The Blessings Of Promise Are Greater Than What This World Has To Offer (Genesis 13)
Over and over in this life we will be tempted to look at what we have in Christ and wish that we had a little bit more. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have lost sleep over way to make a little more money, to gain a little more wealth, and retire with a little more stuff. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, gaining wealth is a good thing. But, my point is that there is a proclivity in us to, at times, think little of the glorious promises that we’ve been given.
I can also say that if we are going to make sacrifices in this life for God’s Kingdom, then we are going to have to think much of God’s Kingdom. We have seen this over and over throughout the history of the Church. In fact, the current events in Ukraine have reminded many of us of what went on just 30 or so years ago in the former Soviet Union. Rather than capitulate to the government, Christians went underground and faced the gulags or death rather than give up their faith. And the reason that Christians could make these sacrifices at that time, and will probably have to do so again, is because they understood clearly that the blessings of promise are greater than what this world has to offer.
Knowing this allows us to think through and order our lives properly. If I have Christ and the wonderful promises that He delivers to us then I have everything. And when I see the green pastures that could be mine if I would just forsake following Christ, they are not nearly so tempting. And when I look around and see how well those in rebellion against God are doing, I know Christ and what He gives to me is better.
These considerations help us to think through decisions concerning faithfulness and giving up certain things to follow Christ faithfully. And these same considerations help us to make decisions in the face of terrible tyrants who want to see our faith destroyed. Remember this well. The blessings of promise are greater than what this world has to offer.
Live By Faith In God’s Promise (Genesis 13:1-11)
Abram, it would seem, has repented of his faithless behavior and is back to worshipping the Lord at the altar he had once worshipped at in the Promised Land. And why wouldn’t he? God had proven Himself to be faithful to Abram, even as he made horrible decisions in Egypt.
As believers we understand that we do not merit our right standing with God. It is something that was given to us. We rebelled against God and deserved only His wrath and justice. But God sent His Son to make a way for us to be in fellowship with Him. God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect life and accomplished fulfilled God’s requirements on our behalf. And He died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He paid the debt that our sins deserved as God’s wrath and justice were poured out on Him. And He rose from the grave three days later and completed our justification. In Christ, we have redemption. In Christ, we have salvation. In Christ we are given God’s promise.
Our response to this message is repentance and faith. And because we are fallen and will not be completely restored before the New Heavens and Earth we will be repenting of our sins and believing throughout our entire lives. And that is what you see here. Abram has repented of his earlier foolishness and is walking faithfully and leading his household in faithfulness to the Lord (Genesis 13:3-4).
There is a problem that this entire chapter deals with that is now introduced. God has blessed Abram and Lot and they must now split up because of the growth of their households and wealth. They were crowded because they were wanderers with no claims to land, they had to go where they could. And they were apparently expanding rapidly. And the servants were starting to fight it out (Genesis 13:5-7). So, an amicable split was decided upon. And Abram allowed Lot to choose where he would go.
It seems odd to consider that Abram allowed Lot to choose the plot of land he would reside in. Abram was the leader of this outfit and could have just told Lot where to go. But it seems that Abram trusted that the Lord would care for him and allowed Lot to make this very important decision. And it also seems to me that Lot did something a bit dishonorable here when a gave Abram, who had adopted him into his family, the bad portion of land. Lot chose for himself the obviously plentiful area when he should have allowed Abram to have what would have been the easier land to prosper in. But in the end it was Abram’s decision to let Lot choose. And Lot chose the obviously plentiful land (Genesis 13:10-11). Lot chose the land near Sodom.
Abram has gone back to living and walking by faith. And he is faithfully leading his family in the Promised Land in worshipping the Lord. He is living by faith in God’s promises again. The question is, are you?
Fathers, are you leading your families in worship of the Lord? Are you faithfully living before the Lord at home? Are living before the Lord at work and in your church?
Here is the truth of the matter. God has created the world in such a way that your leadership matters immensely. And so does your failure. A 1994 study in Switzerland, that I have already shared with our men, set out to see what the difference was between children who remain faithful and children who do not. Overwhelmingly it was the father’s influence that was the key factor. Are you being faithful to lead your family? It matters.
Walking by faith in a land filled with unbelief is not easy, nor is leading a family in faithfulness. There will be many times that we make mistakes, and we will need to repent, return to the Lord, and faithfully lead our families in faithfulness to the Lord. It’s easy to sluff of our leadership in the home. It’s easy to neglect the duties of leading our families in the Lord. It’s easy to be passive with regards to the leadership of our homes. It’s not easy to stand up and take responsibility for the direction of our homes. But I have to tell you, men, you don’t have a choice. If you decide to sit it out, there is a good chance you will bring great harm and damage to your family. And don’t be so passive that your wife has to drag you into doing what you are supposed to do. Take charge and lead your families. Read the Bible to your kids, teach them to pray, teach the Bible to your children. And if you need help knowing how to do those things, that’s why I am here. You need to set the direction of your family toward faithfulness in the Lord.
Mothers, are you helping in this endeavor. The two of you are working together, co-laboring for God’s Kingdom in the life of your family. Submission is not about whether or not you are willing to submit to your husband when he says the word “no”. Submission is about submitting to the leadership and direction of your home. It’s not about who reconciles the bank account. It’s about submitting to the mission of your family. You two are co-laboring together. Are you doing your part? None of this is easy. What this household is doing in the land of Canaan is not easy and it requires an immense trust in God’s promises.
Abram trusted that the Lord would care for Him. He saw evidence of that amid his failures in Egypt. And he even allowed Lot to choose the land. It’s a picture of trust in the Lord and His promise.
Are you trusting God’s promises?
We Trust What We Do Not Yet See (Genesis 13:9-13)
The better land was obviously the Jordan Valley which included Sodom. By all appearances this was the place to be. And so, no one can blame Lot for believing this was the case. But Lot didn’t see something very important.
What Lot did not see was the immense wickedness of Sodom (Genesis 13:13). Because we have read and know the rest of the Book of Genesis, we know that it was an incredibly wicked place filled with immorality and sexual perversion. The word “sodomy” comes from the perverted sexual practices that were commonplace in Sodom, what we now call “homosexuality”. Even though he may not have realized it at the time,
“Lot, when he fancied that he was dwelling in paradise, was nearly plunged into the depths of hell.”[1]-John Calvin
Lot didn’t know what he had chosen yet, though we get a sense that he moved closer and closer to the center of wickedness since he moved closer and closer to Sodom. And there is no indication that Abram knew this either.
We do not see the future. We just don’t know what God is doing. It is for us to trust the Lord and entrust ourselves to His care. And it is for us to live by faith before Him. Those things that look best are not always best. And those things can often lead to our destruction, as they almost did with Lot.
I remember when I was called to the ministry. It was a strange thing for me. I was working at the Post Office and had recently set up my retirement account. It was to begin soon. And I had recently passed my civil service exam. I was really just waiting to be interviewed and go from being a Transitional Employee to an employee with full benefits. I believed I had my whole life mapped out. And, to be honest, the future looked pretty good to me. I enjoyed working with the people I worked with. And it was a job that I could work hard in without the stress of being in charge of anything, and just go home. And I could make a decent wage. It allowed plenty of time for extra curricular activities, such as the hunting and fishing that I enjoyed doing. And, it would provide enough money for a family to live on when the time came. I felt good about this.
I had gotten more serious about helping at the church I grew up in. I had recently repented of a rebellious stage in my life and was doing a lot in that church. I begun thinking that God wanted me to do something else with my life. I was leading music for this large youth ministry and helping with sound and other things. I remember praying and saying, “Lord, if you want me to do something else than you are going to have to take me out of this job. I can’t just give up a job that has this kind of pay and these kinds of benefits.” And, I remember the day that prayer was answered.
A few weeks later, at our semi-weekly football game in the church yard. A lot of the young adult men were playing football. We played tackle football, of course…with no pads of course. But it was something we did regularly in the spring until the weather got hot. I was tackled, fell, and separated my shoulder. Since I was a transitional employee and the post office was nationally trying to get rid of this position, and my time was nearly up on my 51 week a year contract, it was not renewed. And after a few weeks of not being able to work, I was let go.
I began helping the student pastor there more and enrolled in classes at Arkansas Tech University. I received a vocal music scholarship, having never sung in a school choir or worked toward anything in music, and began working toward a degree so that I could go to more school and go to seminary. And I began volunteering and then working part time at a church, while I worked part time at Cracker Barrel.
A few months in I got a phone call from the Post Office in Harrison. It was my time to interview and I could just pick up where I left off with more pay. It was so very tempting, but I knew at this time that I needed to trust the Lord and proceed. I understood that what God had for me was better than what I had planned for myself. And by faith, after an injury and a lot of financial struggles in the turnaround, I finally understood that I needed to trust the Lord.
Had I remained where I was, I would not be where I am today. I would not be the pastor of this church. I would not have met Amanda. And Lydia and Haddon would not have been born. I look back on that and say, “Sure, my retirement would look a lot better. But God had much better things for me.”
And I should also add that a few years after I made that decision the Post Office began consolidating their facilities. I might’ve had to have moved to a different location to keep my job. Only the Lord knows what would’ve happened.
Those things that look best are not always best. And they can often lead to our destruction, as it almost did with Lot. But we live trusting God’s promises and walking faithfully before Him.
And we sometimes make sacrifices in this life because we know and trust God’s promises. We know that He has something far better for us. God has promised to us eternal life, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and an eternal home with Him. And we are commanded to follow Him, even when the way seems less prosperous.
That looks different to each one of us. Sometimes that means making financial decisions. Sometimes that means making sacrifices in time. But the point is that we follow the Lord by faith, even when it doesn’t benefit us in the here and now.
No matter the situation, we live trusting God’s promises and walking faithfully before Him.
We Trust God’s Promises, Even When Things Look Bleak (Genesis 13:14-18)
Can you imagine what Abram was thinking as he looked out over his barren home and considered the luscious beauty of Lot’s dwelling place?
I am sure that it wasn’t great thoughts that were working their way through his head.
But God intervened. How did He intervene?
Did God cause a spring to sprout up in the middle of Abram’s plot of land and bring visible prosperity to his life?
Did God cause more plants to grow as Abram looked over Canaan?
No. God did none of that.
God spoke to Abram and called him to trust the promises that He had given to Abram.
“The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”” (Genesis 13:14-17 ESV)
As Abram looked over his barren new home, God called him to remember the promise of land that would be given to him. He also told Abram that this promise was eternal. And Abram understood that to mean that his offspring would one day inherit the entire world.
“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13 ESV)
And we understand that this is the New Heavens and New Earth, the land that we will live in for all eternity in the presence of the Lord.
God also reminded him of the promise of numerous offspring. His offspring would one day be as numerous as the dust of the Earth. And, as I’ve said over the past few weeks, we understand that this is fulfilled in Christ as people from every tribe, nation, and tongue become a part of God’s family.
Then God sent Abram on a walk. But this was no ordinary walk. This was a walk to mark out the territory of his descendants. God was having Abram walk all over the Promised Land and think about those promises that had been given to him.
And how did Abram respond to all of this?
Abram worshipped the Lord.
“So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.” (Genesis 13:18 ESV)
He built an altar to the Lord and he worshipped.
Why did Abram worship?
Had his circumstances changed?
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV)
I don’t know what you are going through in this moment. Well, I know that some of you are facing tremendous struggles in this moment. And sometimes, amid these circumstances, we don’t remember God’s promises too clearly.
I think Abram was struggling as he considered how to care for his household. And God intervened. But how did God intervene?
He delivered these precious promises to Abram again. He reminded Abram of the great and glorious things that were in store for him.
Conclusion
Hard times are here for some of you and are coming for the rest of you. And as Christians, we must keep things in perspective. We can make hard decisions now for the good of God’s Kingdom and for our eternal good because we trust God’s Promises.
During a great plague that swept through Rome in the early church, believers stayed behind and cared for the sick and the dying while others left town to flee the virus that was killing so many people. Why do you think that they made that decision? Because they understood the great and glorious promises to come, even in the face of desperate circumstances.
Martin Luther and his family had been given a closed down monastery to live in. It wasn’t in use in that town anymore because the Catholic Church had shut its doors in that place and there was no need for monks or nuns. So, the Luther family lived in a portion of it. During the plague that swept through Europe, the Luther family stayed behind while many people left town to avoid the illness. They opened up their home to care for the sick and dying. Why do you think that they made that decision? Because they understood the great and glorious promises to come, even in the face of desperate circumstances.
I read an article that was passed along by Caitlin this week. It was about missionaries that decided to stay and help those who were going to go through great suffering in Ukraine. This family and their four children decided to remain in Ukraine rather than leave like many other people so that they could continue to minister in Ukraine during and after the struggle. Why do you think that they made that decision?
Here is what they said in the article.
“We have decided to stay, both as a family and as a church. When this is over, the citizens of Kyiv will remember how Christians have responded in their time of need.
And while the church may not fight like the nation, we still believe we have a role to play in this struggle. We will shelter the weak, serve the suffering, and mend the broken. And as we do, we offer the unshakable hope of Christ and His gospel.”[2]
They are living in light of God’s promises, in light of “the unshakable hope of Christ and His gospel”, and they are making decisions in accordance with them. Let us do the same.
R. Dwain Minor
[1] John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Book of Moses, called Genesis, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI. 500th Anniversary Edition, 2009 p. 373.
[2] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/church-stayed-ukraine/