A Passing Grade

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.

What About the Village People?

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 13:5-18 NASB)

After returning from Egypt, the extensive amount of grazing required for both Abram and Lot was too much for the around them to support.  To solve the strife between the two sets of shepherds, Abram let Lot choose where he would go.  Looking about, Lot saw that the areas around the Jordan were more lush than the mountain and hills of Canaan.  He chose the Jordan region.

It says that Lot settled among the cities of the "valley", and specifically beside Sodom.  It also comments that even then, the men of Sodom were evil and tremendous failures to God.  As the chapters progress, it becomes clear that Lot's choice was a very bad one.

Another note is that the Canaanites and the "Perizzites", or villagers, were then in the land too.  So, this problem was affecting more than just the herdsmen, flocks, and herds of Abram and Lot.  The people who actually lived and worked the land were also affected, even if not involved in the dispute.  The villagers of Canaan watched as Lot took his things and headed for the Jordan Valley.  They witnessed what would probably not have been the solution reached by the "city-states" around them.

After Lot leaves, God speaks to Abram.  Standing on the hills around Beth-El and the "Ruins" God asks him to look around, north, south, east and west.  Not only will all this land be his but his offspring will be as numerous as the dust of the land.  This is the promise to a man with a barren wife.  God then tells him to walk around his future gift to his descendants.  He goes from Beth-El to Hebron; or from the middle of Canaan to a hill country mid way between Beth-El and the southern edge of Canaan.  There he parks himself in the trees of Mamre.  This, along with the Oak of Moreh, become favorite hang outs of Abram.  There he builds another altar to God.

Do I consider the people outside my "church" when dealing with things inside it?  What I mean by that is do I consider the "others", or just the person I'm dealing with, or just my point of view, or just what this means to my place of worship?  Even if I'm not being "selfish", am I being "kingdom minded"?  There are great promises of my Master, things He has in His mind to accomplish in my community.  He doesn't need me to do them, but if I want to be a part of what He does, I need to accept and submit to His perspective at the cost of my own.

What if I wind up with the lesser options?  What if I get less than everyone else?  What happens to my family?  What happens to my favorite songs, favorite "chair" in the worship center, and my position of respect?  What if I loose respect because I took the lower seat at the table, and was left there?  Well, as long as I don't loose my relationship with my Master.  I'm good with all the rest (or at least I should be).

Meandering Around Canaan

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."  So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.  Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.  Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.  Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9 NASB)

Abram completes the journey from Ur begun by his father years before (see Gen. 11:31-32).  He took with him the ones of his family who would go, all their stuff and headed out.  He left Haran, a place probably named for his little brother who died in Ur before they left, and he left behind his brother Nahor and his family.  His father had died, never completing the trip around the "Fertile Crescent."  So, in a real sense, he's not necessarily leaving "home" per se, but half his family.  It was still hard.

The promise begins as a promise that he will be a great nation; a nation that will bless all the families of the earth.  It begins there and begins to take shape as Abram travels the length of Canaan.  His descendants will possess Canaan; the land he walks through.  And as he passes through, he builds altars; stone object of worship.  These are things used to literally give something up to the One sending him through the land, away from his family; as if he hadn't given up enough, and he hadn't.

God speaks to him at Shechem, and he builds an altar.  He proceeds to Beth-El and God does not speak to him, but he builds another altar anyway.  He then proceeds to the Negeb, a more difficult, more arid place.  There he does not build an altar; at least not yet.  Could it be that the trouble he winds up in during the latter half of this chapter is due to him not building an altar in Negeb?

At what point do I need to stop giving stuff up to my Master?  When is it a good idea to not build another altar and send stuff up in smoke to the One giving it to me in the first place?  It's not that I would withhold the stuff, but the rather the attitude that doesn't see giving it up as necessary; it's just not important to build the altar at this point.  Is that as dangerous as it sounds?  Could the apathy that ignores the importance of offering as a part, the central part, of worship be devastating? 

It is easy for me to get caught up in "worship"; the elements of song and word.  But it is not always easy for me to see the part where I give up something as valuable, or at least as valuable as the other parts.  It was in worship at the Temple that the poor widow gave all she had (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4).  It was her Creator who made a point of stopping to watch what everyone else missed.  Isn't that the part of worship I want to leave off, or leave out?  It's the hard one where I do the expression instead of the worship leaders or preachers.  I like spectating, and I have a wonderful church in which to spectate worship.  But I must be the one making the altar, and giving something precious back to my Master.  Only then have I truly ascribed worth to my Master in faith.