The last we saw of Abram, he had narrowly escaped Egypt with his own life and his own wife intact. Now, in chapter 13 of Genesis, he journeys back to the spot between Bethel and Ai, where he had previously made a sacrifice to God and called on his name. Though his time in Egypt was tenuous, Abram has come out of the ordeal better off than when he entered it. Pharaoh (with YHWH's nudging) has made Abram a very wealthy man indeed.
His nephew, Lot, has also accumulated a great deal a wealth and is still hanging out with his uncle. But there's a problem. The land of Canaan might have been known as a land flowing with milk and honey to later generations, but there is only so much grazable land and water, and eventually things come to a head between the herders of Abram's livestock and the herders of Lot's animals. Not to mention, you still have the native inhabitants occupying the territory. There's only so much the land can produce. What should be done.
The logical thing would be for Abram to give Lot his marching orders. It might go something like this: "Okay little nephew - I've babysat you long enough. Don't you think its time for you to strike out on your own and provide for yourself in this world? God has promised me this land, so you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!"
But that's not what Abram does. Instead of dictating to Lot what he must do, Abram instead offers Lot a choice. He honors Lot by offering him the opportunity to choose where he would like to live. Being the older member of the family, he could have easily sent Lot on his way, and Lot would have probably accepted this decision without objection. But in this moment, Abram is not only magnanimous in his treatment of his nephew, he takes a step back and trusts YHWH to eventually fulfill his earlier promises. Abram's in control, but he's not a control freak. In this moment, he is ever-so-gradually letting go of the reigns and allowing God to take control.
And that is essentially what faith is all about. It is trust. Faith is, to harness a cliche, the ability to let go and to let God! In the previous blog post we discovered that though Abram had a strong initial faith to answer God's call, his faith was immature and naive. When confronted with a couple of tests, he not only failed, he failed miserably. In Genesis 13, Abram's faith has grown, at least a little. He is willing to trust in YHWH's promises, even if at first glance it might seem that he is in danger of being usurped by his younger upstart nephew.
Lot chooses to take his flocks to the east, down into the Jordan River Valley amongst the depraved cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We will discover what a poor choice this is later in the narrative, but for now the reader is left with a sigh of relief as Abram settles in the land of Canaan, instead of near the cities of the plain.
And as we have seen in Abram's and Sarai's stories, and as we will continue to see throughout the entire narrative of scripture, it is God's faithfulness that stands out. YHWH invites Abram to dream about the future. He tells him to lift up his eyes and look north, south, east, and west. He dares him to imagine that one day, all the land that he can see will be his and will be the possession of his offspring. At this point, Abram doesn't own even a clod of dirt in this promised land and he doesn't have a single child, much less numerous descendants. But God challenges Abram to walk the length and breadth of the land, trusting that it will one day be his. God outrageously claims that if anyone can count the dust of the earth - so numerous will Abram's progeny be. These are bold promises and it takes a bold man like Abram to believe them. Abram responds to God's invitation and begins to put down slightly more permanent roots in the land. And he again builds an altar to the Lord.
But, tempting as it may be to assume Abram and Sarai have arrived, in many ways their story with God is just beginning. There are still further tests to come and quite a few more roadblocks and failures along the way. Much like our lives, Abram's journey isn't linear. It's full of stops and starts, ups and downs, victories, and failures. Though he will continue to grow in his faith, he will also stumble and fall along the way. Sound familiar? - Shay
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