Heed the advice of your rearview mirror: Things are not always as they appear

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. That trip is about 587 kilometers or 364 miles. That is not an easy trip on foot, to say the least. Abram was very wealthy in livestock. This shows that God is not against wealth. He blessed many people in the scriptures about people he blessed obtaining wealth. He is against wealth having us.

From the Negev, he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 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.” Abram returned to the place where the LORD had previously visited him and where he had built an altar. Think of times and places in your life when God spoke clearly to you or engaged in fellowship with you in a powerful way. At times, it may be necessary to return to those places, whether physically or even in your mind. I have already talked about the richness of wealth among this family, but it is mentioned twice in this passage and should not be skipped over. Remember that if someone ever comes to you with a poverty “gospel,” that scarcity is a sign of godliness. That is not anymore true than the idea that wealth is. For all the positives of wealth, we also see a negative here. A quarrel arose among them because of their possessions. This would be an example of stuff having you instead of you having stuff, and it would cause much trouble for Lot later in life. Notice that Abram, the godlier of the two, was the first to take steps to make peace. As the elder, he had the cultural right to choose first, but he allowed Lot to choose first instead.

Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. It would appear from the text that Lot did not consult the Lord about his decision but instead chose based on what looked the best or the most appealing. Something that may look appealing at the moment may not be later. God would turn Sodom into a divinely judged ash heap that Lot would eventually have to flee to avoid being caught up in it. Heed the advice of your rearview mirror: things are not always as they appear. You could also learn the same thing from a 2015 movie called The Visit that I just saw for the first time earlier today. Still, the instructions on your rearview mirror are a lot less disturbing. Lot chose the best for himself, leaving Abram with what was left. Jesus said, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The principle applies across the board in God’s kingdom and not just wedding feasts. The people of Sodom were wicked. We will find out how wicked in later chapters, but it appeared to Lot from a distance like it was the place to be.

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord. God reiterated the promise to Abram that he had already made in the previous chapter even though Abram still had no offspring and nothing in the natural seemed like this promise could be fulfilled. Nonetheless, God promises Abram innumerable descendants, more land than those descendants have ever possessed even to this day, and unimaginable blessing that continues to this day.