Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Separate

1 So they left *Egypt and traveled north into the ***Negev--Abram with his wife and **Lot and all that they owned,

* Egypt – Always a type of the earth or Satan. Abram had depended on Egypt, not the Lord, and now is returning.
** Lot – Lot wasn’t supposed to go with Abram to the promised land!
***Negev:
Following a visit to Palestine in 1867, Mark Twain described the Negev Desert in his book "The Innocents Abroad" as "a desolation that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action…". "Negev" in Hebrew means south. Israel's Negev Desert comprises 66%, over 6,700 square miles, of Israel. Triangular in shape, the Negev has an arid and semi-arid climate.



2 for Abram was very *rich in **livestock, ***silver, and gold.

* rich - literally “heavy”
** livestock – “cattle”. This is the first time we read of Abram’s "cattle”.
*** silver, and gold – scarce in Palestine, plentiful in Egypt.

This great wealth is at least partly due to his visit to Egypt. Rather than destroying him it has enriched him, and this can only have been because Yahweh was with him. The mention of silver and gold suggests that Abram engaged in trading as well as having possession of flocks and herds.

“So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram first arrived in the land of Canaan.)" (Genesis16:3). During their stay in Egypt, Sarah obtained a maid, Hagar. The strife, the jealousy, the trouble which Hagar introduced into the patriarch’s household is well known, the climax of it all being seen in Ishmael (Hagar’s son) "mocking Isaac" (Genesis 21:9) and his subsequent expulsion from Abram’s tent.

3 Then they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where they had camped before.

Relieved and full of praise in his heart to God for his preservation Abram takes his tribe back to the altar, and there he leads the tribe in worship. At this stage area of Bethel is clearly looked on as their permanent ‘home’, in as far as a tribe, whose main activity was herding, and who thus had to continually seek pasturage, could have a permanent home.

This establishes that Abram and his family tribe are now semi-nomads. They make some place their center but move out from that place to pasture their flocks and herds. They must seek places where there is water. At times they must seek higher ground.

4 This was the place where Abram had built the altar, and there he again *worshiped the LORD.

*worshiped – no altar and no worship in Egypt.

When we have taken a wrong turn, God takes us back to where we went wrong.

5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, was also very wealthy with sheep, cattle, and many tents.

Until now, we hear nothing of Lot since he left Haran, but he went with Abram wherever he went. The characters and careers of Abram and Lot present a series of sharp contrasts. The Bible frequently brings together two men of widely different character and placing them in juxtaposition so that we might better learn the lessons He would teach us. Abel and Cain, Moses and Aaron, Samuel and Saul, David and Solomon, are well known examples of this principle. In almost every respect Lot compares unfavorably with Abram. Abram walked by faith, Lot by sight. Abram was generous and magnanimous; Lot greedy and worldly. Abram looked for a city whose builder and maker was God; Lot made his home in a city that was built by man and destroyed by God. Abram was the father of all who believe; Lot was father of those whose name is a perpetual infamy. Abram was made "heir of the world" (Romans 4:3), while the curtain falls upon Lot with all his possessions destroyed in Sodom, and himself dwelling in a "cave" (Genesis 19:30).

6 But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. There were too many animals for the available pastureland.

The riches gathered in Egypt have altered the situation. There is no longer room for both sub-tribes to stay together. This begins to cause friction between the two sub-tribes. The land is just not sufficient. They must seek wider pastures.

7 So an *argument broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. At that time **Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.

*argument – first step in Lot’s downward spiral.

**Canaanites and Perizzites – What a witness to the world this argument was! Satan had planted his own in the land ahead of Abram.

The Lord is training Abram to rely fully on him and to believe what God promised about the land, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Abram now addresses the problem and offers a resolution to Lot.

Abram foresaw some dangers in their quarreling. He noticed that their fellowship of faith was endangered and the testimony of the faith was being blunted by the continual bickering. They were in danger of hurting their bond of faith to the Lord with each other. And because there were others living in the area, there was a danger of making a false witness of their Lord. So Abram makes an offer with Lot. Abram thought it better to have an outward separation than an inner one.

As the elder of the two, one might have thought Abram was going to voice his opinion of where he wanted to go. But this wasn’t the case. Rather Abram let Lot decide, and by doing so put his trust in the Lord. Abram had learned a lesson from being in Egypt. He wasn’t going to take matters into his own hands, but relied on God’s promise that that land would someday be his descendants.

We can apply this very directly to our lives as well. It’s easy for us to confess “Jesus is my Savior,” but more difficult to confess “Jesus is my Provider” and trust that he will provide for us. We need to trust in Christ when he tells us that we will lack nothing we need for our body and soul. Just as Abram made a testimony of faith by trusting that God will keep his promises, so too we need to rely on God that he will keep his promise of giving us what we need.

Because God had blessed Abram just like he said he would, Abram must have also trusted that God would someday keep his other promises as well. Later in chapter 13 God promised that all the land that Abram could see would be his descendants. Abram believed that. God also promised that all nations would be blessed through Abram—referring to Jesus. Abram certainly must have trusted that that promise was going to come true as well. This section of Genesis reveals the training that the Lord did for Abram and the proof of Abram’s trust that ALL God’s promises would come true.

8 Then Abram talked it over with Lot. "This arguing between our herdsmen has got to stop," he said. "After all, we are close relatives!

9 I'll tell you what we'll do. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want that area over there, then I'll stay here. If you want to stay in this area, then I'll move on to another place."

The greatness of Abram is brought out in these words. He could have claimed precedence because he’s the leader and the elder. He is happy for Lot to choose which way to go and then he will take the other. Abram trusts in Yahweh to ensure that he will end up in the right place.

10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of *Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

*Zoar is on the far southern end of the Dead Sea.


Lot chose the Jordan Valley, which reminded him of the land irrigated by the River Nile in Egypt, from which they had just returned. He could not guess that the area would soon be devastated by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Lot carries out his research carefully. He traveled around and weighed up the opportunities. And as he stood in the hills and looked down over the Jordan and its surroundings and saw how well-watered and fruitful the plain was, he was impressed. Later this area would become spoiled by salt and bitumen. He did not take anything else into consideration, especially the fact that he was leaving Canaan the land of promise.

11 Lot chose that land for himself--the Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

This resulted in the first separation of Arab tribes to the east of the Jordan. Descended from Lot, the Moabites and Ammonites (Genesis19:36-38) would later occupy the area east of the Dead Sea, and those tribes would be absorbed by war or intermarriage into the Arab tribes descended from Ishmael.

So Lot makes his choice. He will dwell among the cities of the plain. He is prepared to leave the place that first welcomed them, to which God had led them, for what he sees as better pastures. He does not realize what his choice is going to mean. How important it is that we make the right choices and with much prayer and thought about what matters most.

12 So while Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, Lot moved his tents to a place near *Sodom, among the cities of the plain.

*Sodom – means “flaming or burning.

Lot began by pitching the tents for his family just outside the gates of the city of Sodom, but he soon built a house there for his family (19:1-2). 2 Peter 2:7 tells us that Lot was “sick of all the immorality and wickedness around him.” The people of the city were so corrupt and full of injustice that the LORD said “So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked.” (Genesis 18:20). But Lot did not distance himself or his family from this corruption.

There is great significance in their choices. The one remaining in the place allotted by God, the other unconsciously approaching grave danger because his eyes feast on what seems so wonderful. He forgets the promises of God. He approaches Sodom. What more needs to be said? For Sodom is a center of wickedness and sexual depravity.

But note also the continuing theme of Genesis 4, 10 and 11. Abram dwelt in ‘the land’, Lot dwelt in ‘the cities’. It is a recurring theme that as men become involved with ‘civilization’, with its prosperity and opportunities for sin, they become involved with its ways and forget God.

Bethel (the house of God) had been their center, but now Lot moves his center to Sodom. Later, he takes up residence in Sodom and becomes an important man among them (19:2-3).

There can be little doubt as to who was to blame. The subsequent conduct of Lot and the Lord’s rewarding of Abram indicate plainly that it was Lot who was in the wrong. Nor is the cause far to seek. Lot had brought with him out of Egypt something else besides "herds and flocks"—he had contracted its spirit and acquired a taste for the “good life”.

13 The people of this area were unusually wicked and sinned greatly against the LORD.

The various steps in the downward course of Lot are plainly marked out:
First, he "lifted up his eyes and beheld."
Second, he "chose him all the plain of Jordan."
Third, he "separated" himself from Abram.
Fourth, he "dwelt in the cities of the plain."
Fifth, he "pitched his tent toward Sodom."
Sixth, he "dwelt in Sodom" (Gen. 14:12).
Finally, we see him an alderman of Sodom, seated in its "gate" and his daughters wedded to men of Sodom.

And what did Lot gain by his separation from Abram and stay in Sodom? Nothing at all. Instead of gaining, he lost it all.

14 *After Lot was gone, the LORD said to Abram, "Look as far as you can see in every direction.

*After Lot was gone – After Abram was fully obedient by separating from his kindred, God was able to show Abram the land promised to his descendants.

Note the deliberate contrast with verse 10. Lot lifted up his eyes with his main concern being how to extend his wealth and ensure his future, and beheld the Circle of Jordan, the way that finally led to sin. Abram must now lift up his eyes, but it is at the command of God, and he will see prosperity and blessing and a glorious future, for he has walked before God. The land that surrounds him will one day belong to his descendants who will be numberless, and it will be theirs ‘for ever’ that is, into the distant future. By leaving his future in the hands of God Abram has triumphed, and his future is secure.

To be abundantly fruitful was the longing of every man in those times. Men lived on in their sons. Yet Abram’s wife was barren, a grief of heart to them both. And the land on which he sojourns belongs to others. So God promises that his seed will one day be beyond counting, and that the land will one day be his.

It is noteworthy throughout that Abram is faced with these two continual questions in his mind. (1). Why is my wife barren so that I have no children? And (2) What does the future hold for me in this land? Yahweh reveals His goodness and concern by continually reassuring him about them both.

15 I am going to give all this land *to you and your **offspring as a ***permanent possession.

* to you – Not realized until Abraham’s resurrection.

** offspring - Hebrew “seed”.
Repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26:3 –
“Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.”

and to Jacob in Genesis 28:13 –
“At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants.”

*** permanent possession – Israel is to be a permanent nation.

16 And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted!

17 Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you."

Wherever Abram walks he can look around and say, ‘one day this will all belong to my children’s children, for Yahweh has given it to me’. And walk around he must for it is the necessity of his manner of living. So every step he takes reminds him of the unmerited goodness of God. Lot walked around thinking of money. Abram walked around thinking of God. That is the test of the true child of God.

18 Then Abram moved his camp to the oak grove owned by *Mamre, which is at **Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

*Mamre means "vision." The Lord appears to Abram at Mamre in Chapter 18.
**Hebron means "communion." The district in which Mamre was situated was called Hebron. Joshua gave Hebron to Caleb for his loyalty (Joshua 14:13-15).

Abram then settled by the oaks of Mamre (14:13), located the north side of the present city of Hebron (19 miles south of Jerusalem). When Sarah died, the cave of Machpelah (23:1-2) became the site of the family burial ground (23:17-19) and Abraham was buried there (25:9-10), as were Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (49:29-32; 50:12-13). As in other places, Abraham built an altar for his family to gather for a sacrificial meal, and the fat and entrails went up in smoke as a sign of their prayers ascending to God (as in 8:20-21; 12:7; 13:4,18). Isaac settled and died there (35:27-29). And Hebron was later the place where David was anointed King over the house of Judah (2 Samuel 2:1-4, 11).

Abram now transfers the center of his activities from Bethel to Hebron, in the hill country of the South. There he establishes his main camp and builds an altar for the worship of God.

Abram versus Lot:
• Abram walked by faith
o Lot by sight
• Abram: generous and magnanimous
o Lot: greedy and worldly
• Abram: looked for God’s city
o Lot: home in a city destroyed by God
• Abram: “Father of all who believe”
o Lot: perpetual infamy
• Abram: “Heir of the world” Romans 4:3
o Lot: dwelled in a cave Genesis 19:30
o All possessions destroyed in Sodom