†. Gen 13:1-2 . . From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his
wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot. Now Abram was
very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.
The word for "rich" is from kabad (kaw-bad') which means: to be heavy, i.e.
in either a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense
(numerous, rich, honorable); causatively, to make weighty (in the same two
senses); viz: which is why, I guess, we call the rich "loaded"
So the rich are not only wealthy, but weighted down too. It was a piece of
cake for Abram to pull up stakes and move around wherever God wanted
before he got so wealthy. Now it will be an undertaking especially without
power tools and mechanized conveyances.
Note : though it's not stated, I think it's probably pretty safe to assume that
Lot enjoyed the very same privileged status in Egypt that his uncle Abram
did due to their mutual relationship to Sarai; so that Lot came up out of
Egypt a very prosperous cattle baron.
†. Gen 13:3-7a . . And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far
as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between
Bethel and Ai, the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and
there Abram invoked the Lord by name.
. . . Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,
so that the land could not support them staying together; for their
possessions were so great that they could not remain together. And
there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and
those of Lot's cattle.
There is a well known ratio of cattle per acre of grazing land and what with
Abram's and Lot's huge herds, they just couldn't be neighbors anymore. And
especially since the land was just recently recovering from a famine. Lot's
drovers were squabbling with Abram's over available grass; and probably
the available water too. If those men had barbed wire in that day, I'm sure
they would have strung it. Then the shootin' would have really started up!
†. Gen 13:7b . .The Canaanites and Perizzites were then dwelling in
the land.
How do you suppose Abram's and Lot's squabbling looked to the pagans?
When God's people can't get along, outsiders become disgusted with them
and they sure won't be influenced for God in a good way when Yhvh's people
are fighting amongst themselves like that.
Years ago, when I was a young welder just starting out on my own, I rented a
small room in a daylight basement from a man who was the senior pastor of a
medium-sized Seventh Day Adventist church in the Portland Oregon area. He
and his wife radiated the luster of polished spirituality whenever I spoke with
them out in the yard, but in my location under the floor of the house, I could
overhear their bitter quarrels upstairs behind closed doors. Was I favorably
inclined to attend his church? No.
†. Gen 13:8-9a . . Abram said to Lot: Let there be no strife between
you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen.
Is not the whole land before you?
Palestine was still pretty much a wild frontier in the 20th century BC.
Actually very little of it was private property. And what with no Bureau of
Land Management, the land out west from Ur was pretty much up for grabs
to anyone who had the moxie to take it. Abram and Lot remind me very
much of early day American pioneers and cattle barons.
†. Gen 13:9b . . Let us separate.
It wasn't an easy thing for Abram to be firm with his kin, and it was a
weakness in his spiritual life from day-one. He and Sarai were supposed to
leave their kin and come to Canaan alone. He wasn't supposed to take along
a nephew. But Abram just couldn't leave Lot behind. So now he and Lot are
separating with bad blood between them. And Lot's future is very uncertain
down in that God-less country away from his uncle Abram's patronage.
†. Gen 13:9c . . if you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I
will go north.
Even though there was some bad blood now between Abram and Lot, the old
boy remained a gracious man. Being the senior of the two, Abram could
have claimed first dibs on the land. But he waived the privileges of rank, and
gave his nephew the choice. But, in point of fact, Abram made Lot a promise
that he could in no way guarantee to honor; because it was God who
ultimately dictated where Abram was to dwell in the land.
†. Gen 13:10 . . Lot looked about him and saw how well watered was
the whole plain of the Jordan, all of it-- this was before the Lord had
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah --all the way to Zoar, like the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.
The Jordan Valley slopes southward like a ramp from an altitude of roughly
685 feet below sea level at the Sea of Galilee to an elevation of 1,384 feet
below sea level at the Dead Sea. Water was Lot's primary concern and there
was plenty of it down there in that valley 4,000 years ago. Along with
overflow from the Sea of Galilee, was an abundance of wadis and streams
draining into the Jordan Valley from the highlands.
In its heyday, the Jordan poured about 1.3 billion cubic feet of water per
year into the Dead Sea. Today-- due to dams, diversions, and pumping
--only about 2 or 3 percent of those ancient billions reach the sea, and the
water is so contaminated that you don't dare drink it.
In Abram's day, the Jordan Valley in the region between the Dead Sea and
the Sea of Galilee was well watered, fertile, and very appealing to a cattle
baron like Lot. It had some pretty good jungles too: home to lots of fierce
lions at one time.
Note : the Israel of today is just a dried up husk of its former environmental
glory. For example: Israel's lions, now extinct, once inhabited forests (Jer
5:6) mountain caves (Nahum 2:12), and the Jordan Valley (Jer 49:19).
Israel's bears (2Kgs 2:24) were eradicated in the early 20th century. The
closest kin to the bears that once roamed wild there are the Syrian brown
bears kept in the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.
What the world sees today in Palestine little resembles the land of milk and
honey into which Joshua brought Yhvh's people some 3,500 years ago; and
there's the wrath of God to thank for it.
†. Deut 29:24-27 . . Even all nations shall say: Wherefore hath the Lord
done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then
men shall say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of
their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out of
the land of Egypt: for they went and served other gods, and worshipped
them, gods whom they knew not, and whom He had not given unto them:
and the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all
the curses that are written in this book
†. Gen 13:11a . . So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the
Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward.
Today a descent down to Jericho from Bethel (modern Beitin) would be close
to a 4,000 foot drop in elevation. Whooee! That'll sure make your ears pop!
†. Gen 13:11b . .Thus they parted from each other;
That must have been a weird feeling for both men. They had been together
since Ur.
I think Lot actually possessed more mettle than uncle Abram: mostly
because he had the moxie to go off on his own into a totally strange region
with absolutely no assurance that God would travel with him. People like
Columbus and Magellan have that kind of nerve: they're strong and
confident. But I don't think Abram ever was like that. I seriously doubt he
would have left Haran at all had not God called him to it. I believe it was
only the assurance of divine patronage that gave Abram the courage to
travel far from home in that day.
†. Gen 13:12a . . Abram remained in the land of Canaan, while Lot
settled in the cities of the Plain,
Cities in that day didn't in any way resemble the huge sprawling
metropolises of the present. We would no doubt regard them as little more
than fortified hamlets.
The "plain" of course being the Jordan Valley; and some of the cities in
particular were Sodom, Admah, Zeboiim, Gomorrah, and Bela; which is
Zoar. Jericho was in existence then too and no doubt a major population
center in that region.
†. Gen 13:12b . . pitching his tents near Sodom.
Actually that was a pretty sensible arrangement. By living amongst those
cities, Lot had a ready market for his livestock; and a source of goods and
services he could use out on the ranch. There was something special about
Sodom that magnetized him though because he eventually moved his family
into town. I think Mrs. Lot may have had a little something to do with that.
Not too many women enjoy rough-country living out in the middle of
nowhere. Most prefer being near the conveniences of neighbors, shopping,
and services.
Cont.
/
wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot. Now Abram was
very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.
The word for "rich" is from kabad (kaw-bad') which means: to be heavy, i.e.
in either a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense
(numerous, rich, honorable); causatively, to make weighty (in the same two
senses); viz: which is why, I guess, we call the rich "loaded"
So the rich are not only wealthy, but weighted down too. It was a piece of
cake for Abram to pull up stakes and move around wherever God wanted
before he got so wealthy. Now it will be an undertaking especially without
power tools and mechanized conveyances.
Note : though it's not stated, I think it's probably pretty safe to assume that
Lot enjoyed the very same privileged status in Egypt that his uncle Abram
did due to their mutual relationship to Sarai; so that Lot came up out of
Egypt a very prosperous cattle baron.
†. Gen 13:3-7a . . And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far
as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between
Bethel and Ai, the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and
there Abram invoked the Lord by name.
. . . Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,
so that the land could not support them staying together; for their
possessions were so great that they could not remain together. And
there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and
those of Lot's cattle.
There is a well known ratio of cattle per acre of grazing land and what with
Abram's and Lot's huge herds, they just couldn't be neighbors anymore. And
especially since the land was just recently recovering from a famine. Lot's
drovers were squabbling with Abram's over available grass; and probably
the available water too. If those men had barbed wire in that day, I'm sure
they would have strung it. Then the shootin' would have really started up!
†. Gen 13:7b . .The Canaanites and Perizzites were then dwelling in
the land.
How do you suppose Abram's and Lot's squabbling looked to the pagans?
When God's people can't get along, outsiders become disgusted with them
and they sure won't be influenced for God in a good way when Yhvh's people
are fighting amongst themselves like that.
Years ago, when I was a young welder just starting out on my own, I rented a
small room in a daylight basement from a man who was the senior pastor of a
medium-sized Seventh Day Adventist church in the Portland Oregon area. He
and his wife radiated the luster of polished spirituality whenever I spoke with
them out in the yard, but in my location under the floor of the house, I could
overhear their bitter quarrels upstairs behind closed doors. Was I favorably
inclined to attend his church? No.
†. Gen 13:8-9a . . Abram said to Lot: Let there be no strife between
you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen.
Is not the whole land before you?
Palestine was still pretty much a wild frontier in the 20th century BC.
Actually very little of it was private property. And what with no Bureau of
Land Management, the land out west from Ur was pretty much up for grabs
to anyone who had the moxie to take it. Abram and Lot remind me very
much of early day American pioneers and cattle barons.
†. Gen 13:9b . . Let us separate.
It wasn't an easy thing for Abram to be firm with his kin, and it was a
weakness in his spiritual life from day-one. He and Sarai were supposed to
leave their kin and come to Canaan alone. He wasn't supposed to take along
a nephew. But Abram just couldn't leave Lot behind. So now he and Lot are
separating with bad blood between them. And Lot's future is very uncertain
down in that God-less country away from his uncle Abram's patronage.
†. Gen 13:9c . . if you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I
will go north.
Even though there was some bad blood now between Abram and Lot, the old
boy remained a gracious man. Being the senior of the two, Abram could
have claimed first dibs on the land. But he waived the privileges of rank, and
gave his nephew the choice. But, in point of fact, Abram made Lot a promise
that he could in no way guarantee to honor; because it was God who
ultimately dictated where Abram was to dwell in the land.
†. Gen 13:10 . . Lot looked about him and saw how well watered was
the whole plain of the Jordan, all of it-- this was before the Lord had
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah --all the way to Zoar, like the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.
The Jordan Valley slopes southward like a ramp from an altitude of roughly
685 feet below sea level at the Sea of Galilee to an elevation of 1,384 feet
below sea level at the Dead Sea. Water was Lot's primary concern and there
was plenty of it down there in that valley 4,000 years ago. Along with
overflow from the Sea of Galilee, was an abundance of wadis and streams
draining into the Jordan Valley from the highlands.
In its heyday, the Jordan poured about 1.3 billion cubic feet of water per
year into the Dead Sea. Today-- due to dams, diversions, and pumping
--only about 2 or 3 percent of those ancient billions reach the sea, and the
water is so contaminated that you don't dare drink it.
In Abram's day, the Jordan Valley in the region between the Dead Sea and
the Sea of Galilee was well watered, fertile, and very appealing to a cattle
baron like Lot. It had some pretty good jungles too: home to lots of fierce
lions at one time.
Note : the Israel of today is just a dried up husk of its former environmental
glory. For example: Israel's lions, now extinct, once inhabited forests (Jer
5:6) mountain caves (Nahum 2:12), and the Jordan Valley (Jer 49:19).
Israel's bears (2Kgs 2:24) were eradicated in the early 20th century. The
closest kin to the bears that once roamed wild there are the Syrian brown
bears kept in the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.
What the world sees today in Palestine little resembles the land of milk and
honey into which Joshua brought Yhvh's people some 3,500 years ago; and
there's the wrath of God to thank for it.
†. Deut 29:24-27 . . Even all nations shall say: Wherefore hath the Lord
done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then
men shall say: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of
their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out of
the land of Egypt: for they went and served other gods, and worshipped
them, gods whom they knew not, and whom He had not given unto them:
and the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all
the curses that are written in this book
†. Gen 13:11a . . So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the
Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward.
Today a descent down to Jericho from Bethel (modern Beitin) would be close
to a 4,000 foot drop in elevation. Whooee! That'll sure make your ears pop!
†. Gen 13:11b . .Thus they parted from each other;
That must have been a weird feeling for both men. They had been together
since Ur.
I think Lot actually possessed more mettle than uncle Abram: mostly
because he had the moxie to go off on his own into a totally strange region
with absolutely no assurance that God would travel with him. People like
Columbus and Magellan have that kind of nerve: they're strong and
confident. But I don't think Abram ever was like that. I seriously doubt he
would have left Haran at all had not God called him to it. I believe it was
only the assurance of divine patronage that gave Abram the courage to
travel far from home in that day.
†. Gen 13:12a . . Abram remained in the land of Canaan, while Lot
settled in the cities of the Plain,
Cities in that day didn't in any way resemble the huge sprawling
metropolises of the present. We would no doubt regard them as little more
than fortified hamlets.
The "plain" of course being the Jordan Valley; and some of the cities in
particular were Sodom, Admah, Zeboiim, Gomorrah, and Bela; which is
Zoar. Jericho was in existence then too and no doubt a major population
center in that region.
†. Gen 13:12b . . pitching his tents near Sodom.
Actually that was a pretty sensible arrangement. By living amongst those
cities, Lot had a ready market for his livestock; and a source of goods and
services he could use out on the ranch. There was something special about
Sodom that magnetized him though because he eventually moved his family
into town. I think Mrs. Lot may have had a little something to do with that.
Not too many women enjoy rough-country living out in the middle of
nowhere. Most prefer being near the conveniences of neighbors, shopping,
and services.
Cont.
/
