Read verse 8 with me in Genesis
13. Abram said unto Lot, Let there
be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen
and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. We're brothers. Strife and division between brethren
is a terrible thing. It's to be avoided at all costs. It's to be permitted. We're to
strive together for the unity of the Spirit is what we're to
do. But if it comes, and sometimes it does, we're going to see the
way to end it. We're going to see how the Lord
would have us to end the strife. Verses 1 and 2, Abram went up
out of Egypt, he and his wife, all that he had, and a lot with
him into the south, south of Israel that is. Abram was very
rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Now, most of us are
rich materially compared to the rest of the world, and though
we're not as rich as some, we're not nearly as poor as others,
not even close to being as poor as our breadmen in Mexico. Abram
was very rich. Now, it's very seldom That someone
is both rich in faith and rich in material things. Our Lord
said, how hardly shall a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven.
He said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
than for a rich man to enter heaven. Because you have great
treasure, that's usually where your heart is. And in getting
that treasure, you have to give yourself to it. So it's usually
the case. But Seldom is a man rich in material
things and rich in faith toward God. But Abram was. Abram was
a blessed man in every way. can be either a blessing or a
curse. Riches are dangerous. Scripture warns us so much of
riches, the deceitfulness of riches. They deceive us. They
tell us one thing, but it's really something else. They promise
us one thing and they don't deliver. Habakkuk 2 says riches are like
being laden with thick clay. laden with thick clay, a burden
to bring you down. Several reasons why riches are
a burden to us. Number one, the care in getting
them. Too much care in getting them. Number two, the fear in losing
them. Once you have them, then you
start worrying about losing them. That should not be. And then
there's the temptation in using them. the temptations, if you
have many of these riches, that there's a temptation in using
and in abusing them. Then there's the guilt of abusing
them. If you do spend too much on self or whatever, you have
this guilt that goes with it for a child of God. Then there's
the sorrow in losing them. They're lost. Our lifestyle is
so great and grand that I'm afraid, you know, we just don't want
to give up this lifestyle that we have. And it's an unprecedented
lifestyle in the history of the world. Never been a more affluent
society. And we're right in the middle
of it. But I'm not so sure that it wouldn't be a good thing for
us to go back to a much more simpler lifestyle. Then there
is the burden of the account that we must give concerning
this thing. Because the Lord said, the canker,
the rust of gold and silver will rise up in the judgment again.
So riches are not good in so many ways. And not to be desired,
Scripture says, they that will be rich fall into temptation. and snares that bring many down,
that drown men and women in destruction and perdition. So that's why
the wise man said, give me neither riches nor poverty. Don't give me either one. Let
me have the middle of the road. Let me be dependent on our Lord.
We're not taken with this world. Well, Abram was rich, though,
and the Lord knows who to give it to. Abram was obviously a very generous
man. We're going to see if he's willing
to give it all up for peace. The Lord knows who to give these
riches to, and they can be a blessing if used wisely. The Lord told us that he was
very rich for a reason, and that's the reason. Verses 3 and 4, read
on. He went on his journeys from
the south even to Bethel under the place where his tent had
been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai, under the place
of the altar which he had made there at the first. And there
Abram called on the name of the Lord. He became rich while he
was in Egypt. Egypt is a picture of the world.
Egypt has always represented the world, the riches of the
world, the politics, the arts, everything the world has to offer
was in Egypt. The leaders, it was a world,
it was the most powerful country in the world. Abram got rich
in Egypt. That's where he got rich. Egypt
made him rich, but it almost ruined his family, didn't it?
He almost ruined his family. And I'm sure he would confess
to this, to becoming rich in things, but lean in his soul. Lean. He left Bethel. He left
Bethel where he should have stayed. Even though it was a famine,
he would have been full spiritually. Well, so he went back home, back
to Bethel. And oh, I can't wait to look
at Jacob at Bethel. But verse 5 says that Lot also,
which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. Lot was
rich also. Where did he get his riches?
Who did he owe his riches to? Abram. Abram was the one that
took him under his wing and raised him from a child he taught him. And therefore, Lot really owed
Abraham. great honor and service and all
that he had. And we know the Lord gave it
to them, but the Lord uses means to render honor to whom honor
is due. Lot owed Abraham his life. He
sure didn't repay it, did he? Money and possessions can be
a great revealer of character, or lack of it. They sure can. It certainly revealed Lot. Verses 6 and 7, the land was
not able to bear them, to hold them, all that they had, that
they might dwell together, for their substance was great, so
that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between
the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle.
And the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. There
was strife. Now what was the reason for the
strife? riches. Because of riches, they ended
up divided because they both had so much. And that became
a problem, a snare to them. And Matthew Henry said this,
and much of what You're going to hear this morning I got from
him, just it could not have been put any better than what Matthew
Henry, he's perhaps my favorite of the common dictators, Matthew
Henry. And if someone says something
better than I can say it, I'm going to repeat it. Dad used
to say, if a man, anybody preaches a better message than me, I'll
preach it. I'll take that and preach it, like Spurgeon and
others. But Matthew Henry, and I'll quote
so many things by him this morning, but he said poverty and travail
didn't separate them. Wants and wandering didn't separate
them. Nothing could separate Abraham
and Lot except riches. Things they really didn't need.
And let me add this. There are many petty and trivial
things that will separate us, being sinners that we are, so
easily divided, so immature and so selfish and so worldly. But I'm thankful that nothing
can separate us from the love of God, no matter how we act
toward Him. It will not separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ, because He's a friend
that's taken closer than brother. And neither height nor depth
or anything will separate us from Him. He said, you may leave
me, but I will not leave you. You may go after this and that
and the other, like Lot. And we're going to see, I can't
wait to get to that story. Lot left Abram. and left the
Lord, too, and almost perished, didn't he? But the Lord being
merciful, laid hold of him. Thank God he's a friend that
sticketh closer than a brother. So there was strife. There was
quarrel. And it started among the servants. Do you notice that?
It started among the servants. And they caused division. They must have come and complained
to their masters. Abram's servants came and complained
to him, and Lot's servants came and complained to him, and it
escalated into some ugly behavior and division. I don't think on
the part of Abram, but at any rate, there was strife and division. Now, you notice where it says
the Lord reminded us that the Canaanite dwelt in the land?
You see that? It says, Canaanite and the Perizzite
dwelled there. They had division among these
brethren. And he said, now the Canaanite
and the Perizzite were dwelling there. In other words, they saw
this. They were watching. Here came
these men who professed to be believers, who professed to know
the living and true God, who professed to be brethren And
by this shall all men know, all men know you are my disciples."
How the world will know is this special spirit that God has given
His people of love and unity. And while the world is dog eat
dog and wolves, you know, the world hates one another, yet
this is how God's people are known. They love one another.
They act like their God does. Love and mercy and grace and
kindness. They didn't. And the world was
watching. And so it brought great reproach.
What made this worse than anything was the reproach that it brought
on the Lord. The Lord made that very clear
to them. Canaanite was there. These unbelieving,
godless people were observing these two brethren having a quarrel. And that brought great reproach
on the Lord. Now, Abram was the blessed man,
wasn't he? The Lord said so. The Lord said,
I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee. Thou shalt
be a blessing. You will be a blessing. I will
bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. We
saw that hymn as a wonderful picture of Christ. But Abram
is the man of God too. He's the blessed man, like Psalm
1 speaks of, and like our Lord spoke of in Matthew 5, blessed
are the meek, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the peacemakers,
blessed are those that are persecuted, talking about his people who
are like him, as he is, so are we in this world. Abram was the
blessed man, and he proved it. You know how he proved that he
was the blessed man? He was a peacemaker. That's how
you knew. Blessed are the peacemakers.
They shall be called the children of God. So Abram is the one who
sought to reconcile. Abram went to Lot and said, this
can't go on. Look at verse 8. Abram said unto
Lot, let there be no strife. He loved peace. He wanted peace. He wanted peace. Let there be
no strife. Don't let this go on. I pray
thee, I beseech thee, in the name of our God, in the name
of Christ, between me and thee and between my herdmen and thy
herdmen, we be brethren. We're brethren. There's no lot that doesn't give
any indication of making any overtures of peace today. Well, he had a lot of maturing
to do, and so do we. We can grow in grace and the
knowledge of our Lord as He is, and so should we be. We are,
but we need to grow into the measure, the stature, the fullness
of Christ and be no more children in so many ways. But Abraham
was like our Lord in that he was of a gracious spirit. He
had a gracious spirit. And he tried to turn away wrath
by soft answer. Lot, let's not let this go on. He's like our Lord. Oh my. And he was like our Lord in his
condescending spirit. See, Lot was his servant. Lot
was his son. Lot was to be in subjection to
him. Abram had the rule over him.
And yet, Abram's the one who's humbling himself before Lot. Abram's the one who is making
overtures of peace. Abram's the one who is trying
to reconcile him. And what a picture of our Lord
that is. My, my, he who was equal with
God made himself of no reputation, humbled himself and pleaded with
worthless sinners, rebels, rebels. The people of God prove themselves
to be the people of God by being peaceful, easy to be, and treated
gentle and kind. And this is what James went to
great lengths in telling us in the book of James. He said, this
strife and all that, envying and strife and confusion, that's
the devil. And the devil can enter into
us. He sure can, like he did Peter. And any kind of spirit
of strife or division or bitterness or anger or wrath is of the devil. And he said this, the wisdom
that is from above is pure, is peaceable, gentle, easy to be
entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality
and without hypocrisy. It doesn't say I love you and
act another way. But it's true. And the fruit
of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Those
that make peace are going to have peace. And so be it. So Abram tried to make peace.
Abram tried to make peace. He said, Brother, this ought
not to be. And what he said was this. Look
at it. He said, We be brethren. Look at the margin. Look at the
center margin. It says we be men. Men, rather. What he's saying here is that
we're men. We're both men. We're both sinful men. We're
both fallible men. We're both faulty men. We're
both just men at best, and we're both liable to act just like
that, sinful men. He said, now you remember that,
and I'll remember that, okay? When you deal with me, remember
I'm a man, and when I deal with you, I'll try to remember you're
a man. We're both faulty. We're men at best. Remember that.
I'm glad the Lord remembers our friend, don't you? And like a
father, pities his children. Then he said, we're men. We're
not babies. We're not children. And men can
come and reason together. Men can talk to one another and
say, listen, this is a misunderstanding. What's the problem here? Let's
get over it. Let's not act like children.
Right? We're to be men in understanding,
Paul said, but children in malice. That is, get over it quick. But
realize this. Paul said one time, quit yourselves
like men. That is, act like a man. Act
like a grown-up. Act like a woman. Act like a
mature believer. Don't sulk and pout and get mad
and hold a grudge and get bitter like a big baby. Straighten up. Oh my, we all are guilty. We're
just men. And then he said, we're brethren.
We're brethren. Brothers. And Paul said this,
love like brethren. Love is brethren. When I was
a boy, I had two brothers. My oldest brother was eight years
different, so we didn't get into too much trouble. It was a big age difference. My other brother was four years
older than me, and we got into it constantly. It was never my
fault. Ever. Right, Mom? No, that's
Dad. I was your baby. You know better.
But no, I knew better. We were equally to blame. If
it wasn't him, it was me. If it wasn't me, it was him.
Okay? And we got into some knock-down, drag-out fights. Not too much,
because he was bigger and older than me. And I'd cry uncle after
a while. But we got into some real scrapes. And there were times when I thought
I hated him. But you know, to this day, I
can't remember one single quarrel, why it happened, what it was
all about. I can't remember. I love him.
He's my brother. I still get aggravated at him. I don't remember. We had a bunch
of fights, but it was all so petty. So petty. And that's the way we need to
be. Listen to this. Well, go with
me. We all need to go to Ephesians 4. We need to read these things
constantly. Whenever a root of bitterness
springs up and troubles us, you know, many are defiled by that.
We're defiled. Everyone around us is defiled,
a root of bitterness and grudges and so forth. But Ephesians chapter
4, this is what... And you know, Paul was abused
by so many people and he said, learn to just be defrauded, just
take it. If you've been wrong, just take
it. Don't defend yourself, just take it. in the interest of peace. He
said in Ephesians 4 verse 1, he said, I beseech you, walk worthy of
the vocation wherewith you are called, of all lowliness and
meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing, putting up with one
another in love, That means working hard to keep the unity of the
Spirit and the bond of peace. Go over to verse 31. It said,
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil
speaking be put away." Put it away from you with all malice. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven
you. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children. Just like Abram. Just like Abram. He proved himself. Go to Genesis
13 now. Go back there. Here's how Abram
proved himself. and proved that Christ was in
him. Number one, he's the one that made overture to peace.
He's the one that went and wanted peace. He's the one that wanted
to reconcile. And you know, there are husbands and wives that separate,
and sometimes the reason is called irreconcilable difference. You
ever heard that? Lawyers get that all the time.
What that means is they don't want to reconcile. There are
differences, alright, between a man and a woman. Major differences. But love reconciles. Love will
always reconcile. Love always wants to reconcile. That's how you know it's love.
Like our Lord. We were His enemies and He came
to us. Boy, did we abuse Him. And He
came to us and He said, Come on now. What cause have you found
in me to be angry with me? And Abram, being a Christlike
man, in verse 9, he said, The whole land is before thee. Separate
thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand,
I will go to the right. If thou wilt depart to the right
hand, I will go to the left. I don't believe Abram wanted
Lot to leave. You know he didn't. He loved
him like a son. He didn't want him to go away. This is a test,
isn't it? Prove the sincerity of his love.
And Abram did, and he's thinking on Lot, he's thinking of everyone
else, of peace and harmony, the good of all concern. But this
is a test of Lot's love for Abram, and Abram and Lot failed it. Abraham passed, Abraham. But
Matthew Henry said this, some people talk of peace but do nothing
to prove it. Some people say peace, peace,
but there really is no peace in their heart. Abraham proved
it. He proved it. And Abraham here
is a wonderful type of Christ in all of this. He's going to
give Lot the best and he's going to take the worst. He's going to give Lot what didn't
belong to him. Lot didn't have any of this covenant.
It didn't belong to him. And he's going to give Lot what
didn't belong to him. It was all promised to Abram.
Our Lord promised everything to Abram. He said, everything
is yours. Not Lot's. Lot wasn't mentioned in that
covenant. Abram was. But Abram proves his love by
giving it to him. making him a joint heir with
him. Abraham made Lot his joint heir. He didn't deserve it, did
he? Lot, like the sorry sinner that
he is, and we are, proves himself. Verse 10, Lot lifted up his eyes,
the lust of the eyes. He lifted up his eyes and what
he beheld was all the plain of Jordan, well watered everywhere,
where before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he looked
out and the plains out there, ooh, look at that beautiful city
called Sodom. Now that's where I want to live. Like the garden of the Lord.
Like the land of Egypt. Sodom and Egypt. He said, would
you look at that. Sodom and Egypt. Now that's where
I want to live. That's where he almost died. So Lot chose him. Boy, we don't
want to choose our inheritance, do we? Aren't you glad the Lord
has chosen our inheritance for us? Aren't you glad? Lot's choice. This is man's free
will. This is what man will choose.
The sight of the eyes. The sight of the eyes. You know
what's sane is temporary. And what's unsane is eternal.
Paradise. Present paradise. I'll take a
present paradise. Oh no, what you need is a future
life. What you need is to live on His
promises, not a present paradise. Sodom liked the looks of Egypt. He said, I'll take the best. Leave Abram the rest. The Lord sure was merciful to Sodom. had any grace at all, he would
have said to his loving uncle Abram, he would have said, I
don't want to leave you. This stuff is not worth us separating
over. God's with you. God's with you. I want to be like Ruth. Ruth said, entreat me not to
leave thee. I'll go where you go. Your God
will be my God. Your people will be my people.
I don't want to perish with the heathen. I want to die the death
of the righteous." If he had any grace at all, he'd have said
that. I'm not leaving. You can't make me leave. Let's just take what's convenient
and divide it between each other and live together as brethren. Or he would have deferred to
Abram. He said, you're the older man. You're the wiser man. I'm
not going to make the choice. You make the choice. You're wiser
than me. You make the choice. He watched over me all these
years. You make the choice. I don't have the wisdom. I'll
make the wrong choice. And he did. He did. And Lot's
sin, though, and the Lord's great mercy, Lot's sin and Lot's choice
ended up... You see, everything works together
for good. His sin ended up for his good and God's glory and
our learning. And I'm so thankful it happened
the way it did because we wouldn't have Genesis 19 The story of
Lot, particularly verse 16, it said, while Lot lingered, the
Lord being merciful to him, laid hold of him and brought him out.
It was all worth having that one verse for, because that's
me. And if the Lord doesn't have
mercy on me, I'll choose Sodom, and I'll die there. And I'll
have no feelings or thoughts toward anyone but myself if the
Lord doesn't have mercy upon me. I'm no better, not one whit
bit. Well, verse 12 and 13, Abram
dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities
of the plain, pitched his tent toward Sodom. Come on, honey,
we're going to Sodom. We're going to make something
of ourselves. We're going to get all of Augusto, grab all
of Augusto we can. Notice this, verse 13, the men
of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Is there worse sin in the eyes of the Lord than others? Yes. That's what they said. They were
the worst. Isaiah, we've read many times,
he said, Israel began to declare their sin like Sodom. Jeremiah, remember, said they
couldn't even blush. They weren't ashamed at all.
They were proud of it. Act up. Pride. Take pride. That's the number one thing God
hates. Couple that with open, rebellious
wickedness in the face of God like the Sodomites. God said
they're exceedingly bad sinners. That's why God reigned fire upon
them. So, yes, there is. It's usually
proof of a reprobate person, been given over to Satan forever. Oh, my. And who maketh us to
differ? Who maketh us to differ? Well,
he pitched his tent toward Sodom. I've got to quit. Well, yeah, we'll pick up next
week. But anyway, Abram was downcast
when Lot left and sorrowful, but the Lord in great mercy appeared
to him, confirmed his oath, his covenant to him, and gave him
exceedingly precious promises that he lived on. He picked his
tent up and went on sojourning while Lot went to Sodom. Make
me an Abram in every way. Make me a faithful man. Make
me a loving man. Make me a peaceable man, peacemaker. Make me a follower of God. Make
me a man who doesn't care for the things of this world, but
has his affection set on things above where Christ lives.