DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Genesis 13:12-18 (4/7) 1st
Reading at
Vespers, Mon. of the 5th Week of the Great Fast
The
Patriarch Abraham II ~ The Promised Land: Genesis 13:12-18, especially vs. 18:
“And Abram having removed his tent, came and dwelt by the oak of Mambre,
which was in Chebrom, and he there built an altar to the Lord.” From Chapter 12:1-7, the
book of Genesis provides a series of readings concerned with Abram’s
faith and life. The present
passage, Chapter 13:12-18, discloses three ways by which Abram remained open to
God’s will during his sojourn in Canaan: 1) he arranged to separate from
his nephew, Lot; 2) he migrated the
length of Canaan from Bethel to Hebron to resettle; and 3) he built an altar
to God.
The first eleven verses of Chapter 13 explain the division between Abram
and Lot: their possessions were great, and “the land was not large enough
for them to live together...there was strife between the herdmen of
Abram’s cattle, and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle” (vss.
6,7). So “Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there not be a strife between me and
thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen’” (vs. 8). The Patriarch proposed, instead, that Lot choose whatever territory he favored, and Abram would
be satisfied with whatever region he did not choose. The result: “Lot dwelt in a city
of the neighboring people, and pitched his tent in Sodom” (vs. 12).
Observe Abram’s unspoken faith that God’s will would be
achieved by allowing his nephew to choose the land he wished. Thus, “Lot, having lifted up his
eyes, observed all the country round about Jordan, that it was all
watered” (vs. 10). The region
seemed desirable to him, and so he chose the far southern plain of the
Arabah-rift valley; but Abram waited for God. Notice the difference between uncle and
nephew: “And God said to Abram after Lot
was separated from him, ‘Look up with thine eyes, and behold from the
place where thou now art’” (vs. 14). Lot
looked for what he thought best, but Abram looked solely to God for direction.
Abram’s faith blessed him to be a peacemaker, to be meek, and to
hunger for the righteous will of God.
Abram continued as the “friend of God” (Jas. 2:23). Thus, he inherited the promised land
(Mt. 5:5) and saw God in the visit of the three angels (Gen. 18:1-3). The unfortunate Lot, trusting in what
his eyes showed him, moved to Sodom
where the men “were evil, and exceedingly sinful before God” (Gen.
13:13). In following his own
perceptions instead of God’s will, Lot paid a terrible price, losing his
home, wife, and God’s blessing.
St. Augustine
characterizes the mind of Abram as one which trusted God to show him what to
do: “I have believed that You are God, Who gives to man that which
enables him to do as You command.”
When God instructed Abram to “Look up with thine eyes,” He
showed him the Promised Land “northward and southward, and eastward and
seaward” (vs. 14). Then, God
led Abram to “experience” the land, to walk its length from Bethel in the north to Hebron in the south, with the promise that
“all the land which thou seest, I will give it to thee and to thy seed
for ever” (vs. 15). To secure
Abram’s faith, God explained that the seed of Abram would be “like
the dust of the earth” (vs. 16). This was no extravagant figure of
speech; for, in Christ our God- the “Seed” of the righteous Abram -
the Patriarch’s descendants are exceedingly numerous (Gal. 3:7).
Finally, notice where the man of faith arrived when he was led by
God. Hebron
is the highest point in all of Palestine,
over 3,000 feet above sea level. By
contrast, Lot went down to the lowest place in
all the earth, over 1400 feet below sea level. Faith leads us to “seek those
things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of
God” (Col. 3:1). When God
revealed His best, Abram built an altar to God and worshiped. Let us direct our steps to the altar of
the Lord, His highest place, and be fruitful in peace, meekness, and
righteousness.
O Lord, Make straight our path: establish us all in Thy fear; make firm
our steps.
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