1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:05,160 Last week, we left off with Abraham and company near Bethel. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:10,640 There, between Bethel and AI, Abram built his second altar to 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,280 worship Yahweh. He'd received a promise, and in 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,680 a sense, the building of this altar was a way of putting a 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,360 stake in the ground and claiming the land for Abraham's 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,680 descendants. He renewed his trust that Yahweh 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,800 would give them the land, making a great, making a great nation 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,840 of Abram, and that they would also be a blessing to the 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,960 nations. Now we finish out the chapter. 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,840 Our primary text this morning will be chapter 12, verses 10 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,080 through 20. So if you're able, would you 12 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:51,440 stand as we read Genesis 12 verses 10 through 20? 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,160 Now there was a famine in the land. 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,240 So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,400 was severe in the land. When he was about to enter 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,840 Egypt, he said to Sarah, his wife, I know that you are a 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,200 woman, beautiful in appearance. And when the Egyptians see you, 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,480 they will say this is his wife. Then they will kill me, but they 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,640 will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,640 may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be 21 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,880 spared for your sake. When Abram entered Egypt, the 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,480 Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 23 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,640 And when the Princess of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:29,840 Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into 25 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,840 Pharaoh's house. And for her sake he dealt well 26 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,440 with Abram. And he had sheep, oxen, male 27 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,280 donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,640 camels. But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,640 in his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 30 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,600 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, what is this you have done 31 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:52,760 to me? Why did you not tell me that she 32 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:54,760 was your wife? Why did you say she is my 33 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,440 sister? So that I took her for my wife. 34 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,520 Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go. 35 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,320 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent 36 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,640 him away with his wife and all that he had. 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:13,480 You may be seated. The first thing we see this 38 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,200 morning that we'll look at is Fears detour. 39 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,920 Last week it seemed Abram was stepping into the promise. 40 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:25,480 His family had first moved from UR to Quran. 41 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:30,760 Then after 60 years they they finally moved from Quran down to 42 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,320 Canaan. Could the land sustain these 43 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,040 people? After all, up until this point 44 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,040 they lived in the Fertile Crescents, a land that was very 45 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,720 capable of sustaining them and which was aptly named the 46 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,600 Fertile Crescents. There was a famine in Canaan, so 47 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,840 they went down to Egypt. The Nile region is much more 48 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:59,360 reliable since its water is isn't dependent on rainfall in 49 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,360 Egypt. Rather, the water of the Nile is 50 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,680 actually dependent on upstream rainfall, that is, rainfall from 51 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:11,360 Sudan and Ethiopia. This means that it's seasonal 52 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,760 flooding is is much more predictable and stable compared 53 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:22,200 to rainfall in Canaan. As Abram made his way down to 54 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,200 Egypt, he was keenly aware of the dangers he might face 55 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,520 because of his attractive wife. I didn't know having an 56 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,040 attractive wife was a problem, but apparently it is. 57 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,880 Actually, I think there was some old song. 58 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,560 Was there an oldie? Something like pick an ugly girl 59 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,200 to marry you or something? I don't know what that was 60 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,560 about. I don't know. 61 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,800 I just seem to remember riding around in the car when I was 62 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:49,760 like a teen and hearing that song. 63 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,360 I don't know, that's weird. But having an attractive wife 64 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,160 posed a problem for Abram, so he concocted a plan and he told 65 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,840 Sarai to say say she was his sister. 66 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,920 By saying she's his sister, his life would be spared. 67 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,320 And if the Egyptians see how beautiful she is and and know 68 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,720 that she's his wife, then they'll eliminate him in order 69 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,800 to take Sarai into Pharaoh's harem. 70 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:22,040 Was Sarai his sister? Technically speaking, yes she 71 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,880 was his half sister. Tara was their father but but 72 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:31,560 they had different mothers. But Abram chose to lead with 73 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:36,240 that fact rather than the fact that they were married. 74 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:41,520 Probably not a good way to instill confidence in your 75 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,560 marriage to just completely disown her as your wife. 76 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,080 Gentlemen, don't do that. Although I'm pretty sure you're 77 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,760 not married to your sister, so that isn't an option. 78 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,680 So here Abram was being driven by fear and not faith. 79 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,840 He was being driven by fear and not faith. 80 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,960 For a moment Abram had walked in the promise, but but now he was 81 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,400 resting control from God. Throughout his life, Abram 82 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,080 repeatedly gives in to fear and he takes matters into his own 83 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,160 hands. Here, Abram was more concerned 84 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:24,480 with his own life than with the fact that his plan would 85 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:30,640 guarantee his wife becoming 1 of Pharaoh's ladies, essentially 86 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,120 giving his wife away to sleep with another man. 87 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,200 There's a healthy fear. Maybe we should call it a deep 88 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,840 seated respect. It's the type of fear that it 89 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,760 prevented you from doing something stupid in your youth 90 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:53,360 because you knew that there was a paddle waiting at home for 91 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,720 your father to apply it to your backside. 92 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,760 By the way, I might add, my parents are going to watch this. 93 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:06,760 I know this, but whenever mom had the option of spanking us, 94 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,720 we always took that option. You always wanted Mom to spank 95 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:18,120 you, not Dad to spank you. Sometimes, Mom, I love you. 96 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,600 But sometimes we had to withhold any laughing or something 97 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:26,880 because she just, she didn't hit hard enough. 98 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,760 It didn't really hurt. But yeah, we didn't want Dad to 99 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,360 be the one to apply the paddle to our backsides. 100 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,080 So their confession. I don't know if I've ever told 101 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,920 you that Mom and Dad, but yeah. So. 102 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:46,200 So this was a a sort of fear that kept us from doing a lot of 103 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,000 stupid things in our youth. It didn't prevent us from doing 104 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,720 everything, but it prevented us from doing a lot of stupid 105 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,600 things. We still got spankings, right? 106 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:05,760 But so that's healthy fear. But Satan likes to use fear to 107 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,680 destroy us. When fear takes over, it 108 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,760 completely consumes you and you become a poor version of 109 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,560 yourself. Abram had convinced himself that 110 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,600 he would be killed if the Egyptians thought Sarai was his 111 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,160 wife. Well, this wasn't a foregone 112 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,160 conclusion. When Abram chose fear, the thing 113 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:32,840 he feared never happened, proving that particular fear to 114 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:39,720 be unfounded. Next, fear can lead to 115 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:45,080 disobedience. Fear can lead to disobedience. 116 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:51,080 Satan loves to use fear to draw God's people out of obedience. 117 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,400 In Matthew 19, there's the accounts of the rich young 118 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,520 ruler. He asked Jesus, what do I need 119 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:06,120 to do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus told him to keep the 120 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,200 commandments. In the end, he names a bunch of 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:14,160 the commandments and the man's response was, OK, I I've kept 122 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,960 all these what, what else do I need to do? 123 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:23,880 And confused he, he asked what what he what was he lacking? 124 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:31,560 Jesus says sell what you have, give the money to the poor and 125 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:38,760 come follow me. The man went away from Jesus 126 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,400 sorrowful because because he didn't want to do that. 127 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,880 He couldn't do that. He couldn't imagine. 128 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:51,640 Sure, he had said he wanted eternal life, but he couldn't 129 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,240 imagine living without his money and without his possessions. 130 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:01,360 He was afraid of losing those things, and this fear of losing 131 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:06,800 his possessions caused him to be disobedient. 132 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,840 Now at this moment in Abraham's life, fear had caused him to 133 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,880 lose trust in God's working and and so he lied to protect 134 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,640 himself. These were acts of disobedience. 135 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:31,760 Now, in spite of his fears, Abram was materially blessed by 136 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,240 Pharaoh, adding to his already significant assets. 137 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:40,040 He already had a good number of assets, a significant amount of 138 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,320 wealth already. And now that all gets added to 139 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,400 by Pharaoh. Abram got more sheep, he got 140 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,560 more oxen, donkeys and and even camels. 141 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,440 We think of camels as being entirely normal and in that 142 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,360 region of the world, but at this point in time they were not that 143 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,400 common yet. And so to have camels was 144 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:09,200 exceptional, and to have camels was a sign of great wealth. 145 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:17,960 Now, in a sense, Abraham's lack of faith had endangered God's 146 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:23,000 plan for the coming Messiah. But but God didn't permit this 147 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,080 man's actions to interfere with his plans. 148 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,040 Sure, Abram was being prospered, but something bad was happening 149 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,760 in Pharaoh's house. They were experiencing plagues. 150 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,040 They they were experiencing great illnesses. 151 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,280 We don't know exactly what these were or if anybody died from it, 152 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,160 but but it was enough to get Pharaoh's attention in. 153 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,120 God's grace overcame Abram's fear. 154 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,240 God's grace overcame Abram's fear. 155 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,280 In this moment, Pharaoh was ticked off. 156 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,520 Somehow he figured things out and he took Abram to task. 157 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,200 Why did you lie to me? Why did you say she is my 158 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,280 sister? I could have done something bad 159 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,920 and slept with another man's wife. 160 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:24,400 Here the Pagan idol worshiper Pharaoh was acting in a more 161 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:29,760 righteous manner than Abram. That doesn't that's not to say 162 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,800 he was righteous, of course, but in this instance he's he's 163 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,280 acting in a righteous manner. Abram had given his wife up to 164 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,760 sleep with another man and and that man had the integrity to 165 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:47,920 realize he shouldn't sleep with someone else's wife. 166 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:55,240 So Pharaoh gave her back and he sent Abram and his entire 167 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,600 entourage on their way. Now letting them live. 168 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,440 That was nice of him. He let them live. 169 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:09,280 Not only that, he let them keep everything that he had given to 170 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:17,240 Abram. So they left Egypt, and they 171 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:26,560 headed into the Negev Desert, a fairly inhospitable land Now. 172 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:30,400 I can't help but think Abram must have had his tail tucked 173 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,280 between his legs. Embarrassed at how he'd 174 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:38,360 represented Yahweh and how he hadn't trusted in his provision. 175 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,800 Abram and Lot's families returned back to Bethel, back to 176 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:49,160 where things basically began. And the text says there Abram 177 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,400 called upon the name of the Lord. 178 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,680 He'd lost the plot for a moment, but he realized that he needed 179 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,960 to come back and to trust God more. 180 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,480 Well, as they, with a much larger retinue of people and 181 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:10,920 possessions, resettled the area, they began to have problems. 182 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:17,160 They'd acquired so much that the land couldn't support all of 183 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,680 them there. Some scholars say there were 184 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:25,800 possibly over 1000 people now in their group between Abram and 185 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:31,240 Lot's crew. So they had so much, so many 186 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:36,920 people and, and all the sheep and and herds, they all needed 187 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:41,000 to be supported. So now look in your Bibles at 188 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,920 verses five through 13 of chapter 13. 189 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,960 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and 190 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,760 tents so that the land could not support both of them dwelling 191 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:55,640 together. For their possessions were so 192 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,200 great that they could not dwell together. 193 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:02,080 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock 194 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,400 and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. 195 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,960 At that time, the Canaanites and the parasites were dwelling in 196 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,360 the land. So there's even more people 197 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,640 there that need to be supported by the land. 198 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,880 Then Abram said to Lot. Let there be no strife between 199 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,600 you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we 200 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,960 are kinsmen. It's not the whole land. 201 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,040 Before you separate yourself from me, If you take the left 202 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,200 hand and I will go to the right, or if you take the right, then I 203 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,080 will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes and 204 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,120 saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere, like 205 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,760 the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt in the direction 206 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,320 of Zoar. This was before the Lord 207 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,720 destroyed Saddam and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the 208 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:50,400 Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed E thus they separated from each 209 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,600 other. Abram settled in the land of 210 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,600 Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and 211 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,880 moved his tent as far as Saddam. Now the men of Saddam were 212 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,800 wicked, great sinners against the Lord. 213 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:07,400 I will say sometimes you'll be like, that's not how you say it. 214 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:14,080 In Hebrew, the word is Sodom and Gomorrah. 215 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,360 So I will probably bounce back and forth because you get used 216 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:20,240 to saying something a certain way. 217 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,880 Sodom and Gomorrah is how you are used to hearing it. 218 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,960 I will try to say that, but it might just come out in more of 219 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,600 the Hebrew way of saying it, the Hebrew pronunciation. 220 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,280 So just a fair warning. So now we look at the prosperity 221 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:40,160 of short sightedness of Lot. Abram and Lot had both amassed 222 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,520 significant wealth and there just wasn't room for all of them 223 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,000 near Bethel. Their herdsmen weren't getting 224 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,840 along with each other, so something needed to be done. 225 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,280 Abram looked S with lots and and he said, hey, if you take the 226 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,280 left, then I'll go right if you go right, then I'll go left. 227 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,680 It was readily apparent which land would be the most 228 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,400 profitable and productive and and Abram was a nice uncle, so 229 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:13,120 he allowed Lot to choose. Lot went with the left. 230 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,000 The Jordan River Valley was much more fertile. 231 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,680 It would respond well to being worked and it would also provide 232 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,240 plenty of food for all the animals. 233 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,800 So our next point is Abram's faith led to generosity. 234 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:40,440 Abram's faith led to generosity. In this moment, faith allows us 235 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:46,280 to be generous because we know our true source is God. 236 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,400 Abram's faith had returned and and he knew God would take care 237 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:57,360 of things. Abram was Lot's uncle and he had 238 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:03,080 the right of choice. It was his right to to pull rank 239 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,880 and and say I will take the Jordan River Valley and you take 240 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,760 Canaan. The the more difficult land to 241 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,520 work. But he didn't do that. 242 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,880 In order to keep the peace between their families, Abram 243 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:22,280 offered Lot the first choice of the land. 244 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:25,440 He offered Lot the first choice of land. 245 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,440 In an act of faith, he allowed Lot to have the better land, the 246 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,080 land that was like the Garden in Eden and what they'd experienced 247 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,600 down in Egypt. The Jordan River is about 65 248 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,880 miles from the Sea of Galilee in the north. 249 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,880 You see it there at the top of the slide, this Sea of Galilee 250 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:49,000 there 65 miles down to the beginning of the Dead Sea. 251 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,720 But the land lot was specifically eyeing was the was 252 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,480 the 22 miles South of Bethel. Bethel would be situated right 253 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,960 under where it says West Bank. That is about where Bethel was. 254 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,360 And so he's looking S from Bethel, and he has his eyes on 255 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:12,760 all that land there to the South and even further down the Dead 256 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:19,040 Sea. Moses tosses out a couple little 257 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:23,440 details, kind of like footnotes in the text here, casually 258 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:28,240 mentioning this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and 259 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:33,680 Gomorrah, then stating the men of Sodom were were wicked, they 260 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,400 were great sinners against the Lord. 261 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,520 These statements served to remind Moses generation about 262 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:44,080 the context in which Yahweh was carrying out His plan. 263 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:49,160 It wasn't all Peaches and cream. Things weren't going to be easy 264 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,480 because there were wicked people in the land. 265 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,520 The clear thing being communicated by Moses here is 266 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:06,040 that Lot's thinking was short sighted and it compromised his 267 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:11,640 soul. Lot's thinking was short sighted 268 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:16,720 and it compromised his soul. Lot wanted what he wanted. 269 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,240 His concern was for his own interests satisfying his own 270 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:26,640 desires. All he could see was greener 271 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,080 pastures for his sheep to graze in and and support for his 272 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:38,200 entourage. He moved to a bad place, but he 273 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,040 wasn't bothered by it. These were wicked men and their 274 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,680 influence on him wasn't good. And rather than exercise wisdom 275 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:55,960 and avoid Sodom, Lot kept moving closer and closer to Sodom until 276 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,360 he finally took up what he thought would be permanent 277 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:07,440 residence there in Sodom. And you can see from Bethel he 278 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:13,680 moved towards the Dead Sea. Then he kept going and going 279 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:19,560 further South, further South, until he arrives there in Sodom. 280 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:26,880 The allure of worldly pleasures and and comfort frequently work 281 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:33,000 this way. You kind of become numb to the 282 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,600 bad things going on. It moves us a little at a time, 283 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,680 until one day we find ourselves entrenched in the world system, 284 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:52,240 wondering, how did I get here? If we're not careful, abundance 285 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,120 can cause us to become apathetic to the things of God. 286 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:01,440 But this wasn't how Abram lived. He responded to abundance by 287 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,560 worshipping God and being generous. 288 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,280 Abram didn't allow the riches around him to move his eyes off 289 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:14,400 of Yahweh. Lot's vision was on his riches, 290 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,400 on his possessions. He saw things through the eyes 291 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:22,320 of the flesh rather than through the eyes of faith. 292 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:29,400 Picking up our last section, chapter 13, reading now verses 293 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:36,360 14 through 18, the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated 294 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:40,040 from him, Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you 295 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,760 are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all 296 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,520 the land that you see. I will give to you and to your 297 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,160 offspring forever. I will make your offspring as 298 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,520 the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the 299 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:57,600 earth, your offspring also can be counted. 300 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,320 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for 301 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,280 I will give it to you. So Abram moved his tent and came 302 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,920 and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and 303 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,520 there he built an altar to the Lord. 304 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,720 So here we see the promise renewed. 305 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,920 Lot's family had left and and Yahweh spoke to Abram. 306 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:28,640 Look, everything you see is going to be yours. north-south, 307 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,720 east, West, it's all yours. Your offspring will become as 308 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,560 numerous as the dust of the earth. 309 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,680 Lot had chosen a particular plot or or region of land, the Jordan 310 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,480 River Valley. But but Yahweh told Abram, it's 311 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,760 yours. Everything you can see is yours. 312 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,040 That meant the Jordan River Valley and beyond, up north, 313 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:55,840 past the Sea of Galilee, S towards Egypt and West to the 314 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,880 Mediterranean Sea. It was all going to be Abraham's 315 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,080 descendants. He'd given up the best land to 316 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:11,960 Lot only to find out he hadn't really given up anything and he 317 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:18,280 had gained everything. God reiterated His promise to 318 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,400 Abram. There were people in the land, 319 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:26,840 but Yahweh was still going to keep His promise and this served 320 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,920 as assurance of God's working for Moses generation. 321 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:37,080 This assured that God was working for Moses generation. 322 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:44,320 As Moses contemporaries read this, they may well have been 323 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,800 about to enter that Promised Land, or even possibly in the 324 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:53,840 process of taking the Promised Land, and these words would have 325 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,920 served as a reminder to them that they would realize the 326 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,120 promise Yahweh had made to their long distant father Abraham. 327 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,760 They'd lost heart. They'd become discouraged. 328 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:11,040 The people of the land were were strong and and they were tall 329 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,000 and and the text says it made them feel like they were 330 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:21,880 grasshoppers, though the Israelites doubted whether 331 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,960 whether they could complete the task of head of them. 332 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,360 They were struggling to have faith. 333 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:35,320 Moses words were a reminder God made a promise to Abram so they 334 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,200 could trust him to protect them as they entered the land. 335 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:46,440 Not to mention they'd experienced, they, they'd seen 336 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,520 that, that in, in their, in their previous generations, what 337 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:55,840 God did when he brought them out of Egypt and how he provided for 338 00:24:55,840 --> 00:25:00,840 them, bringing them out of out of Egypt crossed the Red Sea and 339 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,280 through the wilderness God had provided all along the way. 340 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:12,640 So what are some takeaways here from this passage this morning? 341 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,920 First of all, choose faith over fear. 342 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,040 Choose faith over fear. Now, this isn't a call to 343 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,080 reckless living in foolish decisions. 344 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,880 Some people will call that faith. 345 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,840 No faith. That is not what faith is. 346 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,000 Scripture repeatedly cause us to exercise wisdom, not just to 347 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,000 pull it out as a tool to use from time to time, but to 348 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:51,840 actually walk in wisdom. Faith is belief that God is 349 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:56,760 constantly working behind the scenes and in every area of our 350 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:03,040 lives, even when there is no tangible evidence for it. 351 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:10,520 Fear is unbelief, doubting God will do what He said He will do. 352 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,720 When we walk in faith, we're walking in confident assurance, 353 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:20,360 in a God who loves us, who knows our thoughts and cares about our 354 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:26,920 deepest needs. When we walk in fear we forget 355 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,480 who God is and we become self absorbed. 356 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:38,400 Faith and fear can't coexist. Strong faith will destroy fear. 357 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,360 It crowds fear out of our hearts and minds. 358 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,600 Every trial we face as an opportunity to move one way or 359 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,440 the other. Am I going to be faith filled in 360 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:54,480 this trial or will I give in to fear? 361 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:03,040 A few years ago I had a season where I was giving in to fear 362 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:09,360 and allowing it to take over. It was paralyzing. 363 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,960 I struggled to make decisions, I became depressed and my walk 364 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,200 with God became a matter of going through the motions. 365 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,680 So I kept faking it until God gave me peace to get through 366 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:34,200 that trial and trust again. I routinely meditated on Joshua 367 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:40,120 19 and the words of Joshua 19 are are repeated all throughout 368 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,760 the book because it was because these are words that God's 369 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,240 people needed to hear as they're going into the Promised land. 370 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,800 Moses had died and Joshua was taking up his mantle of 371 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,680 leadership. The task before him was to lead 372 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,880 the people across the Jordan River and to take the land God 373 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,320 had promised. God said in Joshua 19. 374 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:09,040 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not 375 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,040 be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God 376 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:18,640 is with you wherever you go. Yahweh had promised His presence 377 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,640 to Joshua and the Israelites and and that was their basis for not 378 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:31,160 living in fear. I knew God was with me and God 379 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,880 would take care of me and whatever happened in the midst 380 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:42,120 of my own trials, I knew He would work everything out for my 381 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:47,400 good. When anxiety creeps in, we're 382 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:52,280 wise to remind ourselves of all God has already done for us and 383 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,120 minds on His promises. His word drives. 384 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,880 Out the fear that Satan is trying to inflict on us. 385 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:05,920 So we choose faith. Over fear. 386 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:14,440 Next, failure doesn't cancel God's faithfulness. 387 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,920 Failure. Doesn't cancel God's 388 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:25,000 faithfulness. This is perhaps. 389 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,000 One of my favorite parts about the rest of this book. 390 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,560 God had called these people this one family to represent him on 391 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,520 earth and and to be the family line through which redemption 392 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:40,240 would come to humanity. In spite of this. 393 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:46,040 In spite of the special position that they have, they will fail 394 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,440 all along the way. Failure is par for the course 395 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:56,040 here, and none of the Patriarchs are presented as pure and 396 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,440 perfect. God's faithfulness. 397 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:05,040 Is demonstrated in his choosing to use broken and sinful people 398 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,600 for his purposes. His grace is on. 399 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,360 Full display in every generation of the story. 400 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:18,480 Someone's failure. Doesn't mean it's the end of the 401 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,120 story, rather it's just part of the story that God is using 402 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,600 broken people to accomplish his purposes. 403 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:35,760 If you failed, don't give up. Don't hide out in. 404 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,920 Shame. Don't run away from God. 405 00:30:44,330 --> 00:30:47,010 Pursue him. He already knows that you 406 00:30:47,010 --> 00:30:49,410 failed. You're not hiding anything from 407 00:30:49,530 --> 00:30:52,920 him. But he uses the. 408 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,120 Broken and sinful, he takes those pieces of our lives and 409 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:05,840 redeems them for his purposes. So if you find that you've 410 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:11,000 wandered off the trail somewhere like Abram, did he? 411 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,600 He lost sight of. Yahweh for a moment. 412 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,000 Return back. To where you started, return 413 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,600 back to God. Return back to your first love 414 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,840 and walk in repentance and faith. 415 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:34,240 Your past doesn't define you. God. 416 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:41,560 Does and He is faithful. Let's bow our heads and close 417 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:49,340 our eyes. Father God, we. 418 00:31:49,340 --> 00:31:53,280 Thank you that. You. 419 00:31:53,760 --> 00:32:00,560 Are faithful that you choose to to use broken, sinful people. 420 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:05,520 You started it. Here. 421 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:09,680 With the story of. Of Abram. 422 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,200 He lost sight. He lost track. 423 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:15,480 But. You are committed to that 424 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,040 family. And that family would. 425 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:24,800 Still be the one. Through whom the Messiah? 426 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,040 The one to bring redemption would come. 427 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:34,000 So we thank you. For your faithfulness and God we 428 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,960 acknowledge. We acknowledge. 429 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:47,000 That in our lives you are faithful when we turn from you 430 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,400 when we are disobedient. As your word says. 431 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,680 You're gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, 432 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:57,880 and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 433 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:05,160 So we can turn. To you, knowing that you are 434 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:13,840 compassionate and you love us. God, thank you for this morning. 435 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:17,800 Thank you for your word, the opportunity to look into it. 436 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,920 And see the. Examples of one of the 437 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,600 patriarchs. The first patriarch. 438 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:33,680 And how he'd fallen off track and he got back on course. 439 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:41,280 Thank you for. This time in Jesus name, Amen.