Abraham went up out of Egypt. Genesis 13:1-4 The believer learning from his great enemy T. H. Leale. It is an old saying that "It is lawful to learn from an enemy." The patriarch had sojourned in the world's kingdom, and had learned those solemn lessons which, as it too often happens, only a bitter experience can teach. He returned a sadder, but a wiser man. The believer who has fallen into the world's snares, or comes dangerously near to them, learns — I. THAT IT IS NOT SAFE TO LEAVE THE PATHS MARKED OUT BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 1. While we are in the path of Providence, we may expect Divine direction. 2. When we leave the paths of Providence, we are thrown upon the resources of our own wisdom and strength, and can only expect failure. 3. Every step we take from the paths of Providence only increases the difficulty of returning. II. THAT THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD INVOLVES DEEP SPIRITUAL LOSS. In Abraham's ease — 1. The delicacy of the moral principle was injured. 2. There was actual spiritual loss. III. THAT THE SOUL'S SAFETY IS BEST SECURED BY REVISITING, IN LOVING MEMORY, THE SCENES WHERE GOD WAS FIRST FELT AND KNOWN. 1. He is aided by remembering the strength and fervour of his early faith and love. 2. Memory may become a means of grace. It is well for us to look backwards, as well as forwards by the anticipations of hope. What God has done for us in the past is a pledge of what He will do in the future, if we continue faithful to His grace. We may use memory to encourage hope. IV. THERE MUST BE A FRESH CONSECRATION TO GOD. Abram went at once to Bethel, where at the beginning he had pitched his tent, and built an altar to God. There he "called on the name of the Lord." This implies a fresh consecration of himself, and points out the method by which we may recover our spiritual loss. Such a fresh consecration is necessary, for there are no other channels of spiritual blessing, but those by which it first flowed to us. There is no new way of restoration. We must come back to Him who first gave us our faith and made reconciliation. This renewed consecration of ourselves to God involves — 1. The acknowledgment of our sin. It was sin that made, at first, our reconciliation with God necessary, and fresh sin renews the obligation to seek His face. 2. The conviction that propitiation is necessary to obtain the favour of God. 3. The open profession of our faith. ( T. H. Leale. ) Abram's return, etc W. Adamson. I. THE RETURN OF ABRAM. 1. Forgiven. 2. Favoured. II. THE REQUEST OF ABRAM. 1. Forbearing. 2. Foregoing. III. THE REWARD OF ABRAM. 1. Forgetting the earthly inheritance. 2. Foreshadowing the heavenly inheritance. ( W. Adamson. ) Abraham and Lot T. G. Horton. I. THE PERFECTNESS OF GOD'S RESTORING GRACE. 1. God brought him back to Bethel. 2. The effect on Abraham. We find him no longer self-seeking and self-dependent. He asks counsel of God; he defers to others; is meek under provocation; and leaves himself wholly to God. II. A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF A PIOUS RICH MAN. You will observe two things about Abraham as a rich man. 1. His conduct in relation to God. 2. His conduct toward Lot. 1. In regard to God, he worshipped Him in every place (vers. 4 and 18). This involves more than at first sight appears. Abraham was living in the midst of idolaters. To worship God was a bold act. It was also a public act. It was one which involved much expense. 2. In regard to Lot. His conduct displays disinterestedness, love to his nephew, and firm faith in God. From this narrative we may learn two subordinate truths — 1. The children of God may come to acquire much worldly property. 2. The saints of God may possess property. III. THE FOLLY OF SELF-SEEKING. We see this in the case of Lot. ( T. G. Horton. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. God's saints delay not to follow God's Providence, opening a way to them from the place of trial. 2. God knoweth how to deliver His fully, that nothing of theirs shall be wanting (ver. 2). 3. Weight of riches in the world is sometimes God's portion given to His. 4. Not possession of wealth, but inordinate affection and abuse of it, is the sin (ver. 2). 5. Riches cannot hinder believers from going after God where He calleth them. 6. Saints breathe after their first communion with God, after distractions from it (ver. 3). 7. No place contents a gracious heart but where God may be enjoyed. 8. The name of the Lord is that which draweth the hearts of saints from all enjoyments, to delight in it, publish it, and call upon it (ver. 4). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Practical repentance M. Dods, D. D. By retracing his steps and returning to the altar at Bethel, he seems to acknowledge that he should have remained there through the famine in dependence on God. Whoever has attempted a similar practical repentance, visible to his own household and affecting their place of abode or daily occupations, will know how to estimate the candour and courage of Abram. To own that some distinctly marked portion of our life, upon which we entered with great confidence in our own wisdom and capacity, has come to nothing and has betrayed us into reprehensible conduct, is mortifying indeed, To admit that we have erred and to repair our error by returning to our old way and practice, is what few of us have the courage to do. If we have entered on some branch of business or gone into some attractive speculation, or if we have altered our demeanour towards some friend, and if we are finding that we are thereby tempted to doubleness, to equivocation, to injustice, our only hope lies in a candid and straightforward repentance, in a manly and open return to the state of things that existed in happier days and which we should never have abandoned. Sometimes we are aware that a blight began to fall on our spiritual life from a particular date, and we can easily and distinctly trace an unhealthy habit of spirit to a well-marked passage in our outward career; but we shrink from the sacrifice and shame involved in a thoroughgoing restoration of the old state of things. We are always so ready to fancy we have done enough, if we get one heartfelt word of confession uttered; so ready, if we merely turn our faces towards God, to think our restoration complete. Let us make a point of getting through mere beginnings of repentance, mere intention to recover God's favour and a sound condition of life, and let us return and return till we bow at God's very altar again, and know that His hand is laid upon us in blessing as at the first. ( M. Dods, D. D. ) Abram was very rich. Genesis 13:2 Wealth in both worlds Joseph Elliot. I. Abram, whilst "very rich," was TRULY GODLY. II. Whilst "very rich," Abram was VERY godly. III. Abram, whilst "very rich," highly VALUED "A GOOD NAME." IV. Abram, whilst "very rich," TAUGHT HIS CHILDREN TO TRUST, not in uncertain riches, but IN THE LIVING GOD who gave them richly all things to enjoy. V. Whilst "very rich," he was VERY GENEROUS. VI. Whilst "very rich" Abram did not forget that his riches were NOT HIS OWN. VII. Whilst "very rich" in earthly possessions, HE SET NOT HIS HEART UPON THEM. Conclusion: 1. It is a very noticeable and suggestive fact, that the thought of the earthly riches of Abram has a very limited place in the minds of men. 2. Rich or poor in this world, we all need to be poor in spirit. 3. Rich or poor, we may have "durable riches" through Jesus Christ. ( Joseph Elliot. ) Riches to be made useful to others T. Secker. Wherefore doth the Lord make your cup run over, but that other men's lips might taste the liquor? The showers that fall upon the highest mountains should glide into the lowest valleys. ( T. Secker. ) What can wealth do ? — The following story is told of Jacob Ridgeway, a wealthy citizen of Philadelphia, who died many years ago, leaving a fortune of five or six million dollars. "Mr. Ridgeway," said a young man with whom the millionaire was conversing, "you are more to be envied than any gentleman I know." "Why so?" responded Mr. Ridgeway; "I am not aware of any cause for which I should be particularly envied." "What, sir!" exclaimed the young man in astonishment. "Why you are a millionaire! Think of the thousands your income brings every month!" "Well, what of that?" replied Mr. Ridgeway. "All I get out of it is my victuals and clothes, and I can't eat more than one man's allowance and wear more than a suit at a time. Pray can't you do as much?" "Ah, but," said the youth, "think of the hundreds of fine houses you own, and the rentals they bring you." "What better am I off for that?" replied the rich man. "I can only live in one house at a time; as for the money I receive for rents, why I can't eat it or wear it; I can only use it to buy other houses for other people to live in; they are the beneficiaries, not I." "But you can buy splendid furniture, and costly pictures, and fine carriages and horses — in fact, anything you desire." "And after I have bought them," responded Mr. Ridgeway, "what then? I can only look at the furniture and pictures, and the poorest man, who is not blind, can do the same. I can ride no easier in a fine carriage than you can in an omnibus for five cents, without the trouble of attending to drivers, footmen, and ostlers; and as to anything I 'desire,' I can tell you, young man, that the less we desire in this world, the happier we shall be. All my wealth can't buy a single day more of life — cannot buy back my youth — cannot procure me power to keep afar off the hour of death; and then, what will all avail, when in a few short years at most, I lie down in the grave and leave it all forever? Young man, you have no cause to envy me." Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. Genesis 13:4 Abram's journey to the place of the altar T. H. Leale. I. HIS LOVE TO THE LAND OF PROMISE, WHICH ALL THE ATTRACTIONS OF EGYPT COULD NOT EXTINGUISH OR OVERPOWER. II. HIS VENERATION FOR THE PLACE WHERE GOD FIRST APPEARED TO HIM. There may be in the journey of life many inviting scenes, many fertile spots, but there is no place like the place of the altar. From this spot nothing that Egypt and the intermediate countries could offer was able to divert Abram. He came back prosperous, but his heart was unchanged. Time is apt to wear out the sense of mercies. Many in their travels leave religion behind them. III. HIS CONCERN WHEREVER HE WAS TO ERECT HIS ALTAR. Wherever we go we must take our religion with us. 1. As a public profession. 2. As keeping up family religion. Wherever he had a tent God had an altar. ( T. H. Leale. ) The place of the altar J. C. Gray. 1. It commemorated Divine communications ( Genesis 12:7, 8 ). 2. It expressed a practical faith. He took possession of the land, not by issuing a decree, etc., but by thus acknowledging God. 3. It attested an unchanging piety. He had grown rich ( Genesis 13:2 ) but did not forget God ( Deuteronomy 6:10-12 ). 4. It denoted a wise householder's forethought. At the first he built the altar near the tent ( Genesis 12:8 ). Now he pitched his tent near the altar. Man's home and God's house should be contiguous. 5. But these old altars are obsolete. It was intended for sacrifice. "Henceforth," etc., comp. Hebrews 10:26 , and Hebrews 9:11-14 . This sacrifice final. No altar now needed. As the altar was a place of meeting, so the word is now applied to Christian sanctuaries, which are — (1) places of sacred communion; (2) of Divine worship; (3) of Christian fellowship; (4) of neighbourly gathering. ( J. C. Gray. ) There was a strife between the herdmen. Genesis 13:5-9 Strife between brethren T. H. Leale. I. AS TO THE CAUSES OF IT. 1. Worldly prosperity. 2. The mean ambition of ignoble souls associated with us. 3. The want of the obliging nature. II. AS TO THE EVILS OF IT. 1. It destroys the sacred feeling of kinship. 2. It exposes true religion to contempt. 3. It brings spiritual loss to individuals. III. AS TO THE REMEDIES OF IT. 1. The recognition of the obligations of brotherhood. 2. The yielding temper. 3. Confidence in the promise of God, that we shall suffer no real loss by obedience to His command. ( T. H. Leale. ) Abram and Lot W. Adamson., W. Adamson. I. THE CONTENTION. 1. Unseemly. 2. Untimely. 3. Unnecessary. II. THE CONSOLATION. 1. Unbounded. 2. Undoubted. 3. Unearthly. ( W. Adamson. ) I. THE CHURLISHNESS OF THE HERDSMEN. II. THE SELFISHNESS OF LOT. III. THE UNSELFISHNESS OF ABRAM. IV. THE GRACIOUSNESS OF GOD. ( W. Adamson. ) Lesson links W. Adamson. 1. Wealth means — (1) Strife. (2) Sorrow. (3) Separation. 2. Abram manifests — (1) Faith. (2) Forbearance. (3) Forgetfulness of self. 3. Worldly love means — (1) Stupidity. (2) Suffering. (3) Sinfulness. 4. God manifests to Abraham — (1) Favour. (2) Fulness. (3) Faithfulness. ( W. Adamson. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Walking with saints in their hardest ways usually brings God's outward blessings on them. 2. Great families and possessions God can give His saints in the land of their pilgrimage (ver. 5). 3. Great straits may befall the saints of God in their greatest abundance. 4. Much wealth may prove an occasion of dividing the very saints (ver. 6). 5. Great riches among the best may prove causes of great contentions. 6. Bad servants may be incendiaries to put good masters to strife. 7. The large territories of the wicked may straiten the godly in earthly places. 8. Wicked enemies of the Church are apt to watch all opportunities to destroy the saints by their own divisions (ver. 7). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Gracious hearts hasten to quench any flame of contention rising in the Church. 2. Grace will make the greater move to the less for avoiding strife among saints. 3. Grace will make men beg for peace and to abolish strife in the Churches. 4. Gracious masters are solicitous to avoid contentions raised by ungracious servants. 5. Grace will put masters upon healing their servants faults. So Abram. 6. Strife is unseemly between brethren in the flesh, in religion and condition (ver. 8). 7. Grace is willing to part with its own, and all too, in some cases, to brethren. 8. Grace will make God's servants part in place, to keep one in affection. 9. Grace is self-denying to remove strife from the family of God. 10. Grace is content with anything below, so it may honour God, and keep peace with the saints (ver. 9). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Quarrels about money M. Dods, D. D. Thus early did wealth produce quarrelling among relatives. The men who had shared one another's fortunes while comparatively poor, no sooner become wealthy than they have to separate. Abram prevented quarrel by separation. "Let us," he says, "come to an understanding. And rather than be separate in heart, let us be separate in habitation." It is always a sorrowful time in family history when it comes to this, that those who have had a common purse and have not been careful to know what exactly is theirs and what belongs to the other members of the family, have at last to make a division and to be as precise and documentary as if dealing with strangers. It is always painful to be compelled to own that law can be more trusted than love, and that legal forms are a surer barrier against quarrelling than brotherly kindness. It is a confession we are sometimes compelled to make, but never without a mixture of regret and shame. ( M. Dods, D. D. ) Religion without the blessed life M. G. Pearse. In this story of the blessed life nothing can be more striking and instructive than the contrast which it presents between the career of Lot and that of Abraham. See at the outset how differently the two men come before us. "Now the Lord had said unto Abraham" — or, as Stephen declares: "The God of glory appeared unto Abraham." Thus God had come into this man's life, its centre and strength. "And Lot also, which went with Abram" — this is the man whose religion is second hand — he goes with the man who goes with God. Nothing is easier than for many of us to do as Lot did. The age is one in which respectability and social position rather like a little religion. Nothing can quench the fire of our selfishness but the clear shining of the Sun of Heaven upon our hearts. The God of glory appeared unto Abraham — that thrust the world back into its right place; that kindled the desires and ambitions of the man; that loosed him from the tyranny of the seen, the narrow prison of the present, and set him at liberty for God. The fadeless glory of that vision ennobled and elevated all the life. But Lot only went with Abraham. Never do you read that he built an altar unto the Lord that appeared to him. The religion of Lot is a religion without the vision of God. For us all the great question is this: What can we do to make the blessed life our own? This is the only answer: Tarry waiting upon God until there be a heart communion with Him. Let us follow the story. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. That sojourn in Egypt was damaging to Abraham; but it was fatal to Lot. He had seen a land that had kindled his greed; the possibility of his growing rich had seized him and mastered him. That which attracted him in Sodom was that it was like the land of Egypt, well-watered everywhere. The heathenism of Egypt had prepared him for the grosser wickedness of Sodom. His wife and daughters had seen the glitter and gaiety of a company that made the quiet of Abraham's encampment seem very dull. And worst of all, they had seen a good man without his altar and his God; why then need they be so particular? So when the opportunity came, Lot was quite prepared to avail himself of it. "And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle." Lot saw what it pleased him to see. Let us see what the love of gain, which was the ruin of Lot, did for him. 1. It put out the eyes of his generosity. The love of money always does. Abraham gave Lot the choice, and he took it, of course. "Really uncle Abraham is so unworldly and easy going about these things that he does not think of them at all. Besides, he is so very well off that it cannot make any difference to him; but I am only beginning, and it is very important that I should have a good start." Generosity — is it not scouted from the market place? "Business is business, my dear sir; a bargain is a bargain, you know. Generosity is all very well in its place, of course; but this is not its place." Where then is its place? Does any man really believe that he can occasionally put out the eyes of his love — be hard, pitiless, grasping — and then put them in again? He is hardening his heart, toughening it, and narrowing it, and tying it with a double knot every day, like a Judas' leather purse. 2. Again, the love of gain blinded Lot to the very meaning of life. The greatness of Abraham lay in this one thing, that he suffered God to show him the path of life. Each had land, but by the very method of procuring it the one gave up that which abideth, and the other secured it. The one man set the land first, and lost all. The other found all in God. Lot came out of Sodom stripped of his goods, and the man himself more empty and blind than when he had gone into it. This is the great lesson of this Book — that whilst we think of making a living, God is thinking of what our living makes us. That the man is more than all gain. This is the idea of life which runs through the New Testament — it is faith, the service of God, the utter surrender of all to Him. This alone can make life worth living. Choose anything, everything else; live for it, grasp it — and what then but die? Surely we do not need to cry aloud to the Lord for the anointing that we may see aright. 3. And yet further: the god of this world blinded Lot to the true good, whilst it cheated him with the promise of goods. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the land of Sodom. That bounded his vision. But Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw a promise that stretched through all the ages, and through all lands, a stream of blessing. To Abraham the words were: "To thee and to thy seed"; "I will bless thee;...thou shelf be a blessing." The faith of all those after years has found an inspiration and a triumph in the example of faithful Abraham. But, alas! how sharp, how dreadful is the contrast as we turn to Lot. He comes forth from Sodom without a soul having any faith in him. "He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law." The only good in life is doing good. That which alone makes life blessed is not what we get from others for ourselves, but in what others get from us. Lot thought he could make the best of both worlds, and he failed alike in each. For Abraham there were not two worlds, but one only: as for every man of God: that is where the will of God is done as it is done in heaven. ( M. G. Pearse. ) Lot's separation from Abram Charles Jordan, M. A., LL. B. I. THE CAUSES OF THE SEPARATION. These were two classes: those which operated on man's part, and those which lay in the Divine plan of Abram's career. 1. On man's part. The narrative mentions the wealth of uncle and nephew as the ground of their parting (ver. 6). 2. On God's part. Lot might be detached from his uncle, and Abram might be set wholly free from family complications, and might stand forth as the sole inheritor of the promises (ver. 14). II. TRAITS OF CHARACTER WHICH ABRAM DISPLAYED IN THE SEPARATION. 1. Great peaceableness (ver. 8). Abram, whatever he may have thought, restrained himself, and did not utter one single word of reproach. He is willing to lay a costly sacrifice on the altar of peace. 2. Large-hearted generosity (ver. 9). 3. Heavenly wisdom. Although Abram, by the Divine blessing, was "very rich," he had not come into the land of Canaan to be a prosperous flock master, and thus we find him acting here as one who knew that the Lord would provide, all the while that He was fulfilling His own purposes towards him. "Either hand for Abraham — either the right hand or the left: what cared the pilgrim of the Invisible for fertile lands or rugged sands?" III. ABRAM'S REWARD IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SEPARATION. It was a trial to the patriarch to be left alone; but God's voice came to him to comfort him for the loss of his nephew, and to reward him for his beautiful generosity (vers. 14-18). The promise of the seed which had been given him in Haran ( Genesis 12:2, 3 ), and that of the land "which had been added at Shechem (ver. 7), are now confirmed and extended. LESSONS: 1. The changes of life, and especially such as are in the direction of increasing worldly prosperity, are a decisive test of character. 2. We need a faith and a piety which are practical, which are content to tread the common earth, and regulate the details of business and social life; and that is the kind of religion which God approves. 3. "If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men" ( Romans 12:18 ). 4. It is dangerous for a man to cut himself off from religious privileges, and, for the sake of material gain alone, to expose himself and his children to the risk of moral contamination. 5. A Christian may sometimes do wrong by insisting on his rights; but he will always profit, sooner or later, by every sacrifice which he makes for the sake of peace ( Matthew 5:5 ; 1 Timothy 4:8 ). ( Charles Jordan, M. A., LL. B. ) The separation between Abram and Lot F. W. Robertson, M. A. Observe the causes which rendered necessary this separation. I. PROSPERITY. The enlargement of a man's possessions is very often the contracting of his heart. We learn from this the great doctrine of compensation; for almost every blessing must be paid a certain price. If a man would be the champion of the truth, he must give up the friendship of the world. Be sure of this, there is no rich and prosperous man we look at who has not paid his price — it may be in loss of domestic peace, in anxiety, or in enfeebled health; be assured that every earthly blessing is bought dearly. II. THE QUARRELLING AMONG THE SERVANTS; and this quarrel arose partly from disobligingness of disposition. Here we find the Christian community resembling the Jewish. There is a constant strife now among servants as to whose duty it is to do certain things, arising from the same indisposition to oblige one another. Then observe how by degrees Lot and Abram are drawn into the quarrel, and how again we find human nature the same in all ages. The bitterness between child and child, between husband and wife, are often to be referred back to the bitterness between domestic servants. Again, the scandal of this disagreement passed on through the land; the Canaanite and the Perizzite heard of it. Here is a lesson both for Christian masters and servants. Our very doors and walls are not sufficient to guard domestic secrecy; if there has been a scandal in a place, that scandal is sure to be heard. ( F. W. Robertson, M. A. ) Separated from Lot F. B. Meyer, B. A. 1. Who was Lot? One of those men who take right steps, not because prompted by obedience to God, but because their friends are taking them. The Pliable of the earliest Pilgrim's Progress. 2. The necessity of separation. We must be prepared to die to the world with its censure or praise; to the flesh, with its ambitions and schemes; to the delights of a friendship which is insidiously lowering the temperature of the spirit; to the self-life, in all its myriad subtle and overt manifestations; and even, if it be God's will, to the joys and consolations of religion. All this is impossible to us of ourselves. But if we will surrender ourselves to God, willing that He should work in and for us that which we cannot do for ourselves, we shall find that He will gradually and effectually, and as tenderly as possible, begin to disentwine the clinging tendrils of the poisoning weed, and bring us into heart union with Himself. 3. How the separation was brought about. Quarrels between servants. (1) Abraham's proposal was very wise. (2) Very magnanimous. (3) Based on faith. ( F. B. Meyer, B. A. ) Separation rather than strife Homilist. I. THE DISPUTANTS. 1. They were related to each other. 2. They were professors of the same religious faith. 3. They differed in the relative amount of their power. II. ABRAM'S CONDUCT. 1. It was just. 2. It was statesmanlike. 3. It was magnanimous. ( Homilist. ) Abram and Lot D. C. Hughes, M. A. I. THE CAUSE OF THE SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT. 1. The indirect cause: an over-abundance of wealth. 2. The direct cause (vers. 6, 7). (1) This strife must have been serious. (2) This strife is not unexpected. ( a ) The Canaanites and Perizzites owned and occupied most of the land, and thus made the pasturage for the flocks of Abram and Lot comparatively very limited. (3) This strife is a sample of an occurrence by no means infrequent, not only among herdsmen, but among those professing better things. (4) The strife among the servants did not alienate the masters. II. THE SPIRIT OF THE SEPARATION. 1. On the part of Abram this separation was one of generosity. 2. This separation was executed in the interests of peace. III. THE RESULTS OF THIS SEPARATION. 1. To Lot seemingly advantageous to worldly prosperity, but spiritually a loss. 2. To Abram seemingly disadvantageous, but most blessed in its ultimate issues.Lessons: 1. The separation of friends is not an unmitigated evil; it may be an occasion of good. 2. Whether, when compelled to separate, or when permitted to have fellowship one with another, the grace of God should teach us to be generous, courteous, and consistent. ( D. C. Hughes, M. A. ) Quarrelsome servants J. C. Gray. 1. Effect of increase of substance. The keeping a cause of perplexity. Not room in the land. If poverty has its cares, so has wealth. 2. The herdsmen jealous for their respective masters. Such carefulness commendable. Not very common. 3. They would have done well to have seen their masters before they quarrelled. Prevention better than cure. 4. Their strife might have led to serious consequences. The Canaanite, etc., were in the land. They might have taken advantage of this strife. It might have extended to their masters, and resulted in a family disrupture. ( J. C. Gray. ) A quarrel in the kitchen J. Parker, D. D. Things got mixed. The cattle ran together so that sometimes the herdmen could not tell which was which; the count was always wrong at night; and the noise got louder and louder as the herdmen became fretful and suspicious. It was a quarrel in the kitchen, as we should say nowadays. The masters seemed to get along fairly well with each other, but the servants were at open war. Small credit to the masters, perhaps! They had everything nice; the lentil soup and the smoking kid were punctually set before them, and mayhap the wine flagon was not wanting. But noise travels upward. It gets somehow from the kitchen into the parlour. It was so in this case. Abram heard of the vulgar quarrel and was the first to speak. He spake as became an elder and a millionaire: "Lot," said he, "you must see to it that my peace be not broken; you must lay the lash on the backs of these rough men of yours and keep them in cheek; I will not stand any noise; the lips that speak above a whisper shall be shut by a strong hand; you and your men must all mind what you are at, or I will scourge you all to within an inch of your lives." And when the lordly voice ceased there was great fear amongst those who had heard its solemn thunder! Now it so happens that the exact contrary of this is true. Abram was older than Lot, and richer than Lot, and yet he took no high airs upon him, but spoke with the meekness of great strength and ripe wisdom. His words would make a beautiful motto today for the kitchen, for the parlour, for the factory, for the Church. ( J. Parker, D. D. ) Untimely contention W. Adamson. It was untimely contention when Monarchists and Republicans in France disputed with each other, while the German armies were hemming them in on all sides. It was untimely contention when Luther and Zwingle disputed together, while the Roman hosts were assailing the newly-erected structure of the Reformation. It was untimely contention when Liberals and Conservatives disputed amongst themselves, while the Russian hordes were advancing on Constantinople, and intriguing with Afghanistan. It was untimely contention between Judah and Israel, when the Syrian and Assyrian powers were watching for an opportunity of attack and conquest. It was untimely contention between French and English Canadians, when Indians were on the alert to lay waste homes and settlements with fire and sword. And so it was untimely contention between the servants of Lot and Abraham, when surrounded by heathen tribes. ( W. Adamson. ) Beginning the peace To one who made the first overtures towards a successful reconciliation, his ante-opponent remarked, "I began the quarrel and you began the peace, therefore you are the nobler man." Strife foolish before the world J. Spencer. The unseasonableness of the strife betwixt Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's is aggravated by the near neighbourhood of the heathens to them. "And there was a strife" (saith the text) "between Abram's herdmen and the herdmen of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled in the land." Now to fall out whilst these idolaters looked on, this would be town talk presently, and put themselves and their religion both to shame; and it may for our parts be very well asked, Who have been in our land all the while the people of God have been scuffling? Even those that have curiously observed every uncomely behaviour amongst us, and told all the world of it; such as have wit and malice enough to make use of it for their wicked purposes. They stand at tiptoes to be at work, only we are not yet quite laid up and disabled by the soreness of these our wounds, which we have given ourselves, from withstanding their fury. They hope it will come to that; and then they will cure us of our own wounds by giving one, if they can, that shall go deep enough to the heart of our life, gospel and all. Let us then consider where we are, and among whom. Are we not in our enemies' quarters? so that if we fall out, what do we else but kindle a fire for them to warm their hands by? It is an ill time for mariners to be fighting, when an enemy is boring a hole in the bottom of the ship: the sea of their rage will weaken our bank fast enough, we need not cut it for them. ( J. Spencer. ) Avoiding a quarrel J. Spencer. Saul was anxious to pick a quarrel with David, but in vain. We all know who came off best in the end. Gotthold quaintly says, "It is not disgraceful to step aside when a great stone is rolling down the hill up which

Benson Commentary Genesis 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. Genesis 13:1 . Into the south — That is, the southern part of Canaan, from whence he had come, Genesis 12:9 , which, however, was north-east of Egypt. The Scriptures being written principally for the Jews, its language, respecting the situation of places, is accommodated to their manner of speaking. Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Genesis 13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Genesis 13:3 . He went on to Beth-el — Because there he had formerly had an altar, and although the altar had fallen down, as being probably built of earth, or had been taken down by Abram, lest it should be polluted by the idolatrous Canaanites; yet he came to the place of the altar, either to revive the remembrance of the communion he had had with God at that place, or perhaps to pay the vows he had there made to God, when he undertook his journey into Egypt. And there Abram, prevented by no legal restraints, deterred by no pains or penalties, or insurrection of the inhabitants, although idolaters, “called on the name of the Lord,” worshipped God by prayer and thanksgiving, by offering sacrifices, and instructing his family, Genesis 18:19 . Genesis 13:4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. Genesis 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. Genesis 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. Genesis 13:6 . The land was not able to bear them — The Canaanites and other former inhabitants of the country undoubtedly occupied the best of the land, and what remained was not sufficient to supply their flocks and herds with pasturage. Genesis 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. Genesis 13:7 . The Canaanite and Perizzite dwelt in the land — This made the quarrel, 1st, Very dangerous: if Abram and Lot cannot agree to feed their flocks together, it is well if the common enemy do not come upon them and plunder them both. 2d, Very scandalous: No doubt the eyes of all the neighbours were upon them; because of the singularity of their religion, and the extraordinary sanctity they professed; and notice would soon be taken of this quarrel, and improvement made of it to their reproach by the Canaanites and Perizzites. Genesis 13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Genesis 13:8-9 . Although Abram was the elder, wiser, and every way worthier person than Lot, yet he voluntarily, and without reluctance or hesitation, relinquishes his own right to his inferior for the sake of peace, that no scandal might be brought on the true religion, hereby leaving a noble example for our imitation. Let there be no strife between me and thee — So nearly related as kinsmen, and as worshippers and children of the one living and true God. Betwixt us a contention will be very indecent, and of scandalous tendency. Genesis 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Genesis 13:10 . Lot beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered — Lot seems to have had nothing in view but his temporal convenience and advantage. His flocks and herds were already too numerous, and his substance too great; and yet he wishes them to be still more enlarged, and therefore makes choice of this fertile and pleasant spot. He does not inquire into the character of the inhabitants, nor consider what sort of society he should find there; nor does he appear to express any reluctance at leaving Abram’s family, and losing the benefit of his conversation, counsel, and instructions. God, however, in the course of his providence, disappointed his views and expectations, and he soon had cause to repent of his choice. Genesis 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Genesis 13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. Genesis 13:13 . Sinners before the Lord exceedingly — That is, impudent and daring sinners, who despised and openly defied God. Alas for Lot! He has got into bad company, and will find the beauty and fertility of the country but a poor recompense for the daily grief their wickedness and reproaches will cause him! Genesis 13:14-15 . The Lord said unto Abram — To comfort him after “Lot was separated from him,” and he was left alone, and in a less pleasant and fruitful soil than that which Lot had chosen; Lift up thine eyes, all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it. — But, how was this land given to Abram, when it is expressly said by Stephen, Acts 7:5 , “He (God) gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on!” The answer is, God gave him the right to it, though not the actual possession, until the time appointed, when the inhabitants of the land should prove themselves to be irreclaimable, and fully ripe for destruction. God explains it, “To thee and thy seed,” that is, to thee “in thy seed.” But how could it be said to be given them “for ever,” when, after a few hundreds of years they were turned out of it? To this it must be replied, that the promise was made to them, and intended to be fulfilled, upon condition of their obedience, as is often expressed in other places. And the expression ?? ???? , here rendered for ever, often signifies only long continuance, as is evident from many passages of Scripture, in which the subjects to which it is applied do not, in their nature, admit of an eternal duration. Indeed, when the word is applied to the Jewish rites and ceremonies, as it often is, it signifies no more than during the standing of that dispensation, or till the coming of the Messiah. And thus it may be here understood. Genesis 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: Genesis 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. Genesis 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Genesis 13:16 . I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth — That is, they shall increase incredibly, and, take them all together, shall be such a multitude as no man can number. When Moses wrote this history, these predictions had been in some measure fulfilled. But the increase of Abram’s seed at that time bore no proportion to what it was in the days of Solomon, when Israel and Judah, without taking his descendants by Ishmael, Esau, and the children he had by his second wife Keturah, into the account at all, were as many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude. Now what human foresight could have perceived that this would be the case? And who that was prudent, and professed to be a messenger of God to man, and to be intrusted with the revelation of his counsel, would have ventured to predict such a thing, and thereby to risk his character as a true prophet of the Lord on the accomplishment of the prediction, if he had not known, on the most solid grounds, that God had actually made such a promise? How thankful we ought to be for the demonstration this affords us, that Moses spake by inspiration of God, and that our faith in the divine revelation made by him is built on a firm foundation! Genesis 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Genesis 13:17-18 . Arise, walk through the land — Enter and take possession, for thy posterity; survey the parcels, and it will appear better than upon a distant prospect. Abram himself, however, was not to think of fixing in it, but expect to be always unsettled, and walking through it to a better Canaan: and in compliance with God’s will herein, “he removed his tent,” conforming to the condition of a pilgrim. And he built there an altar — In token of his thankfulness to God for the kind visit he had made him. Genesis 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Genesis 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. LOT’S SEPARATION FROM ABRAM Genesis 13:1-18 ABRAM left Egypt thinking meanly of himself, highly of God. This humble frame of mind is disclosed in the route he chooses; he went straight back "unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, unto the altar which he had made there at the first." With a childlike simplicity he seems to own that his visit to Egypt had been a mistake. He had gone there supposing that he was thrown upon his own resources, and that, in order to keep himself and his dependants alive, he must have recourse to craft and dishonesty. By retracing his steps and returning to the altar at Bethel, he seems to acknowledge that he should have remained there through the famine in dependence on God. Whoever has attempted a similar practical repentance, visible to his own household and affecting their place of abode or daily occupations, will know how to estimate the candour and courage of Abram. To own that some distinctly marked portion of our life, upon which we entered with great confidence in our own wisdom and capacity, has come to nothing and has betrayed us into reprehensible conduct, is mortifying indeed. To admit that we have erred and to repair our error by returning to our old way and practice, is what few of us have the courage to do. If we have entered on some branch of business or gone into some attractive speculation, or if we have altered our demeanour towards some friend, and if we are finding that we are thereby tempted to doubleness, to equivocation, to injustice, our only hope lies in a candid and straightforward repentance, in a manly and open return to the state of things that existed in happier days and which we should never have abandoned. Sometimes we are aware that a blight began to fall on our spiritual life from a particular date, and we can easily and distinctly trace an unhealthy habit of spirit to a well-marked passage in our outward career; but we shrink from the sacrifice and shame involved in a thoroughgoing restoration of the old state of things. We are always so ready to fancy we have done enough, if we get one heartfelt word of confession uttered; so ready, if we merely turn our faces towards God, to think our restoration complete. Let us make a point of getting through mere beginnings of repentance, mere intention to recover God’s favour and a sound condition of life, and let us return and return till we bow at God’s very altar again, and know that His hand is laid upon us in blessing as at the first. Out of Egypt Abram brought vastly increased wealth. Each time he encamped, quite a town of black tents quickly rose round the spot where his fixed spear gave the signal for halting. And along with him there journeyed his nephew, apparently of almost equal, or at least considerable wealth; not dependent on Abram, nor even a partner with him, for "Lot also had flocks and herds and tents." So rapidly was their substance increasing that no sooner did they become stationary than they found that the land was not able to furnish them with sufficient pasture. The Canaanite and the Perizzite would not allow them unlimited pasture in the neighbourhood of Bethel; and as the inevitable result of this the rival shepherds, eager to secure the best pasture for their own flocks and the best wells for their own cattle and camels, came to high words and probably to blows about their respective rights. To both Abram and Lot it must have occurred that this competition between relatives was unseemly, and that some arrangement must be come to. And when at last some unusually blunt quarrel took place in presence of the chiefs, Abram divulges to Lot the scheme which had suggested itself to him. This state of things, he says, must come to an end; it is unseemly, unwise, and unrighteous. And as they walk on out of the circle of tents to discuss the matter without interruption, they come to a rising ground where the wide prospect brings them naturally to a pause. Abram looking north and south and seeing with the trained eye of a large flock-master that there was abundant pasture for both. turns to Lot with a final proposal: "Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Thus early did wealth produce quarrelling among relatives. The men who had shared one another’s fortunes while comparatively poor, no sooner become wealthy than they have to separate. Abram prevented quarrel by separation. "Let us," he says, "come to an understanding. And rather than be separate in heart, let us be separate in habitation." It is always a sorrowful time in family history when it comes to this, that those who have had a common purse and have not been careful to know what exactly is theirs and what belongs to the other members of the family, have at last to make a division and to be as precise and documentary as if dealing with strangers. It is always painful to be compelled to own that law can be more trusted than love. and that legal forms are a surer barrier against quarrelling than brotherly kindness. It is a confession we are sometimes compelled to make, but never without a mixture of regret and shame. As yet the character of Lot has not been exhibited, and we can only calculate from the relation he bears to Abram what his answer to the proposal will probably be. We know that Abram has been the making of his nephew, and that the land belongs to Abram; and we should expect that in common decency Lot would set aside the generous offer of. his uncle and demand that he only should determine the matter. "It is not for me to make choice in a land which is wholly yours. My future does not carry in it the import of yours. It is a small matter what kind of subsistence I secure or where I find it. Choose for yourself, and allot to me what is right." We see here what a safeguard of happiness in life right feeling is. To be in right and pleasant relations with the persons around us will save us from error and sin even when conscience and judgment give no certain decision. The heart which feels gratitude is beyond the need of being schooled and compelled to do justly. To the man who is affectionately disposed it is superfluous to insist upon the rights of other persons. The instinct which tells a man what is due to others and makes him sensitive to their wrongs will preserve him from many an ignominious action which would degrade his whole life. But such instinct was a-wanting in Lot. His character, though in some respects admirable, had none of the generosity of Abram’s in it. He had allowed himself on countless previous occasions to take advantage of Abram’s unselfishness. Generosity is not always infectious; often it encourages selfishness in child, relative, or neighbour. And so Lot, instead of rivalling, traded on his uncle’s magnanimity; and chose him all the plains of Jordan because in his eye it was the richest part of the land. This choice of Sodom as a dwelling-place was the great mistake of Lot’s life. He is the type of that very large class of men who have but one rule for determining them at the turning points of life. He was swayed solely by the consideration of worldly advantage. He has nothing deep, nothing high in him. He recognises no duty to Abram, no gratitude, no modesty; he has no perception of spiritual relations, no sense that God should have something to say in the partition of the land. Lot may be acquitted of a good deal which at first sight one is prompted to lay to his charge, but he cannot be acquitted of showing an eagerness to better himself, regardless of all considerations but the promise of wealth afforded by the fertility of the Jordan valley. He saw a quick though dangerous road to wealth. There seemed a certainty of success in his earthly calling, a risk only of moral disaster. He shut his eyes to the risk that he might grasp the wealth; and so doing, ruined both himself and his family. The situation is one which is ceaselessly repeated. To men in business or in the cultivation of literature or art, or in one of the professions, there are presented opportunities of attaining a better position by cultivating the friendship or identifying oneself with the practice of men whose society is not in itself desirable. Society is made up of little circles, each of which has its own monopoly of some social or commercial or political advantage, and its own characteristic tone and enjoyments and customs. And if a man will not join one of these circles and accommodate himself to the mode of carrying on business and to the style of living it has identified with itself, he must forego the advantages which entrance to that circle would secure for him. As clearly as Lot saw that the well-watered plain stretching away under the sunshine was the right place to exercise his vocation as a flock-master, so do we see that associated with such and such persons and recognised as one of them, we shall be able more effectively than in any other position to use whatever natural gifts we have, and win the recognition and the profit these gifts seem to warrant. There is but one drawback. "The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." There is a tone you do not like; you hesitate to identify yourself with men who live solely and with cynical frankness only for gain; whose every sentence betrays the contemptible narrowness of soul to which worldliness condemns men; who live for money and who glory in their shame. The very nature of the world in which we live makes such temptation universal. And to yield is common and fatal. We persuade ourselves we need not enter into close relations with the persons we propose to have business connections with. Lot would have been horrified, that day he made his choice, had it been told him his daughters would marry men of Sodom. But the swimmer who ventures into the outer circle of the whirlpool finds that his own resolve not to go further presents a very weak resistance to the water’s inevitable suction. We fancy perhaps that to refuse the companionship of any class of men is pharisaic; that we have no business to condemn the attitude towards the Church, or the morality, or the style of living adopted by any class of men among us. This is the mere cant of liberalism. We do not condemn persons who suffer from smallpox, but a smallpox hospital would be about the last place we should choose for a residence. Or possibly we imagine we shall be able to carry some better influences into the society we enter. A vain imagination; the motive for choosing the society has already sapped our power for good. Many of the errors of worldly men only reveal their most disastrous consequences in the second generation. Like some virulent diseases they have a period of incubation. Lot’s family grew up in a very different atmosphere from that which had nourished his own youth in Abram’s tents. An adult and robust Englishman can withstand the climate of India: but his children who are born in it cannot. And the position in society which has been gained in middle life by the carefully and hardily trained child of a God-fearing household may not very visibly damage his own character, but may yet be absolutely fatal to the morality of his children. Lot may have persuaded himself he chose the dangerous prosperity of Sodom mainly for the sake of his children; but in point of fact he had better have seen them die of starvation in the most barren and parched desolation. And the parent who disregards conscience and chooses wealth or position, fancying that thus he benefits his children, will find to his life-long sorrow that he has entangled them in unimagined temptations. But the man who makes Lot’s choice not only does a great injury to his children, but cuts himself off from all that is best in life. We are safe to say that after leaving Abram’s tents Lot never again enjoyed unconstrainedly happy days. The men born and brought up in Sodom were possibly happy after their kind and in their fashion; but Lot was not. His soul was daily vexed. Many a time while hearing the talk of the men his daughters had married, must Lot have gone out with a sore heart, and looked to the distant hills that hid the tents of Abram, and longed for an hour of the company he used to enjoy. And the society to which you are tempted to join yourself may not be unhappy, but you can take no surer means of beclouding, embittering, and ruining your whole life than by joining it. You cannot forget the thoughts you once had, the friendships you once delighted in, the hopes that shed brightness through all your life. You cannot blot out the ideal that once you cherished as the most animating element of your life. Every day there will be that rising in your mind which is in the sharpest contrast to the thoughts of those with whom you are associated. You will despise them for their shallow, worldly ideas and ways; but you will despise yourself still more, being conscious that what they are through ignorance and upbringing, you are in virtue of your own foolish and mean choice. There is that in you which rebels against the superficial and external measure by which they judge things, and yet you have deliberately chosen these as your associates, and can only think with heart-broken regret of the high thoughts that once visited you and the hopes you have now no means of fulfilling. Your life is taken out of your own hands; you find yourself in bondage to the circumstances you have chosen; and you are learning in bitterness, disappointment, and shame, that indeed "a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." To determine your life solely by the prospect of worldly success is to risk the loss of the best things in life. To sacrifice friendship or conscience to success in your calling is to sacrifice what is best to what is lowest, and to bind yourself to the highest human happiness. For happily the essential elements of the highest happiness are as open to the poor as to the rich, to the unsuccessful as to the successful-love of wife and children, congenial and educating friendships, the knowledge of what the best men have done and the wisest men have said; the pleasure and impulse, the sentiments and beliefs which result from our knowledge of the heroic deeds done from year to year among men; the enlivening influence of examples that tell on all men alike, young and old, rich and poor; the insight and strength of character that are won in the hard wrestle with life; the growing consciousness that God is in human life, that He is ours and that we are His-these things and all that makes human life of value are universal as air and sunshine, but must be missed by those who make the world their object. Though in point of fact Lot cut himself off by his choice from direct participation in the special inheritance to which Abram was called by God, it might perhaps be too much to say that his choice of the valley of Jordan was an explicit renunciation of the special blessedness of those who find their joy in responding to God’s call and doing His work in the world. It might also be extravagant to say that his choice of the richest land was prompted by the feeling that he was not included in the promise to Abram, and might as well make the most of his present opportunities. But it is certain that Abram’s generosity to Lot arose out of his sense that in God he himself had abundant possession. In Egypt he had learned that in order to secure all that is worth having a man need never resort to duplicity, trickery, bold lying. He now learns that in order to enter on his own God-provided lot, he need shut no other man out of his. He is taught that to acknowledge amply the rights of other men is the surest road to the enjoyment of his own rights. He is taught that there is room in God’s plan for every man to follow his most generous impulses and the highest views of life that visit him. It was Abram’s simple belief that God’s promise was meant and was substantial, that made him indifferent as to what Lot might choose. His faith was judged in this scene, and was proved to be sound. This man, whose very calling it was to own this land, could freely allow Lot to choose the best of it. Why? Because he has learned that it is not by any plan of his own he is to come into possession; that God Who promised is to give him the land in His own way, and that his part is to act uprightly, mercifully, like God. Wherever there is faith, the same results will appear. He who believes that God is pledged to provide for him cannot be greedy, anxious, covetous; can only be liberal, even magnanimous. Any one can thus test his own faith. If he does not find that what God promises weighs substantially when put in the scales with gold: if he does not find that the accomplishment of God’s purpose with him in the world is to him the most valuable thing, and actually compels him to think lightly of worldly position and ordinary success; if he does not find that in point of fact the gains which content a man of the world shrivel and lose interest, he may feel tolerably certain he has no faith and is not counting as certain what God has promised. It is commonly observed that wealth pursues the men who part with it most freely. Abram had this experience. No sooner had he allowed Lot to choose his portion than God gave him assurance that the whole would be his. It is "the meek" who "inherit the earth." Not only have they, in their very losses and while suffering wrong at the hands of their fellows, a purer joy than those who wrong them; but they know themselves heirs of God with the certainty of enjoying all His possessions that can avail for their advantage. Declining to devote themselves as living sacrifices to business they hold their soul at leisure for what brings truest happiness, for friendship, for knowledge, for charity. Even in this life they may be said to inherit the earth, for all its richest fruits are theirs-the ground may belong to other men, but the beauty of the landscape is theirs without burden-and ever and anon they hear such words as were now uttered to Abram. They alone are inclined or able to receive renewed assurances that God is mindful of His promise and will abundantly bless them. It is they who are in no haste to be rich, and are content to abide in the retired hill-country where they can freely assemble round God’s altar; it is they who seek first the kingdom of God and make sure of that, whatever else they put in hazard, to whom God’s encouragements come. You wonder at the certainty with which others speak of hearing God’s voice and that so seldom you have the joy of knowing that God is directing and encouraging you. Why should you wonder, if you very well know that your attention is directed mainly to the world, that your heart trembles and thrills with all the fluctuations of your earthly hopes, that you wait for news and listen to every hint that can affect your position in life? Can you wonder that an ear trained to be so sensitive to the near earthly sounds, should quite have lost the range of heavenly voices? Of the assurance here given him Abram was probably much in need when Lot had withdrawn with his flocks and servants. When the warmth of feeling cooled and allowed the somewhat unpleasant facts of the case to press upon his mind; and when he heard his shepherds murmuring that, after all the strife they had maintained for their master’s rights, he should have weakly yielded these to Lot; and when he reflected, as now he inevitably would reflect, how selfish and ungrateful Lot had shown himself to be, he must have been tempted to think be had possibly made a mistake in dealing so generously with such a man. This reflection on himself might naturally grow into a reflection upon God, Who might have been expected so to order matters as to give the best country to the best man. All such reflections are precluded by the renewed grant he now receives of the whole land. It is always as difficult to govern our heart wisely after as before making a sacrifice. It is as difficult to keep the will decided as to make the original decision; and it is more difficult to think affectionately of those for whom the sacrifice has been made, when the change in their condition and our own is actually accomplished. There is a natural reaction after a generous action which is not always sufficiently resisted. And when we see that those who refuse to make any sacrifices are more prosperous and less ruffled in spirit than ourselves we are tempted to take matters into our own hand, and, without waiting upon God, to use the world’s quick ways. At such times we find how difficult it is to hold an advanced position, and how much unbelief mingles with the sincerest faith, and what vile dregs of selfishness sully the clearest generosity: we find our need of God and of those encouragements and assistances He can impart to the soul. Happy are we if we receive them and are enabled thereby to be constant in the good we have begun; for all sacrifice is good begun. And as Abram saw, when the cities of the plain were destroyed, how kindly God had guided him; so when our history is complete, we shall have no inclination to grumble at any passage of our life which we entered by generosity and faith in God, but shall see how tenderly God has held us back from much that our soul has been ardently desiring, and which we thought would be the making of us. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.