The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 13:8-9,
"So Abram said to Lot, 'Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
Here is Abram's response to quarreling that took place between his herdsmen and those of his nephew, Lot. As is often noted, Lot looks to the prospect of what the land might provide for him. He chose the plain of Jordan as it was well watered "like the garden of God" and settled near Sodom. Abram had no such concern. Rather than look to what the land might provide him he looked to what the Lord provided him. At the beginning of the chapter we read, "Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold."
Abram became rich because the Lord promised to bless him. We read of the sevenfold promise the Lord gave Abram in 12:2-3. The blessing of the Lord on Abram was such that he didn't care if he was left with productive or not so productive land in his resolution with Lot. As a man of faith, Abram knew the Lord would continue to bless him.
As the story unfolds we find Lot getting into trouble and being taken captive by the combined armies of four kings in chapter 14. We read of Abram rescuing Lot and recovering all the people and booty of Lot and the vanquished kings of the area. When one of those kings wanted to leave his goods with Abram as a reward for rescuing him and his people Abram refused. He didn't want an opportunity for people to think that anyone other than the Lord had made him rich. In Genesis 14:22-23 we read, "But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, "I made Abram rich."
As people of faith today, we know our blessings in life do not come from what this or that might provide us. It is the Lord Our Provider who blesses us. We may not be blessed in a way Abram was and you may be blessed in a way I am not, but it is from the Lord himself our blessings come! As Paul says in his doxology in the beginning of Ephesians, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ"
Here is Abram's response to quarreling that took place between his herdsmen and those of his nephew, Lot. As is often noted, Lot looks to the prospect of what the land might provide for him. He chose the plain of Jordan as it was well watered "like the garden of God" and settled near Sodom. Abram had no such concern. Rather than look to what the land might provide him he looked to what the Lord provided him. At the beginning of the chapter we read, "Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold."
Abram became rich because the Lord promised to bless him. We read of the sevenfold promise the Lord gave Abram in 12:2-3. The blessing of the Lord on Abram was such that he didn't care if he was left with productive or not so productive land in his resolution with Lot. As a man of faith, Abram knew the Lord would continue to bless him.
As the story unfolds we find Lot getting into trouble and being taken captive by the combined armies of four kings in chapter 14. We read of Abram rescuing Lot and recovering all the people and booty of Lot and the vanquished kings of the area. When one of those kings wanted to leave his goods with Abram as a reward for rescuing him and his people Abram refused. He didn't want an opportunity for people to think that anyone other than the Lord had made him rich. In Genesis 14:22-23 we read, "But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, "I made Abram rich."
As people of faith today, we know our blessings in life do not come from what this or that might provide us. It is the Lord Our Provider who blesses us. We may not be blessed in a way Abram was and you may be blessed in a way I am not, but it is from the Lord himself our blessings come! As Paul says in his doxology in the beginning of Ephesians, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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