Walk in the Bible - Genesis 13
After being told to leave Egypt and escorted to it's borders, Abram now journey's north into the Negev. The Negev is the same place were the Nabataens would dwell and build the now famous city, Petra.Abram was here well before they were, however! The Bible tells us that Abram was extremely wealth, interestingly enough the words used for extremely wealthy ("meod kabad") literally means "much heavy: or "abundantly heavy " or even "much burdensome", it tells us that he had so many "things" that they literally weighed him down and he had to move slower than before! Verse 3 literally tells us that he had to stop frequently until he got to where he'd originally set up his tent at Bethel. Verse 4 tells us that Abram went to the same site he's build his altar and he called or proclaimed the name of the Lord. Notice, he has so much wealth and things that it's weighing him down, and yet the first thing he does when he gets home, for lack of a better word, is call on GOD. As we'll see in verse 5, Lot acts in contrast to what Abram did.
Radak tell us Lot was also wealthy. The Bible itself tells us that he had flocks, herds and tents to carry all of his wealth, it also tells us the lands literally wasn't enough for both of them. It couldn't support all their cattle and possessions. It literally tells us that Lot's and Abram's herdsman were at odds. The word used for quarreling doesn't indicate any physical violence, but there was likely one-upmanship, unkind words, maybe even one herdsman taking another herdsman before a judge.
Abram wasn't having it either. Notice, it's Abram that steps in and not Lot. Both of them are really wealthy at this time, and besides that, Abram's the one the GOD's speaking to, but rather than use that as some kind of excuse to lord over Lot, he speaks to him with humility and says that there should be no quarreling between them. He calls himself and Lot kinsmen. The actual words he used are "ish" ("Men) "ach" which has a lot of different meanings including "brothers", "relatives" "alike" , "kinsmen". Lot, on the other hand , per Or HaChaim, was counting on being Abram's heir and inheriting this land, now bear in mind, GOD hadn't even said what land Abram was supposed to inherit yet ! After all, they were related by blood , and Abram had no children at that time and he's not a young man by any means!
Abram's not only acting out of humility, but also out of reason as well. If Lot's shepherds and Abram's shepherds continue to quarrel, it might very well get evolve into Abram and Lot quarreling as well, and Abram wanted no part of that. Again , out of humility, Abram advised Lot that they should separate, and he advised him that if Lot went one way, he'd go the other so that there would be no more quarreling at all between their shepherds or themselves. He even let Lot have the first choice as to which way he was going to go.
Verse 10 shows us that Lot chose Sodom. Rashi quotes the Midrash (Horayot 10b; Genesis Rabbah 41:7) when he says that Lot chose it because they were just as evil as he was. None of the rest of the scholars mention this, and the Bible doesn't ever come out and say he's evil, in fact, GOD saves Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, so one has to wonder if he was really evil. That said, it's known that he did become a judge in Sodom and Gomorrah and that they were known to appoint judges who twisted the law to suit themselves, so it's not for certain if he was evil or not! Additionally, Rashi further quotes the Midrashic explanation in Genesis Rabbah 41:7 when he states that by choosing Sodom and Gomorrah (which would have been an eastward track from where he was, not or North or South track like Abram mentioned to him, it was , in effect, his was of rejecting Abram and his GOD.
Verse 12 shows us Abram staying where he was and pitching his tents as far as Sodom, but not in it. All of the scholars agree that he never entered the city of Sodom. Lot however did. It's a small verse but it speaks volumes about who we put ourselves in proximity to. Chizkumi suggests this in his commentary about this verse as well.
In the very next verse we're told that the people of Sodom were not just sinners, because all of us are, but rather they were "very wicked sinners against the LORD". Rashi breaks this down to them being wicked in their persons, sinners with their wealth (he quotes Sanhedrin 109a on this as well ) and rebelling against GOD , right in front of HIM. They were doing this intentionally. He quotes Sifra Bechukotai, section 2 2 on this as well ). Now a whole study in itself could easily be written on exactly what the problem was with Sodom (and Gomorrah too ), but rather than go off on a tangent, let me leave a few Bible verse that state what the problems were over there. Ezekiel 16:49, Isaiah 1:10 - 20, Jeremiah 23:14, Zepheniah 2:8-11 & Wisdom of Solomon (or "Wisdom) 19:14-17.
Verse 13 isn't just a stand alone verse, it's a build up to the next few verses that follow it, starting with verse 15. In verse 15 , it literally tells us that Lot made his choice and moved away, now with him no longer there, GOD comes to Abram and lets him know that the lands he sees all around him are his, including the land Lot just moved to. Radak also points out that this is being done to correct what Abram said in verse 9 where he told Lot that the whole land is at your disposal. GOD was literally telling him that wasn't true, GOD was telling him it would be given to him and his descendants, in effect reminding him that HE hadn't forgotten the promise HE'd made to Abram.
Verse 16 goes even further than this with GOD , in essence, telling him that he will not just have A child, but that he will have so many descendants that they will be uncountable, like the grains of sand. This may be a foreshadowing of GOD's changing of his name. Abram's name means "exhalted father", when GOD changes it, the name HE changes it to literally means "father of many" ! In verse 17 he tells Abram to walk the length and breadth of this land. Chizkuni tells us that this is a way , in that time, that a claim was staked upon land to show ownership.
Verse 17 shows Abram moving yet again, this time a distance of 20 miles, and again , when he arrives at his destination, he builds an altar and thanks GOD. He thanked GOD at the beginning of this chapter and he thanks him again at the end of this chapter. Now this isn't going to be the last we hear of Lot, or Abram's humility, we'll hear more about both in the next chapter.
Abram showed humility and reason when it would have been easy to have been caught up in being "GOD's chosen", where it would have been easy to rule by fiat. Humility is always going to be a harder choice, especially in times like these when items are scarce, when there seems to be no end to the virus literally sweeping the land.
It's easy to go for what looks good in the now, but just like Lot, we shouldn't. We should make every effort to be humble, like Abram.
Obviously, I'm not going to tell you you'd be rewarded like Abram was, but I can certainly tell you that if you go for the quick fix, you won't be , that's for certain, JESUS ,HIMSELF said as much in Luke 18:10-14. So practice humility and reason, be a light in this current darkness.
If you're not so sure you believe any of this or even if there is a GOD, or even if you're having trouble practicing humility, please reach out, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email!
Radak tell us Lot was also wealthy. The Bible itself tells us that he had flocks, herds and tents to carry all of his wealth, it also tells us the lands literally wasn't enough for both of them. It couldn't support all their cattle and possessions. It literally tells us that Lot's and Abram's herdsman were at odds. The word used for quarreling doesn't indicate any physical violence, but there was likely one-upmanship, unkind words, maybe even one herdsman taking another herdsman before a judge.
Abram wasn't having it either. Notice, it's Abram that steps in and not Lot. Both of them are really wealthy at this time, and besides that, Abram's the one the GOD's speaking to, but rather than use that as some kind of excuse to lord over Lot, he speaks to him with humility and says that there should be no quarreling between them. He calls himself and Lot kinsmen. The actual words he used are "ish" ("Men) "ach" which has a lot of different meanings including "brothers", "relatives" "alike" , "kinsmen". Lot, on the other hand , per Or HaChaim, was counting on being Abram's heir and inheriting this land, now bear in mind, GOD hadn't even said what land Abram was supposed to inherit yet ! After all, they were related by blood , and Abram had no children at that time and he's not a young man by any means!
Abram's not only acting out of humility, but also out of reason as well. If Lot's shepherds and Abram's shepherds continue to quarrel, it might very well get evolve into Abram and Lot quarreling as well, and Abram wanted no part of that. Again , out of humility, Abram advised Lot that they should separate, and he advised him that if Lot went one way, he'd go the other so that there would be no more quarreling at all between their shepherds or themselves. He even let Lot have the first choice as to which way he was going to go.
Verse 10 shows us that Lot chose Sodom. Rashi quotes the Midrash (Horayot 10b; Genesis Rabbah 41:7) when he says that Lot chose it because they were just as evil as he was. None of the rest of the scholars mention this, and the Bible doesn't ever come out and say he's evil, in fact, GOD saves Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, so one has to wonder if he was really evil. That said, it's known that he did become a judge in Sodom and Gomorrah and that they were known to appoint judges who twisted the law to suit themselves, so it's not for certain if he was evil or not! Additionally, Rashi further quotes the Midrashic explanation in Genesis Rabbah 41:7 when he states that by choosing Sodom and Gomorrah (which would have been an eastward track from where he was, not or North or South track like Abram mentioned to him, it was , in effect, his was of rejecting Abram and his GOD.
Verse 12 shows us Abram staying where he was and pitching his tents as far as Sodom, but not in it. All of the scholars agree that he never entered the city of Sodom. Lot however did. It's a small verse but it speaks volumes about who we put ourselves in proximity to. Chizkumi suggests this in his commentary about this verse as well.
In the very next verse we're told that the people of Sodom were not just sinners, because all of us are, but rather they were "very wicked sinners against the LORD". Rashi breaks this down to them being wicked in their persons, sinners with their wealth (he quotes Sanhedrin 109a on this as well ) and rebelling against GOD , right in front of HIM. They were doing this intentionally. He quotes Sifra Bechukotai, section 2 2 on this as well ). Now a whole study in itself could easily be written on exactly what the problem was with Sodom (and Gomorrah too ), but rather than go off on a tangent, let me leave a few Bible verse that state what the problems were over there. Ezekiel 16:49, Isaiah 1:10 - 20, Jeremiah 23:14, Zepheniah 2:8-11 & Wisdom of Solomon (or "Wisdom) 19:14-17.
Verse 13 isn't just a stand alone verse, it's a build up to the next few verses that follow it, starting with verse 15. In verse 15 , it literally tells us that Lot made his choice and moved away, now with him no longer there, GOD comes to Abram and lets him know that the lands he sees all around him are his, including the land Lot just moved to. Radak also points out that this is being done to correct what Abram said in verse 9 where he told Lot that the whole land is at your disposal. GOD was literally telling him that wasn't true, GOD was telling him it would be given to him and his descendants, in effect reminding him that HE hadn't forgotten the promise HE'd made to Abram.
Verse 16 goes even further than this with GOD , in essence, telling him that he will not just have A child, but that he will have so many descendants that they will be uncountable, like the grains of sand. This may be a foreshadowing of GOD's changing of his name. Abram's name means "exhalted father", when GOD changes it, the name HE changes it to literally means "father of many" ! In verse 17 he tells Abram to walk the length and breadth of this land. Chizkuni tells us that this is a way , in that time, that a claim was staked upon land to show ownership.
Verse 17 shows Abram moving yet again, this time a distance of 20 miles, and again , when he arrives at his destination, he builds an altar and thanks GOD. He thanked GOD at the beginning of this chapter and he thanks him again at the end of this chapter. Now this isn't going to be the last we hear of Lot, or Abram's humility, we'll hear more about both in the next chapter.
Abram showed humility and reason when it would have been easy to have been caught up in being "GOD's chosen", where it would have been easy to rule by fiat. Humility is always going to be a harder choice, especially in times like these when items are scarce, when there seems to be no end to the virus literally sweeping the land.
It's easy to go for what looks good in the now, but just like Lot, we shouldn't. We should make every effort to be humble, like Abram.
Obviously, I'm not going to tell you you'd be rewarded like Abram was, but I can certainly tell you that if you go for the quick fix, you won't be , that's for certain, JESUS ,HIMSELF said as much in Luke 18:10-14. So practice humility and reason, be a light in this current darkness.
If you're not so sure you believe any of this or even if there is a GOD, or even if you're having trouble practicing humility, please reach out, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email!
Comments
Post a Comment