So Genesis chapter 13, if you have your Bibles tonight. Relatively short chapter here. We consider Abram and Lot and their separation. Genesis chapter 13 beginning at verse 1 Going down to the end of the chapter So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev he and his wife all that belonged to him and lot with him. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. He went on his journeys from Negev as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly, and there Abram called upon the name of Yahweh. Now Lot, who was going with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. The land could not sustain them while living together, for their possessions were so abundant they were not able to live together. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, please, let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if to the right, then I will go to the left. Then Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan. Lot journeyed eastward, thus they separated from each other. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived in the cities of the valley, moved his tents as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were evil and sinners, exceedingly so against Yahweh. Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him. Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your seed can also be numbered. Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.' Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to Yahweh. As we continue on in our journey through Genesis, we consider Abram and his life. We come now after Abram leaves Egypt along with everyone who was with him. He was no doubt thankful to be alive after such a time as what he had in Egypt, the things that happened there. We find and we're reminded that Abram was very rich. We don't see that. whole lot in our world today. And in fact, sometimes some preachers will talk about richness as if that's something that is contrary to being Christian, but the reality is that the Bible does not tell us that money and riches are opposed to Christianity. It's not that the Lord does not save rich people. In fact, there are rich people that we know of and rich people that we read about in the Bible who followed the Lord. And certainly, Abram is one of them. Notice as we look there in verse 2, it says that Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. In our world, if you're going to talk about somebody being rich, we would list his silver, his gold first, and then talk about his herds of cattle and sheep and oxen and so on and so forth. In fact, if we were to make ranking of the things that he owned, we'd probably talk about his houses and his lands and all that. We'd talk about his net worth, how much money he has and all of those things. And somewhere down at the very bottom, we might say, oh yeah, he has a bunch of cows, he has a ranch, he has this. and so on and so forth. But in those days, in those days, to have a good herd of animals was actually worth more than silver and gold. Definitely more practical, that sort of thing. And that's why livestock is mentioned first in this passage. Certainly, especially in the nomadic lifestyle that these men lived, there's only so much that a person could do with silver and gold, but you have a good herd that can follow with you. There's many, many things that you can do with that. You can certainly have food. You can have pack animals and so on and so forth. You can have fur and all sorts of practical things with those animals. Now, when you read here that he had silver and gold, There are some Jewish commentators who say that Abram coined money, but the Bible doesn't tell us that that's the case. And to my knowledge, To my knowledge, and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong here, but to my knowledge, there's never been any discovery of any money that was found or discovered that bears the image or any indication that was coined by Ambrom. Maybe he did, but certainly if he did, it is not something that is to be found in archeological information that I ever read about, but more importantly, it's not anything that we read about in the scriptures. And that's the thing about extra biblical commentators And especially when you get into Josephus and others, there is such a warning about Jewish fables and stories we have to be careful of whenever we're reading and studying these things out. And so, but one thing's for certain, Abram was a rich man, and he did have silver and gold. Some of these riches, no doubt, he had acquired in Egypt, we read about that, but it would be doubtful that he got all of it there. God, Yahweh, had blessed this man and blessed him greatly. Again, it is wrong. It is wrong to equate being rich with sin. It's also wrong to equate being poor with sin. We find in the Bible, rich men who were saved, and we find in the Bible poor men who were saved. We find the Lord God Yahweh using men, servants of God, who were of some who had a lot of wealth and some who didn't have much at all. But we do find that, we do find that. There are few in the rich category though. And so don't be discouraged tonight if you don't have great herds, if you don't have a lot of livestock, and if you don't have a lot of silver and gold like Abram. Don't think for a while that you're not living up to life the way that you should be. Don't think that God has turned his back on you. Understand something. we have great riches in Christ. And certainly that is far better than to have great riches of this world and not have Jesus. And so many in this world have great riches of this world without the Lord. I think of men like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and even Elon Musk. And those rich men who are alive today, unless they repent and believe in Jesus, they'll die. And all that wealth will be left here in this world for men to fight over and all those sorts of things that won't do them any good in eternity. But oh, beloved, what we have in the Lord is something to be thankful for. And so we ought to rejoice in it. Well, I don't want to focus too much on the riches and things. Maybe we'll look at those things a little later in another sermon. But just know that there are examples of people being rich and being saved, and we rejoice in that when it happens, and when the Lord uses them, and he uses them in great ways. Abram is an example. Abram is an example. Job is another example. You can read about him and Job in the book of Job in the New Testament, Joseph of Arimathea. But then of course there are there are those examples and others But Abram and Those who are with him they arrive out of Egypt. They come back to where they were told to go in the first place And In verse 4 It says, to the place of the altar, which he had made there formerly, and there Abram called upon the name of Yahweh. Now, when he was in Egypt, there's no record of him calling upon the name of Yahweh. There's no record of him calling upon the name of the Lord. But when he came back, he did this. He did this. Should not men, regardless of their location, call upon the name of our God? We should, we should. But oh, how thankful I am that Abram, even after what he did and the way things turned out, although I'm thankful, I'm thankful on two accounts. I'm thankful that God did not forget about Abram, but I'm also thankful that Abram did not forget about God. And maybe that's the way it is in your life. You go through a season where you have done some things that you ought not to do as a Christian. A season where you don't call upon God like you ought to, but in that season, you're one of his, he will not forget about you. And in that season, you come back to where you ought to have been. Understand something, you ought not to forget about him. And though there may be times that are wasted, times that are dark, times that are troublesome, it's never a wrong time to call upon the name of God. And even as Abram called upon the name of Yahweh there, place of the altar. It is never too late to get back to church. It's never too late to get back to the Bible. It's never too late to call upon his name. We see that God is gracious to his people. But even though he was back in the land, and even though he was calling back the name of Yahweh, and even though the things were the way that should have been, there was still trouble. Because even in the Christian life, though we get out of those tough times, those times in Egypt, those times where we're not right and we get back and we're back at the altar, we're back at calling upon the name of Yahweh, we're back worshiping the Lord, there's still sometimes trouble. And we see that in the life of Abram because here he is, Little Abram was rich and he had lots of things, herds and gold and silver. He brought his nephew along and guess what? Verse five, Lot, who was going with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, and the land could not sustain them while living together, for their possessions were so abundant that they were not able to live together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living then in the land. And so here's these two relatives, these two kinsmen. They should have gotten along well. They had traveled together. They had come together. They should have bonded well, but they didn't. And so now there was strife. and the land was not able to bear both Abram and Lot and their possessions. Nomadic lifestyle, along with large flocks and herds, puts a strain on the land and strain even between the best of relationships. As a result, there was friction between Abram's people and Lot's people. We're also told that there were the Canaanites and the Perizzites in the land. Now these folks, they had been in the land too. And so all this complicated things. Verse eight, Sir Abram said to Lot, please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Under such circumstances, it was not good to bicker and go back and forth in the land like this. Continued contact and conflict under such an environment would not be good, not for them and not for the other people there. And so, so the solution was separation. And verse knowing is not the whole land before you, please separate from me. If to the left, then I will go to the right. If to the right, then I will go to the left. And so it is, these two relatives. though they've traveled so far together, the best solution was for them to go apart. And so it is that sometimes that is the best solution. We find that even in the New Testament, certain missionary party Paul was involved in had to go apart for at least for a season over John Mark. But you know, sometimes those separations are for a season, sometimes they're for a longer period. And sometimes we use the example of a church splitting over the color of a carpet, and while that's a petty reason for a church to split, But it's better for a church to split over that than for them to continually coming together into the same building and arguing every Sunday, every Wednesday, and all they want to do is argue and fight and complain over the color of the carpet. Isn't it better for them to go apart if that's all they want to do is bicker and complain about the color of the carpet? It's terrible that it's something that petty, but better for it to happen and for them to continue meeting. And that's all they talk about every Sunday, every Wednesday. No resolution. where they become a nuisance to each other, a nuisance to the world, rather than an ambassador for Christ. Whereas if they can't agree over the color of the carpet and they split, then you got one group over here that's happy with the color of their carpet, and another group over here that happy with the color of their carpet, maybe they can move on, both groups move on, carry on the gospel, which is what they should have been doing in the first place. Yeah, there's two churches now in the same town where there could have been one, but better for two churches who are at peace and now focused on the gospel rather than one church who's all the time coming together and arguing over something like carpet, you see? And that's what Abram was thinking here, not necessarily about the furtherance of the gospel. He wasn't concerned about the Great Commission or the furtherance of Christ's kingdom, but I'll tell you what, Abram was more concerned about what was right rather than who was right. And so, We see that here as he, the older of the two, he says to Lot, we're brothers. Don't let there be any strife. The whole land is before us. You pick where you wanna go. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right. If you go to the right, I'll go to the left. We're not gonna get anything accomplished if we stay together. This is evidence of Abram's character. He could have said, I'm the older one. And so, no, no, we see his faith in action. and type of works that faith produces. John MacArthur says about this, he says, Abram's whole reaction in resolving the strife between the two households and their personnel portrayed a different Abram than what we saw in Egypt. One whose attitude was not self-centered, waiving his right to seniority, he gave the choice to his nephew Lot. End quote. I often think about that. Abram could have said, who do you think you are, Lot? You'd be nothing if it weren't for me. But he doesn't do that. And we see that there. Well, look at what Lot did. Verses 10 and 11, Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zohar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Locke chose the better watered land for himself. Courtesy would dictate that he would have allowed Abram to take the better piece of real estate, but he didn't. Courtesy does not always fall in the hearts of younger people. It's true today and it's true then. How often do you see in a crowded room all the chairs are taken? Some young kid with a ring in his nose and colored hair sitting in the chair while his elderly grandfather is standing because there's no place to sit. That's the type of picture that I get here, but Lot made his choice. I'll go that way because there's watered land over there. But Moses, as he records this, he's careful. Of course, this being God-breathed text here, he's careful to let us know not only was it well watered, There was something else over there. Sodom and Gomorrah was over there. This was before Yahweh destroyed it. Choices have consequences. And these choices that Lot made, and set him down a path of no return. As Lot chose for himself the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward, thus they separated from each other. Verse 12 says, Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived in the cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom. So Abram, Abram dwelt in the land that God had originally told him to go to in the first place, but Lot, Lot was inching his way towards Sodom. Verse 13 tells us, now the men of Sodom were evil and sinners, exceedingly so against Yahweh. The Bible records that. God, Yahweh, knew that those men were evil and sinners. You know who else would have known that? Lot. Lot would have known that. Abram would have known that. The people around that area would have known that. It was not a secret. Be careful. Be careful. Young people, be careful. Elderly people, be careful. Middle-aged people, be careful, church, of putting yourself in a situation though the land may be good, though the water may be fine, though the provisions may seem great, be careful of putting yourself and your family where The people are wicked and sinners before God Almighty continually. Lott had made a choice, but his decisions put him in dangerous proximity to those cities whose names would become a byword for perversion and unbridled wickedness. When people choose a place to live, It's always good to check to see what the school system's like. Check to see what the taxes are like in that place. Check to see what the speed of the internet connection is. Check to see what the crime rate is, all of those things. when we were looking for a home to move here. I like to show up in the neighborhood during the daytime, look at the house, see what it was like. But I also like to come after dark, see what it was like too. Sometimes neighborhoods are different in the dark than what they are in the daytime. I also like to talk to the neighbors. You go through a neighborhood and you see people sitting outside, that's a good sign. You drive through a neighborhood and you don't see people sitting outside or see people walking, that's not a good sign. Pay attention to those things. Pay attention to the types of people that are out. When you're out walking and that sort of thing, if there's a playground in the area, stop and observe. See what's on the ground. There's always going to be some litter. Let's see what kind of litter it is. If it's a bag of chips in a Coke can, okay. But if it's needles, that's something different. Don't be like the gullible person who says, oh, this must be a great neighborhood. Everybody's taking care of each other. They're giving each other shots for insulin. No, that's not what that's all about. That's not what that's all about at all. You know, pay attention to those sorts of things. You know, be careful where you choose to live. And for all that we want to think about, we want to think about, oh, well, how close is it to my work? And how close is this house to the grocery store? And all of these things. Is it really too old-fashioned to think about if I'm moving to this city or that city, if I'm going to this place or that place, how far of a drive is it for me to be able to go to a good, sound church where I can attend, where I can become a member with my family? Those are things we ought to consider. Lot, of course, only looked at the physical things. And the end result was the ruin of his family. But we'll look at that later. Verses 14 and 15, and Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, now lift up your eyes Look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your seed forever. Now that Lot is separated from Abram, God reaffirms to Abram his covenant promise. He was told, given these promises, land promises, It'll be theirs forever. And God told him to walk in it as though taking full possession. These promises, we looked at them entering. Previous previous sermon. I'll not repeat that again. But this is the Abrahamic covenant everlasting everlasting Promise that was given to an unconditional promise that was given Even even the even the Apostles that these things would be fulfilled literally. If you go over to Acts chapter one, Acts chapter one, I don't believe we looked at this one in that sermon I preached on this subject, but if you go over to Acts chapter one, verses six through eight, So when they'd come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father has set by his own authority. You will see power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth. So, so the apostles asked him, they said, well, are you going to, at this time, restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the father's put in his own, in his own authority, set in his own authority. If there was a time for Jesus to correct wrong thinking about the literal fulfillment of the kingdom promises to Israel, that would have been the time. And why would they not think that this was going to be a literal fulfillment? Because certainly all of the other promises have been or were being fulfilled, literally. Back into our text in verses 16 through 18, it says, and I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your seed can also be numbered. Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you. Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre. which are in Hebron. There he built an altar to Yahweh. Specific promises given to the descendants of Abram confirmed through Israel. Every As we see this, we see Abram being told to walk through the land, through its length and breadth. He says, I will, I will give it to you. And Abram, for his part, he moved his tent and came and lived by the Oaks of Mamre. And there he built an altar to Yahweh. He, when he got out of Egypt, he called upon the name of Yahweh. He came to that altar that was there formerly. He's worshiping Yahweh. He's doing the same after he separated from Lot. Certainly, he was faithful. He was faithful. And so we are thankful for this. But as we'll see, even though Abram and Lot are separated, this does not mean that abram did not have anything to do with lot in fact abram was still a great help to lot even after they were separated and so uh so we'll look at that lord willing next time so as we bring this to a close I'd ask if there's any questions this evening as we have considered Genesis chapter 13. All right, if none, then