Let's turn this evening to Genesis
chapter 13. We are looking at things recorded
in Genesis concerning Abraham. These things are part of the
things that Paul said this about in Romans chapter 15 in verse
four. For whatsoever things were written
aforetime, we're looking at these things about Abraham, which were
written aforetime. And Paul says, things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience
and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Abram was 75
years old when the Lord called him. And the scriptures tell
us that he lived to a good old age and gave up the ghost or
the spirit at 175 years. Now I mention this to remind
us that we are only given a few things that must have happened,
that must have transpired in a life of a hundred years after
God called him. As great a man as he was, yet
we know that the scriptures were not written to reveal him, but
rather the scriptures were written to reveal his promised seed in
whom all the families of the earth are blessed, that is the
Lord Jesus Christ. So we must, as we study these
passages of scripture, which were written for our learning,
we must see Christ. Pat told me about speaking with
a man recently that she had an appointment with and he'd had
a new son and he named his son Jonah. And I think his other
son also has a name from the Bible. And he mentioned what
he called Bible stories. And she said, well, you know,
they all speak of Christ. I said, what do you mean? What
do you mean? She said, I mean that all the
scriptures when he said to the those of his day, search the
scriptures. She said the only scriptures
that they had to search was the Old Testament. Search the scriptures
for they, for in them you think you have eternal life, but they
are they which testify of me. That's one of the greatest parts of knowledge that God ever
reveals to us, is that when he reveals to us that the scriptures
reveal Christ, that we are to look for Christ As we read the
Word of God, we are to see Christ. He's the key. He's the key to
the Scriptures. Now, our Lord told those Pharisees,
you've taken away the key of knowledge. And what they had
done, they had taken the Scriptures and used them in a way and for
something they were never intended to be used for. The key of knowledge. The key to the word of God is
Christ, to see Christ. But here tonight, as we look
in chapter 13, we have several things I want
to point out to us about Abram. And I'm going to try to call
him by his name, Abram, as we go through this, because at this
point in his life, his name had not yet been changed to Abraham. And his wife's name, Sarai, her
name had yet to be changed also to Sarah, at this point in the
lives of Abram and Sarah. So first, Abram was preserved. Notice in verse 1, the scripture
says, And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all
that he had, and lot with him into the south. Last week we
saw that he went there, that is he went into Egypt because
there was a famine in the land of Canaan. There was a famine,
now think about this, there was a famine in the land that is
most often described. How's the land of Canaan most
often described? A land flowing with milk and
honey. And yet there was a famine in
the land. And I would just remind all of
us tonight, there's only one paradise. There's only one paradise. And because of sin, it's not
going to be found in this world. This world is under the curse
because of sin, and it brings forth thorns and thistles. But we are specifically told
that Abram, his wife, and all that he had, went up out of Egypt. We just read that in verse 1.
Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he
had. Thank God for his preserving
grace. his keeping grace. In Proverbs
chapter 24 and verse 16 we read, for a just man, and Abraham was
a just man, he was justified, for a just man falleth seven
times and rise it up again. And we saw that he did fall. He succumbed to the temptation
when he was in Egypt and asked his wife, Sarai, to tell something
that was not true about her being his sister. Now, Egypt is, in
the scriptures, Egypt is a type of the world. Pharaoh is a type
of Satan. But Egypt is a type of the world,
and I would just remind us of this truth, it is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not consumed. Those of us here in this world,
it is of the Lord, just like Abraham in Egypt, he was preserved. This verse tells us he went up
out of, and it's kind of a play on words, but let's remember
he went down. He went down into Egypt, but
he came out of. And when he went down, we know
that he fell, he sinned. But as that proverb says, a just
man fall seven times and rises up again. God preserved him. And God preserves His people
in this world, preserves us from sin. It is of the Lord's mercies
that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. The second thing I've noticed
about Abram, Abram was very rich. Notice that in verse two. And
Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Literally,
this is what the writers tell us, literally, if this was translated
literally, it would read like this, Abram was very heavy. Our text says he was very rich. But literally, it would be, Abram
was very heavy. In other words, he was loaded.
That's a phrase people use, isn't it? He or she, they're loaded.
He was loaded. He was loaded with wealth and
riches. He was rich in cattle, in silver,
and in gold. And Matthew Henry's comments
upon this, I think are so good, about riches as being heavy or
as being a burden, and I quote, There is a burden of care in
getting them, in getting riches. There's a burden of care in getting
them, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing
them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account at last
to be given up concerning them. He came up. And he was loaded,
he was heavy, he was rich. Our Lord, remember when that
rich young ruler came to him, came running, the scripture says,
and kneeled down. And out of that experience there,
our Lord made this statement. He said, how hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. Abraham, we see,
is an exception. How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of heaven, or kingdom of God. Now we know he had entered into
the kingdom of God because the Lord Jesus Christ said that the
day is going to come when they're going to come from the east and
the west and the south and the north and set down with Abraham
in the kingdom of God. How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of God. Then in that same passage,
you know, you're familiar with this, the Lord showed the impossibility,
the impossibility of any entering into the kingdom of God who trust
in riches. Any who trust in riches to open
the door, to open the gate of heaven, the impossibility of
it. And he demonstrated or manifested
it by a camel, the very impossibility of a camel going through the
eye of a needle. Don't you just know if a camel
could get through the first part, he'd get his hump caught. He
couldn't make it. There's no way a camel can go
through an eye of a needle. And there's no way a person can
buy heaven. There's no way a person can,
with money, redeem himself, redeem his soul. I'm thankful, and I
know you are as well, for wealthy people who are philanthropists
and who give money, build a whole wing on a hospital and endow
schools. And I'm thankful for those men
and women who do that, aren't you? But I hope none of them
are trusting in the fact that they've got their name on a wing
of a hospital. That means they're going to,
because of that, enter into the kingdom of God, because that's
not going to happen. There's only one way in, and
Christ is that way, isn't he? He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Consider this truth. Though we
read here that Abraham was very rich, Abram's riches, his real
riches, did not, now listen, his real riches did not consist
in cattle, silver, and gold. If his real riches did consist
in In those things, well, he left them a long time ago. He
left them thousands of years ago. They passed on to somebody
else. He left those at death, at 175
years of age when he was gathered under his people. And his people
were God's people. That's our people, right? Those
of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior, when we leave
this world, we will be gathered under our people, under our Father,
under our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, and under
our family, the family of God. That's what Abraham, his real
riches were spiritual, durable, eternal. And every child of God,
every child of God partakes of these same riches. There's not
a poor child of God around. Impossible. Impossible. Every child of God partakes of
these durable, eternal riches, spiritual riches. What are they,
you say? Well, they are the unsearchable
riches of Christ. The unsearchable riches of Christ. You could have searched into
Abraham's riches, counted his flocks, weighed his silver and
his gold, but the riches of Christ are unfathomable. You cannot
plumb the riches of Christ. You say, name some of them. Well,
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who hath blessed
us with all. Not just most, but all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Those are durable
riches. Those are eternal riches. And
every child of God is rich. Heavy loaded, loaded. The third thing, Abram was thankful. Notice in verses three and four,
We read, and he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel,
unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning between
Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the altar which he had made
there at the first, and there Abram called on the name of the
Lord. He was thankful. He returned
to the place where he had built an altar. When he left, Because
of the famine, most likely he destroyed the altar. So it would
not be profaned by the Canaanites. But he returns and he calls,
the scripture here says he calls upon the name of the Lord. To call upon the name of the
Lord is to pray, isn't it? It's to pray, call upon the Lord. And in our prayers, and we may
be sure in his prayers, he was thankful. I imagine he probably
spent maybe one or two or several nights in prayer when he was
in Egypt and his wife had been taken into the house of Pharaoh. Don't you imagine? He spent some
time in prayer. He was on his knees praying,
and when he comes back, God delivered him, delivered his wife from
any hurt, from any harm. When he comes back, he goes there
where he had built the altar before and he calls upon the
name of the Lord. I know Abram gave thanks. He gave thanks for God's protection. He gave thanks that God had brought
him back and had preserved him. Thankfulness or thanksgiving
is a very important part of our prayers. He thanked God, as the
psalmist said, the Lord is thy keeper, the Lord shall preserve
thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even
forevermore. You remember one day, this is
recorded in the Gospel of Luke, The Lord Jesus approached a village,
and ten lepers met Him. Ten lepers met Him, and they
cried for mercy. And the mercy they cried for,
the mercy they desired, was cleansing mercy. They desired to be cleansed
from their leprosy, and the Lord spoke unto them, and sent them
unto the priest, as the law required, to go unto the priest. And as
they went, they were cleansed. Only one, only one returned,
and he was a Samaritan. Only one returned to give the
Lord thanks. And the Lord Jesus asked him
this question, and where are the nine? Where are the nine? I would encourage you and I,
myself, let us be careful that the Lord never need to ask us
where are the nine. After we've prayed, after we've
asked for God's mercy and God's blessing and we've received it
and we're beneficiaries of God's goodness and mercy, that he would
ask us, and where's my thanks? Where's my thanks? No, God's
people are thankful. And I see that here. Abram, he
was thankful. The fourth thing, Abram desired
peace. Let's read verses six through
13. Abram desired peace. And the
land was not able, or verse five, it says, and Lot also which went
with Abram had flocks and herds and tents. And the land was not
able to bear them, that they might dwell together, for their
substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle
and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanite and the Perezite
dwelled then in the land. And 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. Is not the whole
land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee,
from me. If thou wilt take the left hand,
then I will go to the right. If thou depart to the right hand,
then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes and
beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere
before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. even as the garden
of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zor. Then Lot chose him all the plain
of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves
one from the other. And Abram dwelled in the land
of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and
pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked
and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. Lot was also rich. He was rich
in cattle. And this resulted, as we read,
as a strife. It produced a strife between
their herdsmen. And Abraham recognized that the
strife that was between their workers was going to escalate
to the place where it would be a strife between him and his
nephew, Lot. Now, Abraham, as we know, was
just, justified. What does the scripture say?
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And those who have peace with
God, those who are justified, we desire to live in peace with
everyone else. Abraham, Abraham rather, he desired
to live in peace. You know, Lot, he was just. He
was just. Peter tells us that in 1 Peter.
He was, or 2 Peter, he was just. Paul, in Romans, I believe it
is, he tells us, if it be possible, as much as life in you, live
peaceably with all men. God's people, those who are just.
We have peace with God, and we desire to live in peace with
others, don't we? Do you notice in verse 7 something?
Look there in verse 7. It says, 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. What would this strife say to
these idolaters? What would this strife say to
these idolaters if they saw two men, Abram and Lot, worshiping
at the same altar, calling upon the same God, and yet striving
with each other? This must not be. This should
not be. So Abram suggested that they
separate. And remember this, God had not
given the land to Lot. The land was given to Abram.
And yet, Abram gave Lot the choice. And naturally, Lot being a younger
man, should have given preference to his uncle. The land was his
uncle's anyway. But he doesn't do that, does
he? Lot made his choice. And we see here that his choice
was based entirely on sight, not on faith. Entirely on sight. He didn't ask the Lord's direction.
He didn't ask the Lord to guide him and keep him from any fatal
mistake. He looked, he considered, and
he chose only upon worldly profit. He didn't take into consideration
what would be best for him and his family spiritually. He was
just concerned about material things. And one important thing that
we do not read about Lot's dwelling, he did not build an altar. When Abram came to a place and
pitched his tent, he built an altar. Lot pitched his tent toward
Sodom, but we don't read that he built an altar. You know, years ago, one of the
first books that I just had to buy when I was very young, was
a book entitled Holiness by Bishop J.C. Rowe. And it has a number
of chapters in it, and many of them concern different Bible
characters. But he's got a chapter on Lot
in there. You know what the title is? A
Beacon. A Beacon. You know, the lighthouse
is a beacon, isn't it? It's going around to keep those
ships so that they do not crash into the rocks. God has given
us a lot as a beacon. It's worth all of us studying
his life because he was just, he was righteous. Scripture is
very clear about that. But his life ended up a horrible
tragedy, didn't it? A horrible tragedy. He made a choice, but his choice
was based upon sight and not faith. Now here's the last thing. Abram had fellowship with the
Lord. Notice in the last verses, and the Lord said unto Abram,
After that lot was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes
and look from the place where thou art northward and southward
and eastward and westward. For all the land which thou seest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will
make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can
number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land
in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give
it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent and
came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and
built there an altar unto the Lord. After Lot separated himself,
the Lord spoke to Abram. And the Lord speaking to him
was worth more The fellowship that Abram now had with the Lord,
the communion he now had from the Lord or with the Lord was
worth more than he could possibly have lost or lot could have taken
from him. To have fellowship and communion
with the Lord is the greatest of blessings. You and I are blessed
when the Lord comes to us through his word in prayer, and worship
services and communes with us and us with him. And the Lord
again tells Abram that it was to him and his seed that he was
giving the land. He was also told that the Lord
would give him a posterity that for number would be as the dust
of the earth. He's given the land and He's
promised a posterity that would be as the dust of the earth.
Now both the promise of the land and the promise concerning His
posterity was fulfilled physically and it also has a spiritual connotation. For instance, the physical promise,
His seed, would be as the dust of the earth. In the days of
Solomon, 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 30, we read, Judah and
Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude. The promise was fulfilled. He
had a physical posterity as the sand, as the dust of the ground,
and the land You know, here's two verses in the book of Joshua
that tells us this promise also was fulfilled. In Joshua chapter
21 and verse 43, we read, and the Lord gave unto Israel all
the land, all the land which he swore to give unto their fathers. And they possessed it and dwelt
therein. And then in Joshua 23 and verse
14, this was, At the end of Joshua's life,
he said, And behold, this day I am going the way of all the
earth. And you know, this is Joshua
speaking to the nation of Israel, I'm going the way of all the
earth. What is the way of all the earth? It is to leave this
world through death. Joshua says that day's arrived. I'm leaving. I'm going the way
of all the earth. But I want you to know this.
You know. in all your hearts and in all
your souls, now listen, that not one thing hath failed of
all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning
you. All are come to pass unto you,
and not one good thing hath failed. Amen? Not one good thing that
God has promised you is going to fail. But this promise to
Abram, as I said, it had a spiritual component also. Abraham's spiritual
seed. Remember when John saw into heaven,
he said he saw a great multitude, which no man could number. And
Paul said, if you be Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise. The spiritual component is Abraham's
seed, his children. his spiritual posterity as the
sand by the seashore. And as far as the land, in Hebrews
11, we are told that Abram, while he was sojourning in the land
of promise, he was there living in Canaan, but he looked for
a city. He looked for a city, in other
words, The land of Canaan was a type, was a picture of heaven,
of the eternal city, which hath foundations, whose builder and
maker is God. I pray that the Lord would bless
these thoughts to us here tonight and Use it for His glory, for all
of us. We may grow in grace and knowledge
of the Lord. We may grow, and be assured tonight
when we leave this building, not one good thing that God has
promised you is going to fail. It is not going to fail. David, let's sing.