God’s Amazing Ways – Genesis 13:1-18

Bethel Baptist Church, David Rising

Genesis 13:1-18; May 10, 2026 Sunday PM

God’s Amazing Ways

Canaan had experienced a famine, and so Abram moved his entire family to Egypt to get help.

However, his time in Egypt was not smooth as Abram learned an important lesson about God’s ability to handle the fearful and unknown.

Abram was sure that his beautiful wife, Sarai, would be confiscated to Pharaoh’s harem while he would be killed. Therefore to avoid this possibility, Abram huddled with Sarai and agreed that they would advertise their relationship as brother and sister rather than as husband and wife.

At the outset this deception seemed to work as Sarai was taken. Abram’s prediction that he would be killed did not happen, and instead he was given many things – perhaps as payment for Sarai.

All seemed to go well until Pharaoh somehow discovered that he was deceived. And so he returns Sarai to Abram and boots them all out of Egypt.

Abram survived, but his lack of faith stood out. And yet, God was gracious and still would keep His promise. God’s promise did not depend upon Abram.

Will Abram trust the Lord even when life does not go exactly as planned? Will we? Pray.

And so Abram and all return to the land and …

1. Back to Canaan (13:1-2)

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.

We do not hear of anything regarding the famine, but we presume that God had provided for them. They leave Egypt intact with full pockets.

They return to the South, or the Negev as we noted in chapter 12. Moses mentions here that Lot was with them, and though we can assume that was the case, it is noted here because of his part in the story as it unfolds.

We are reminded of Abram’s wealth here, much of what he obtained while in Egypt. I see this as just another example of God’s abundant grace toward him, even in the face of his lack of faith.

The plundering of Egypt begins here as God begins to bless Abram. He has many animals as well as precious metal – money as we would think of it.

He is in the Negev, but he continues his journey. Verse 3:

2. Back to Worship (13:4)

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.

Abram retraces his steps back to the place he was previous to his trek to the south and then to Egypt. He is simply going back. He returns and again sees the altar he had built previously. This was his second altar he had built and it was where he had called on the name of the LORD. Now he returns back to this place and verse 4 says that he once again called on the name of the LORD.

It is interesting as we observe Abram’s time in Egypt that there is no mention of any altar and no mention of Abram calling on the name of the LORD. Perhaps he did this privately, but his actions there indicate that he was struggling with his faith in God.

The text emphasizes here his return to the altar and his return to worship.

And isn’t it so in our lives – when we distance ourselves from the important accountability of worship that we can begin to justify a different way of life that is not oriented to God and His ways? As we stay away from God, as we minimize our worship of God, we maximize our way of life that can take us away from God.

Abram needed to attend to the altar and call upon the name of the LORD, as is true for us also. We don’t build an altar, but we offer to the LORD a continual sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips.

And so Abram and company are back worshiping, back calling upon the LORD. Notice Lot in verse 5:

3. Conflict (13:5-7)

5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.

Not only was Abram rich with resources, but Lot had much also. The fact of his abundant animals is important to know here because of the following details.

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.

We are alerted to two problems: the conflict between Abram and Lot, and also the people who lived in the land.

First, notice the conflict between Abram and Lot. Both of these families were sizeable in terms of animals and we are told here that the area in which they were farming these animals was not large enough to make it work. One herdsman would send his animals to a particular area and this might overlap with the other. Perhaps the animals were getting tangled up together, and this was causing a major problem.

This problem arose out of what would seem to be not an intentional conflict, but one that would come with a space problem. Some extended families who live in the same house, especially if it is a very small house, might attest to a similar problem. It’s like going to college and living in a small dorm. Been there, done that.

For whatever reason, Abram and Lot were close together here and maybe there was an understanding from the time of Lot’s father’s death that Abram would take care of him. But it was now becoming a problem. Lot is not a little kid anymore, and so there would have to be a solution to this problem.

Second, we see at the end of verse seven that the Canaanites and Perizzites were living at that time in the land. This was a problem noted back in 12:6 when Abram first came into the land. God promised to give his descendants this land, but there were already people on the land.

We can understand the name of the Canaanites, for they were the descendants of Ham and they were living in that particular land. But what about the Perizzites? Who were they?

Perizzites—villagers; dwellers in the open country, the Canaanitish nation inhabiting the fertile regions south and south-west of Carmel. “They were the graziers, farmers, and peasants of the time.” They were to be driven out of the land by the descendants of Abraham (Gen. 15:20; Ex. 3:8, 17; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11). They are afterwards named among the conquered tribes (Josh. 24:11). Still lingering in the land, however, they were reduced to servitude by Solomon (1 Kings 9:20).[1]

Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

God promised Abram’s offspring this land, but it was already occupied. And there is this family dispute. What is the solution? Does Abram have another scheme to try to fix this? Abram has an idea:

4. Resolution (13:8-13)

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?

Abram wisely steps forward and tries to find a solution. Abram reminds Lot that they are family. Families should not be disputing with each other like this.

Sadly, some of the most bitter arguments and dispute arise among a family, but Abram would not have any of this. He needs to show his younger nephew Lot a way forward, and so he points to the land and the many options available.

His plan is simple:

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.”

Let’s split up and you choose a place first that you, Lot, will call home. Notice that Abram does not suggest a particular place, but just says that if Lot takes one side, Abram would take the other.

Now think about this: is this not risky of Abram to do? What if Lot chose the right and then Abram was to pick the left? Think of where Lot ended up as opposed to Abram.

Was Abram being a man of faith here, trusting that God would so order Lot’s choice to allow Abram to live in the right place?

I think so. Depending on what the orientation was when Abram spoke, would depend on what the left or right would mean.

If they were facing north, which verse 11 indicates, then Lot would choose the right. Notice verse 10:

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.

Lot looks to the right and sees “all the plain of Jordan”. He notices the richness and beauty of this land. It is described as being like the garden of the LORD as well as being like Egypt.

Lot’s choice seems to mimic in some way the way that Eve looked at the fruit. However, it’s not the same because there was no prohibition to choose the right hand, since after all Abram gave him that as a choice.

Remember, they are there between Bethel and Ai and probably went to the nearest mountain range to see the choices. Bethel and Ai are north of the Dead Sea, and so they could likely see that whole region looking southward and across the Jordan River.

And so Lot chooses the land and then he moves east. This move is highlighted at the end of verse 11 as separation. This a move so that there could be peace between families and no more strife over land for animals.

And so where did this leave Abram? He could stay put. Lot chose and moved east. Verse 12 summarizes the choices with additional descriptions:

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.

Adam stayed in Canaan and Lot set up his tent and essentially had grazing rights as far south as Sodom. This was simply how things turned out and where each would setup shop for their animals.

At this point, there is nothing to suggest that anything was wrong with any of this.

However, verse 13 tells us that Lot has put himself next to trouble:

13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

We are not told this to tell us that Lot had made a horrible choice, or that he had done this intentionally. He was given a choice by Abram and he chose this nice land – nice for his animals, but unfortunately in close proximity to these very wicked people.

Notice that the men of Sodom are described in terms of their relationship to the LORD. They were ‘exceedingly wicked and sinful’ and this was not just a general reality, but one that was against the LORD.

This should remind us that wickedness in this world is not just wickedness for the sake of it. All wickedness and sinfulness is ultimately against the LORD. Sodom was not God’s chosen nation, but nevertheless their actions are against the LORD.

This description of Sodom reminds us of the language of the people on the earth before the flood. God was paying attention and He would eventually act in judgment.

Where is Sodom on the map? Most maps place both Sodom and Gomorrah in the southern part of the Dead Sea, though the exact location is not fixed.

And so Lot has chosen his lot, as it were. What about Abram?

5. Promise Repeated (13:14-18)

14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Right where you are, Abram, this is the land. The LORD asked Abram to visually take in the land, looking in all directions. See the land. Now the LORD includes Abram in the promise. It would not just be for his descendants, but also for him.

Notice the extent of the time-frame: forever. This is truly a remarkable promise from the LORD, and it is a repeat and expansion of what the LORD told him in 12:1-3.

The family of Abram would be like the dust of the earth. The analogy of dust is heightened by the discussion about counting dust. How do you count dust? What is an individual dust component? The point is not to exact some scientific nano definition, but to make the point that no one will be able to number these descendants. They will be vast and beyond measure.

Here the LORD speaks about descendants like dust. In chapter 15, it will be the analogy of the stars of the sky.

The LORD tells Abram to go for a walk. Walk on this land. Go west. Go east. Go north. Go south. It is like someone getting a new car and being told: go give it a drive, see how it works.

The LORD was verbally giving Abram a promise and also asking him to see and feel, experience, the land as God would give it to him and his family.

What really is the LORD asking Abram to do here? He is asking Abram to trust him – trust him for a descendant, a child, that would be that initial fulfillment of this promise.

And so what did Abram do? Verse 18:

18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

Abram does what he did before. He settles down near the oak trees there in Mamre, in Hebron, and then worships the LORD.

Mamre, if connected with modern Ramet el-Khalil, is situated about one and two-thirds miles north of Hebron. All references to Mamre are in Genesis. Gen. 14:13ff. claims that it was named after an Amorite, Mamre, who, together with his brothers Aner and Eshcol, joined Abram in the pursuit and defeat of Chedorlaomer and his allies. It is the place from which Abraham interceded for the sparing of Sodom and Gomorrah (18:1ff.). The cave in the field of Machpelah, which he later purchased for use as a family tomb, was located east of Mamre (23:17ff.). In Josephus’s day an oak or terebinth tree in Mamre was said to have been there from the day of creation (J.W. 4.9.7; Ant. 1.10.4).[2]

Hamilton, V. P. (1990). The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17 (pp. 395–396). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

And so a chapter that began with a bit of conflict has concluded with the settlement of both Lot and Abram, with Abram receiving from the LORD a repeat and expansion of His promise. The stage is set for the next chapter as we see the unfolding of this promise in light of the faithfulness and wickedness of the individuals involved here.

What lessons can we take from this chapter?

1. The conflict between Abram and Lot illustrates the need for wisdom. Conflicts like this seem to come up in our lives continually, and it should always be our prayer that God would give us wisdom to navigate through those conflicts in a godly manner. Abram, as the older uncle, set the example by granting to Lot his choice. This sent a message to Lot and his family that Uncle Abram was a generous man and was seeking to find a peaceful resolution. Lot chooses, separates, and they resolve the conflict. Praise the Lord.

2. We also see in this account a beautiful example of God’s sovereignty. Abram gave Lot the choice. Lot could have chosen the land west of the Jordan, but instead he chose the plains of Jordan east of the Jordan as far down as the southern end of the Dead Sea. It just so happened that this choice also chose for Abram what land he would obtain, and it just so happened to be the very land that God was promising not only Abram’s descendants but also Abram himself.

In my understanding of God’s sovereignty, this illustrates that man does have choices before him each day, but those choices still never override God’s ultimate will as He has so ordained. Did Lot know that Abram needed the land of Canaan for God to fulfill His promises? The text emphasizes Lot’s choice was based on what he desired. He saw a rich land that would have benefited his animals, and he went there. This left Abram with what remained, which turned out to be the very land upon which God would plant His people – forever.

We have choices in our lives, and other people make choices also that affect us – that essentially choose for us. Let us learn to make wise choices and leave all of the rest to the Lord. A national election is an example to me. We wrestle with what to do, and yet in the end God’s plans come to pass. We can’t understand it, but God knows what He is doing. Did Habakkuk understand God’s ways? No. God asked him to live by faith. And so he did. And so must we.

3. This account also emphasizes the point that we emphasize even to this day – that God has forever promised that land for the descendants of Abram to fulfill His promises. The issue of who occupies that land became an issue from the very moment that Abram came into the land. It continues to this day. It will only be through the intervention of Abram’s offspring, the Lord Jesus Christ, that the land will ultimately finds its fulfillment for His people. We believe that the Millennium is necessary, thus, to fulfill His promise, even as the Millennium ultimately extends to eternity.