Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left." Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere -- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah -- like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. "Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you." Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD. (Genesis 5-18, NASB)
After Abram returns to the altar at Beth-El, it might be expected that God speak to him, and God does, but not until he and Lot separate. While it might not be the point, it is hard to miss that God promises great things to Abram after he handles the problem with Lot well. Abram handles it in an unselfish way that demonstrates confidence in God for his well-being.
What remaining in the hill-country means is that Abram will be moving more often than Lot will need to, so his herds have enough to eat. As it turns out, Lot actually moves into Sodom, leaving tent-living behind completely. The area around him has no problem sustaining his herds and flocks.
So Abram, the chief, the head of the family, the eldest living son of Terah, lets his younger brother's son have the "pick of the land" and accepts the more meager of the choices. The text doesn't say this is a test, but the blessing Abram receives after is interesting in that it includes that "good land" Lot chose, not just the hill-country from where Abram views the rest.
The husband of a barren wife, nomad through a land of strangers and pagans, and tent-dweller in a land of walled cities is promised descendants as numerous as dust and the land he treads through. If the conflict with Lot was a test, the prize for passing might be seen as hollow. Abram had no way to achieve such a result. He couldn't make Sarai fertile, and he could not hope to conquer the cities around him. Yet his Master promises, and Abram believes.
I can only imagine what others would have thought if he shared this promise with them. It would have been rather incredulous to hear a nomad with a barren wife speak of a promise from his God which would give him innumerable descendants and all the land around him. I doubt it would have seemed easier to believe if he then told me it would happen years down the road, not just yet. So, grow older and then God will give you children and the strength to conquer the land? Not likely. Yet I believe the writer of Hebrews nails it when he refers to Abram and others as looking for a city unseen that they would only experience after they had died. Now that is faith.
I wonder where my faith would run out. Would I have the faith to follow my Master even believing that I may not live to see the result of my obedience? Do I have the faith that does not require vindication before those I live among? Is it in me to obey in the face of being thought foolish, and stay the course as what I attempt to accomplish for my Master cannot be finished in my lifetime? It's not a matter of "can I", that's a ridiculous question. Of course I can, I just continue on when it all seems stupid. The question is, "will I?"
In a sense I am in the midst of this now. I live in a place with a depressed economy and a church that has a huge calling from God, and is struggling to come up with the resources. It is on that transition from a "small church" to a "medium sized church" as "church growth" experts call it. The reality is that this church, in a depressed community, is experiencing a crisis of faith. The challenge to all involved is to remain faithful to the promises of God in the face of the insurmountable challenges to the call. I am one of several on the leadership team. So, for me, the challenge is direct to my faith, but it also calls into play a very important facet missed as I look at Abram's challenge.
Abram had so much it was difficult to sustain the household as a nomad. Yet such was part of his calling. His decisions affected everyone in his household, from his wife down to the water carriers. The herdsmen couldn't have been pleased to watch their counter parts in Lot's group head down to greener pastures. Yet Abram stays the course, in spite of what it might seem to cost his household, those closest and dearest to him.
As a leader, I have those around me who look to me for insight and guidance. The decisions I make as a leader and the support I give to our pastor affects my family and others around me. Yet God's call is clear even though the resources to accomplish it are not. The people are being assembled by God in this depressed community, and we're not sure why. But the "funds" necessary for such an endeavor haven't materialized yet. How do we move forward without the necessary money? And will doing so hurt those depending on us for guidance? These are the ones who will be working in this ministry, who God has placed in this place in this time. But for what?
There is more that my Master is doing than just reaching one generation, no matter how lost, forgotten, or feared. There are spiritual strongholds not even mentioned as targets, only in fear and as evidence of the enemy's strength here. These are "gates of hell" which will not prevail against the gospel. So, these too are "callings" and areas where my Master is at work. The current struggle is just a glimpse of what is to come, the enemy territory we have established a beachhead within. If I and we cannot come through this crisis of faith, we miss the blessing of God, and it will pass to others.
I can't miss this opportunity, even if my church does. I'm not sure what that means, but I see it so clearly, the battle, the need for prayer, the need to assault the gates of hell in this community. But I don't see the resources to do it. Neither did Abram. He believed anyway, and was patient in the face of insurmountable obstacles. He relied on God and His timing (sort of anyway); and so must I.
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