: I will abide by your decision. My God has promised
- 15:07Speaker 5: me a great nation. And I hope you will still
- 15:11Speaker 5: be a part of it. No matter where you settle
- 15:14Speaker 5: your tents and herds.
- 15:16Speaker 3: You honor me by allowing me to take the land
- 15:19Speaker 3: of my choosing, uncle.
- 15:20Speaker 1: Really, you do.
- 15:22Speaker 3: Since you've offered it to me, I'll take the Jordan
- 15:25Speaker 3: Plains for.
- 15:25Speaker 5: My family and herds.
- 15:26Speaker 1: That's the direction we'll go.
- 15:28Speaker 5: So close to Sodom. Are you sure? I think... I.
- 15:34Speaker 1: Think the proximity of the city would prove useful to me.
- 15:38Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 15:38Speaker 8: Yeah.
- 15:39Speaker 7: Useful.
- 15:40Speaker 5: Very well. Then I will consider the other directions. Go
- 15:45Speaker 5: in peace, Lot. My brother. My friend.
- 15:50Speaker 2: The two shared an embrace. Abram watched Lot leave, heart
- 15:55Speaker 2: aching but resolved. Just before Lot receded from view, Abram
- 16:01Speaker 2: shouted back to him.
- 16:02Speaker 6: Lot!
- 16:03Speaker 8: Lot turned.
- 16:05Speaker 2: Worry wrinkled the top of his brow. Had Abram reconsidered?
- 16:09Speaker 2: Abram's face shrunk with loving concern.
- 16:13Speaker 5: Be careful near those cities. I fear the influence of
- 16:16Speaker 5: their culture is more dangerous than their spears.
- 16:20Speaker 2: Lot waved his hand casually. With a dismissive tone, he
- 16:24Speaker 2: shouted back to his uncle.
- 16:26Speaker 3: My mind is a locked vault of integrity, Abram.
- 16:29Speaker 1: You know this.
- 16:31Speaker 3: Farewell!
- 16:33Speaker 2: Lot's departure was a surprising weight off Abram's chest. It
- 16:37Speaker 2: was one less voice competing against the small whispers of
- 16:41Speaker 2: the god he desperately tried to hear. Soon after their
- 16:45Speaker 2: agreement had been struck, Lot did precisely as he had said.
- 16:49Speaker 2: He moved his caravan east to follow the Euphrates River
- 16:53Speaker 2: until they finally reached and settled outside Sodom. The quarreling
- 16:58Speaker 2: had ceased among his men in the absence of Lot's men,
- 17:01Speaker 2: but there were still dangers from the neighboring clans, and
- 17:05Speaker 2: the land could not support them for much longer. Abram
- 17:08Speaker 2: continued to go to the altar he had built and
- 17:11Speaker 2: waited each day to hear from God. It was on
- 17:15Speaker 2: one of these mornings the same familiar stillness permeated the
- 17:20Speaker 2: hill upon which Abram was sitting. Knowing what to expect
- 17:23Speaker 2: this time, but still struggling to keep his heartbeat steady,
- 17:27Speaker 2: Abram bowed his head and braced himself for the booming
- 17:31Speaker 2: voice and all-consuming presence.
- 17:34Speaker 8: Abram, look around you. Behold the land not only the east,
- 17:41Speaker 8: but also the north, south, and west. As I told
- 17:46Speaker 8: you before, this is the land I will give to
- 17:50Speaker 8: you and your offspring. And it will be yours forever.
- 17:56Speaker 5: Yes, my God. I remember what you told me.
- 17:59Speaker 8: Do you believe it, though? I will make your offspring
- 18:03Speaker 8: like the dust of the earth... If there was ever
- 18:07Speaker 8: anyone who could count up all the dust of the earth,
- 18:10Speaker 8: and there is not, then your offspring could also be counted.
- 18:16Speaker 2: Abram again felt a steadiness, an assuredness come over him.
- 18:20Speaker 2: He felt comforted by his God's words, and they pushed
- 18:24Speaker 2: back his doubts and fears about an uncertain future.
- 18:28Speaker 8: You are to get up and walk around this land.
- 18:31Speaker 8: I will show you where to go. And what's more,
- 18:35Speaker 8: I will give it to you. You will need not
- 18:38Speaker 8: take it. I would provide you with everything you need.
- 18:44Speaker 2: Abram, heartened and empowered by the words of his God,
- 18:48Speaker 2: did exactly as he was told. He traveled south until
- 18:52Speaker 2: he reached the city of Hebron, where he was surprised
- 18:56Speaker 2: to find that they were met by hospitality and great
- 18:59Speaker 2: kindness from an Amorite chief named Mamre. An alliance was
- 19:03Speaker 2: formed between their two great families, and Abram knew this
- 19:07Speaker 2: to be a sign that his God was protecting him
- 19:09Speaker 2: and giving him success in the promised land of Canaan.
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