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: Let us pray. After these things, the word of the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: 15.1 Dear Heavenly Father, when the season comes, help me
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: to make the choice to separate and move on when
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: a relationship must transition and come to an end. when
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I must choose a new location to move to, I
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: will not only look at the outward appearance, but will
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: look intently at the new land and opportunity to make
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: sure your spirit and presence are there. As I continue
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: to move in sync with your commands, I thank you
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: that you will continue to bless me and send words
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: of encouragement through various people, like Abraham. I declare that
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: multiplication is in my future. I declare that you will
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: not depart from me nor leave my side until you've
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: accomplished your covenant and promises through me. Thank you, Lord,
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: that you are for me like you were for Abraham
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: in the book of Genesis. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, Stay tuned for The Bible
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Abram and Lot separate. Before this story, we learned about
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: how Abram was called by God to leave his country
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: and God would bless him, make his name great, and
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: make him into a great nation. Yet, In Abram's heart
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: was imperfections, fears, and faithlessness. Now we will learn about
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: how Abram and Lot separate and go their own ways,
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: and how God's faithfulness to Abram saves Lot from danger.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Then we see a promise made by God that would
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: change the course of history, inspired by the book of Genesis.
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Yesterday, we looked at the
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: story of Abram leaving his home and journeying to a
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: new land, to Canaan. When he left, he brought with
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: him his wife, Sarah, and also his nephew, Lot. Today,
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: we're going to cover a lot of ground, starting with
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Lot and Abram and how their stories differ. You're about
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: to see Lot's story. Though he was with Abram, he
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: took a decidedly different direction. It's a sad story about decisions,
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: being seduced by the apparent beauty of a place while
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: neglecting to see the wickedness, the toxic wickedness that was
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: brewing beneath the surface. We contrast that with the choices
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: made while seeking God and depending upon Him. You'll also
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: hear how Abram is coming into his own as a
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: wise man who worships God and who cares more about
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: honoring the Lord than receiving honor to himself. Finally, we'll
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: see how Abram has learned, at least for now, to
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: wait on God's timing and to plead with him, to
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: plead with God for answers when the promise of descendants
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: is still not fulfilled. It's a lesson for how you
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: can approach God, how you can approach God honestly, asking
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: for the desires of your heart, even as you wait
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: faithfully on his timing. Now, here is today's reading.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Abram and Lot both increased in riches and influence, so
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: much so that their livestock, servants, and warriors could no
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: longer inhabit the same land. To keep their people from
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: warring against one another, Abram proposed they separate. Separate from me.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: If you take the left, then I will go to
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: the right. Or if you take the right, then I
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: will go to the left. Lot took Abram up on
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: his generous offer. and looked out at the Jordan Valley,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: and saw that it was full of fertile plains in
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: the direction of Zohar. The plains were watered everywhere, and
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: reminded him of the old stories of the Garden of Eden.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley, and everything east of them.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: He then took his flocks and servants there, then parted
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: with Abram, and settled in the land of Sodom. Though
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: the land was beautiful, Lot had wandered into a city
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: filled with all kinds of evils. Men and women plagued
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: with a wicked and debased culture lingered there, and Lot
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: later on would find himself in great danger. Abram looked
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: to the west towards Canaan. God, who had promised fruitful
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: land to Abram, met him there and spoke. Lift up
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: your eyes and see where you are. North, south, east,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: and west. Every piece of land you see I will
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: give to you and your descendants forever. From you I
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: will fill the earth with my righteousness. So Abram moved
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: his tent and settled by the oaks of Mamre, beside Hebron.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: And there he worshipped the Lord with a full heart.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Towards the east, a great war spread like a plague
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: across the regions. The four kings of the cities in
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah rebelled against the confederation of five kings
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: ruling over them. War, bloodshed, theft, and rape burned through
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: Lot's land like a wildfire. A fierce and brutal battle
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: traveled towards the valley of the Dead Sea. The four
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: rebel kings clashed against their overlords, with thousands of men
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: behind them. Running into battle, the armies of Sodom and
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Gomorrah were gripped by the tar pits below the valley,
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: trapped and slaughtered slowly by their enemies. While some were
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: mercilessly torn apart, others fled to the hills to die
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: slowly in shame. In the aftermath stood Lot, helplessly robbed, beaten,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: then kidnapped by the Confederate kings. They had taken everything
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: he owned, including all of the women and children under
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: his care. Lot was now totally consumed by the wicked
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: land he had chosen as a home, and a slave
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: to the people he chose to dwell with. One of
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Lot's spies escaped the Confederate kings, and ran towards the
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: west where Abram lived in peace with his allies, Mamre, Escol,
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: and Aner. The word of Lot's captivity came to Abram,
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: and there was no time wasted. Abram assembled 318 of
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: his trained men and prepared them for battle. Together they
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: traveled a great distance to retrieve Lot. Abram's land was
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: at peace. This was not his war. Yet God was
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: grooming him to be a hero. Abram did not storm
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: the valley on horseback, nor did his army charge into
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: battle with the horns of war behind them. They waited
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: for the dark quiet of the night. Abram divided his army,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: and had them swiftly take over the enemy. With quiet
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: tact and swiftness, Abram took back Lot, his possessions, his people,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: and drove the rest of the enemy out to the
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: north to be killed. Afterwards, Abram was met by a
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: mysterious king and priest named Melchizedek. He brought Abram bread
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: and wine, then blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram from
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Blessed be the Most High God, who delivered your enemies
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: to you. Melchizedek spoke of Abram's God in a land
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: that did not know him, and was a priest of
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: God before priests existed. Melchizedek's blessing mirrored that of God's,
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: and Abram was astounded. Of all the possessions Abram had,
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: he gave Melchizedek a tenth. This interaction between Abram and
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Melchizedek would be important for years and years to come.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: Shortly after, Abram was approached by the king of Sodom.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: The king desired to reward Abram for his victory and
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: offered Abram the spoils of war. Yet Abram knew the
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: wickedness lying beneath. He saw the king lying through his teeth.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: He knew that the king wanted Abram to be indebted
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: to him. Abram In a moment of honor said, I
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: have fought for the Lord, owner of heaven and earth.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: I will not take even a sandal strap from you,
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: lest you think it is you who has made me rich.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: So Abram allowed his allies to take their share, but
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: he took nothing and returned home. After rejecting the reward
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: from the king of Sodom, the Lord then visited Abram
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: in a vision. Again, he made a promise to Abram, saying,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: I am your shield. and I will provide you with
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: a great reward. Abram, filled with sadness, looked to God, saying,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: O Lord, you say you want to bless me and
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: my descendants, yet I remain childless. Shall I be forced
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: to give all that I have to a servant of
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: my household? Shall he inherit my land? God, with tender
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: love and compassion, spoke gently to Abram. Look to the skies.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: See how the stars are countlessly scattered throughout the universe.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Your descendants will be just as these stars, great in
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: number and abounding in beauty. Abram, despite the doubt, and
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: anguish in his heart, believed God. It was this faith
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: that God counted as righteousness. It was this faith that
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: God would bless him with. Again God spoke, saying, I
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: am the one who brought you out of Ur and
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: the land of the Chaldeans. I brought you out to
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: give you this land to take possession of, because I
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: am the Lord. Abram, still in faith, asked how he
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: would take possession of the land already inhabited by so
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: many people. God responded with a task. Bring me a
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: female calf who is not given birth. a goat, and
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: a ram all three years old, along with a dove
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: and a young pigeon. So Abram brought all of what
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: the Lord asked for, cut them in half, and arranged
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: the halves opposite of each other. The birds he did
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: not cut in half, though. Blood scattered all around Abram,
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: and his hands stained in red. Abram fell into a
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: very deep sleep, and a dreadful darkness came over him.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: God met him in his sleep, saying, Know for certain
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: that your offspring will be sojourners and strangers in a
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: land that is not theirs. There they will be servants,
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: I am faithful, and I will bring judgment on the
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: with great possessions. This he spoke of regarding the captivity
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: of Egypt. As for you, you shall go to your
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: old age. The night had continued, and Abram awoke to
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: a burning flame between the pieces of flesh. And just
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: as God had provided a covering for Adam and Eve
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: in the garden with the furs of an animal, and
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: protected Noah from the flood using the ark, so God
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: provided a promise to Abram there. That day the Lord
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: made a covenant with Abram, saying, I give this land
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: to your descendants. And God would not depart from Abram's
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: side for the rest of his days, nor would he
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: forsake his children.
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: Today's reading opens with two men who are greatly prospering
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: in the land God has brought them into. Abram is
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: older and wiser, and he sees the potential for conflict,
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: even within a family, over land and prosperity and property,
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: and as he and Lot both grow in riches and
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: in influence. So he gives Lot the first pick of
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: which land to settle, and he agrees that he will
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: take what Lot does not choose. Lot sees the beauty
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: and the glory and the riches of the land near
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: the Jordan River, where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: were located. This is the land he chose. Perhaps he
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: was blinded by the abundance and lushness of the area,
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: but for whatever reason, He did not take into account
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: the wickedness, the vile wickedness of the people in that area. Abram,
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: on the other hand, went to God, and God showed
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: him where he would settle. So we see the contrast
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: of acting based on our own wisdom, as Lot did,
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: versus seeking God's counsel and guidance in every aspect of life.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: The difference could not be more pronounced. Abram was blessed
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: and continued to grow in riches and influence. But Lot?
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: It wasn't long before Lot was in deep, deep trouble.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: Wars and rebellion threatened Lot's very life, and he was beaten, robbed,
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: and kidnapped. Abram steps in as the hero and comes
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: to the rescue of his nephew. We see Abram not
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: as a nomadic traveler, but a warrior who comes in
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: and conquers the enemy, driving them out of the land
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: and restoring his nephew Lot. This wasn't Abram's war, but
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: he intervened. As a result, Abram has an encounter with
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: a high priest named Melchizedek who worshiped Abram's God. This
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: priest blesses Abram and astounds him as his blessing reminds
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: Abram of the blessing God has given him. There is
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: another lesson we learn in this story, and that is
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: with Abram's interaction with the king of Sodom who tries
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: to align himself with Abram. But Abram, rather than accepting
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: the glory and the honor, trusts in the Lord. He
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: turns back to the Lord. We can be tempted to
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: accept praise from other men for our victories, but Abram
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: reminds us that God is the source of our strength.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: He is our victory and the one for whom we
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: live and strive. Finally, we see Abram pleading with God
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: for his promises to be fulfilled. He is yet without descendants,
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: and rather than taking matters into his own hands, he
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: goes before God. I love the honesty of his interaction
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: with God and the Lord's gentle and loving response. Here
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: is what Genesis 15 verses 2 through 6 says. But
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me since
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: I am childless and the heir of my house is
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: Eleazar of Damascus? Abram also said, since you have given
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: me no son, one who has been born into my
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: house and is my heir. Then behold, the word of
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: the Lord came to him saying, this man will not
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: be your heir, but one who will come from your
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: own body shall be your heir. And he took him
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: outside and said, now look toward the heavens and count
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: the stars if you are able to count them. And
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: he said to him, so shall your descendants be. Then
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: he believed in the Lord and it was credited unto
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: him as righteousness. God comforts Abram and adds to the promise.
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: He will give him more than he could ever even fathom.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: How gracious of God to not only reaffirm the promises
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: he'd made to Abram, but to point to the night
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: sky as a reminder of that promise. You can just
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: imagine how every time Abram grew discouraged or tired and
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: felt that his faith was giving way, he looked up
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: into a brilliant night sky lit up with the stars
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: and remembered God's promise. In response, Abram offers a sacrifice
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: and the Lord makes a covenant with him then and there.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: This is where we leave Abram for today. Once again,
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: his story offers you a wonderful example of faith and
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: submission to God and the timing the Lord brings. Oh,
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: that we would trust in our Lord so fully as Abram.
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: Dear Father in heaven, thank you that we can trust
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: you and seek you for wisdom in every aspect of
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: our lives. We are so grateful for Abram's story and
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: how it teaches us to always live by faith and
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: not sight and to trust in his promises always. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless.