Sunday
Morning Bible Study
January
28, 2007
:1-4 Abram returns and worships
:1 Then Abram went up from Egypt,
he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.
If you recall, God had promised to give Abram the land
of Israel. But when a famine hit
the land, Abram packed up and headed south to Egypt.
The Scriptures do not specifically condemn Abram for this trip to Egypt,
but I struggle with the things that Abram did in Egypt.
He lied about his wife. He brought trouble on Pharaoh because of his lies. He
gets kicked out of Egypt.
He collects some Egyptian things along the way, like a handmaiden named Hagar.
Is it a stretch to say that Abram may have “fallen away” a bit with this
trip to Egypt?
Lot –Abram’s nephew. His father, Haran,
died back when they lived in Ur of
the Chaldees. It seems that Abram has taken on the role of raising Lot
like a son.
Abram and Sarai weren’t the only ones that went to Egypt.
They had taken Lot with them.
:2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
:3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel,
to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel
and Ai,
(show slide)
When Abram first came into the Promised Land, he came in from the north and
his first stop was up in the hills of Shechem. It was there that God first told
Abram that he was now in the land that God would give him. Abram built an altar
in Shechem.
From Shechem, Abram moved south to this hill area between Bethel
and Ai, about twenty miles south. It was here that Abram built his second
altar.
From this place, Abram made his trip to Egypt,
which he has now returned from, back to the area between Bethel
and Ai.
:4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there
Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Abram returns to his second altar and calls on the Lord.
I find it interesting that we don’t have a record of Abram making an altar
in Egypt or of
him calling on the name of the Lord in Egypt.
Lesson
Coming home
It almost seems as if Abram is returning to his “first love”.
Abram has “fallen away”.
When he returns to the land, he returns to the last place he had worshipped
God.
Jesus told a story about a young man who made some serious mistakes (Luke 15). He took his inheritance and wasted it on wild
living. When he ran out of money, he
ended up as a servant working on a pig farm, wishing he could eat the pig food. He finally got to the point where he figured
that he would be better off being a servant for his father, so he headed home,
not knowing what to expect. Yet when he
got home, his father didn’t make him a slave, his father ran to greet him. His father threw a party to welcome the lost
son home.
You may think that you would never be welcomed back if you were to return
to the Lord. That is not true. What you will find is a God who has been
waiting for you to come home.
Jesus writes to the Ephesian church:
(Rev 2:4-5 NKJV) "Nevertheless I have this against you, that
you have left your first love. {5} "Remember therefore from where you have
fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and
remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent.
If there was a time when you were closer to the Lord than
you are now, you’ve left your first love.
Go back to the altar.
Go back to what you used to be doing.
:5-13 Lot chooses Sodom
:5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
:6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell
together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell
together.
:7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the
herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the
Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
Canaanites – the descendants of Ham’s son Canaan.
These were the people that were cursed because of Ham’s sin against his father
Noah (Gen. 9:25).
Perizzites – P@rizziy –
“belonging to a village”; a people who inhabited southern Canaan
prior to the conquest; they are one of the Canaanite tribes.
This is the second time that we’ve been reminded that during Abram’s day,
the Canaanites were alive and well in the land:
(Gen 12:6 NKJV) Abram passed through the land to the place of
Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in
the land.
We talked about how Abram had left the pagan land
of Ur, only to land in the pagan
land of the Canaanites. God doesn’t save
us to take us away from the world. He
saves us to send us back to a lost world that needs to hear about Jesus.
What’s the deal here?
Lesson
They’re watching
God followers Abram and Lot are now in the land
living among the pagans.
And the pagans are watching while their employees fight with each other.
Somebody needs to do something. Jesus said,
(John 13:35 NKJV)
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another."
People would know we belong to Jesus by how we LOVE one
another, not by how we argue and quarrel.
The problem needs to be resolved.
They’re watching us beloved. The
unbelieving world is watching us. Just
what do they see in us? I hope it’s
love.
That great ol’ preacher J.Vernon McGee writes,
“I had an uncle who never came to know the Lord. My aunt used to weep and
say, “Oh, he won’t listen!” Do you know why? With her lived a sister, another
aunt, and I used to go there sometimes on Sundays for dinner. Do you know what
we had for dinner? Roast preacher! One of my aunts went to the Methodist
church, the other went to the Presbyterian church, and oh, boy, did they try to
outdo each other, talking about the preacher and the fights that were going on.
I used to watch my uncle. He would just sit there and eat. Then he’d get up to
leave and go down to his club for the afternoon. When he would come home in the
evening, he wasn’t drunk, but he sure had had several drinks. They never won
him to Christ. There are a lot of people not being won today, my friend,
because of the strife that is inside the church. This is an interesting thing:
“the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.” And they still
dwell in the land. They are right near your church, by the way.[1]”
:8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be
no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we
are brethren.
Abram realizes that the problem is simply that they’ve “out grown” each
other.
They’ve become too prosperous for the land to support both of their herds.
:9 "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you
take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I
will go to the left."
George Washington said, “When there is an
elder man and a younger man in the same room, the elder man should never
mention it, but the younger man should never forget it.”
Abram is the elder. He should be the one who makes the decision. He should
get first pick. But he graciously lets Lot make the
choice of where he wants to go. And Lot
selfishly agrees.
Lesson
Grace
Abram is displaying the grace of God. He’s not afraid of losing what God
has already promised. He’s willing to give the best away.
I think a test of how much we’ve learned about God’s grace is measure by
how much we’re willing to give up for others.
Paul wrote to the stingy, wealthy Corinthian church to encourage them to
help with the project being undertaken to take care of the poor in Jerusalem. He writes,
(2 Cor 8:1-4 NKJV) Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the
grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:
{2} that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their
deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. {3} For I bear witness
that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were
freely willing, {4} imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift
and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
Paul connects the “grace” that the Macedonians had
received from God and their desire to give financially to the need that was
presented to them.
Illustration
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, Ryan, 3. The boys
began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the
opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say ‘Let
my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.’ Kevin turned to his younger
brother and said, “Okay, Ryan, you be Jesus!”
Abram was a gracious man.
:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was
well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the
garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
Apparently at the time of Abram, the Dead Sea was
not so “dead”.
like the garden of the LORD – they haven’t seen Eden,
but they’ve heard stories.
Egypt
– Abram and Lot had just been to Egypt,
they know what it looked like.
:11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of
Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from
each other.
Lesson
Making the right choices.
Lot is going to make his choice. It’s not going to be a good choice. It’s going to be a choice that he’s going to
greatly regret. It’s going to be a
choice that will cost him everything.
Lot makes his choice based on what his eyes tell
him.
It’s not wrong to open your eyes and be influenced by what you see. Jesus said,
(John 4:35 NKJV)
"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the
harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up
your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
We ought to have our eyes opened to the opportunities to
serve God that are all around us.
But you’re heading for trouble if you make your choices solely on what you
see.
Jesus said,
(John 7:24 NKJV) "Do not judge according to
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Lot was a man of sight. Abram was a man of faith.
(2 Cor 5:7 NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Sometimes we have to make choices based on what we don’t see. Sometimes we need to pay attention to what
God is saying instead of what our eyes tell us.
(2 Cor 4:16-18 NKJV) Therefore we do not lose heart.
Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed
day by day. {17} For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, {18} while we
do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.
The Bible is filled with people who made choices against what their eyes
told them, but instead based on faith:
(Heb 11:24-26 NKJV) By faith Moses, when he became of age,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, {25} choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of
sin, {26} esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt;
for he looked to the reward.
Be careful when the choice you are making is based on the
pleasures you’ll receive instead of the clear call of God to do something
different.
:12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan,
and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his
tent even as far as Sodom.
We need to be careful about what kind of effect the world has on us.
In this chapter, Lot moves close to Sodom.
In chapter 14, he’ll be living in Sodom.
By chapter 19, he’s known as an elder in the gates of Sodom.
That’s not necessarily a bad series of events. Lot
could have become a great influence in Sodom.
But that’s not the direction Lot is going. Lot
is a guy who doesn’t want to rock the boat. He’ll become a guy that no one takes
seriously.
:13 But the men of Sodom were
exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
The wickedness of Sodom wasn’t
an unknown thing. It seems the Lot
was aware of what he was choosing.
:14-18 Abram promised the land
:14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had
separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you
are; northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
:15 "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants
forever.
Abram gets to see with his eyes, just like Lot.
But he has already given up the “best”, and as a result gets it “all”, apparently
even including the land Lot chose.
:16 "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so
that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also
could be numbered.
God had promised to Abram when he was in Haran
that he would make Abram a “great nation”.
Now God promises a huge multitude of descendants.
All promised to a man without any children.
:17 "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I
give it to you."
Lesson
Explore the inheritance
Let’s say that I took you on a three hour cruise and as I dropped you off
at your island destination, I announced to you that you had been made king of
the entire island. Everything on the island was yours. As I waved goodbye to
you on the beach, would you just stay on the beach? Or would you begin to
explore it?
God has given many promises to us.
Promises are appropriated when we learn to walk in them. When we learn to
trust in them. Promises like …
Answered prayer
(John 15:7 NKJV) "If you abide in Me, and My
words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
I would think that if we really believed this were true,
that we’d probably be spending a little more time in prayer each day, don’t
you?
(Mat 17:20 NKJV) …for assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from
here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
If we have impossible problems, mountains in our lives,
shouldn’t we be praying? Shouldn’t we be learning to pray better?
:18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of
Mamre, which are in Hebron, and
built an altar there to the LORD.
Mamre – Mamre’ – “fatness”
Hebron – Chebrown – “association”, “fellowship”
or “communion”; the city is about 20 miles south of Jerusalem
and 20 miles north of Beersheba.
Lot chooses Sodom. Abram settles down in a place of “fatness”,
“communion”, and intimacy with God (an altar).
This will become one of Abram’s main hangouts.
It’s here that he’ll purchase a cave to bury his wife Sarah in. It’s here
that Abraham will be buried. This is where Isaac and Rebekah would be buried. This
is where Jacob buried Leah, where Joseph buried Jacob.
Lesson
An Altared Life
One of the unique things about Abram is the altars that he builds.
Isaac will build an altar. Jacob
will build an altar.
We have no record of Lot building an altar.
Abram will build at least four of them in his lifetime.
Abraham was the father of “faith”. Abraham was the “friend” of God. Abram knew
he needed to connect with God.
What’s an “altar” for me?
It’s a place where I connect with God.
It’s a time when I connect with God.
When Jesus talked to the woman at the well about worshipping God, it was
near the ancient city of Shechem,
where we began our chapter. Jesus made it clear that it’s not the geographical
location that counts with God, it’s the heart.
(John 4:23-24 NKJV)
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship Him. {24} "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship
in spirit and truth."
How can we worship God in spirit and truth?
One practical way is through prayer and the Word.
Come to the altar every day. Pray.
Let God speak to you in His Word.
Worship God.