Genesis 13
1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
It is important to make right decisions. People can sometimes see what decisions we make but God can see what we decide and think to an even greater extent. In the lives of two men, we see how differently they reacted. Abraham loved God and obeyed Him. He had a secret that caused him to be successful in his life. He moved to the altar that he had built to God and called on the name of the Lord. In other words, he moved from one meeting with God to another meeting with God.
After Lot left, God spoke to Abraham and only then did Abraham move his tent. Abraham first made sure that God was in it. Do we go through the day, do and say things, but God is not in it? We need to continually ask God for His guidance.
Lot did not walk with God. He made rash decisions. When Lot was with Abraham, a problem arose. The herdsmen were fighting. It can happen that something else causes a problem between parents or people e.g their children. Be careful not to cause strife. What the herdsmen did had far reaching consequences. We may have blood on our hands if we are not careful with what we say.
Abraham dealt with the problem in a godly way but eventually a decision had to be made. Lot looked at the problem in a fleshly way and saw the valley. Everything fell into place and it seemed the right thing to do. We need to go to the Lord with everything we need and trust Him for every step. The doors seemed to open for Lot. Abraham, in contrast, looked to God and then only did he see the land. Lot failed to influence even nine people in Sodom. Even his own family fell apart. Lot lost everything and his life ended in disgrace when he sinned with his daughters.
May God be gracious to us that we will walk with Him in everything we do and say.