Genesis 13:1-9

2007.Jan.27 17:29

We Are Brothers

Read Genesis 13

There was fighting between those who cared for Abram’s animals and those who cared for Lot’s animals. The Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no fighting between you and me or between the men who take care of our animals, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land in front of you? Let each of us go a different way. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:7-9, New Life Version)

Heh. Thought I’d quote a version outside my regulars, and one with which I’m not familiar: the New Life Version. Choice quote from website: “This unique translation is gender-correct” (http://www.newlifebible.org). And no, I don’t know what that means.

As another note, I’ve gotten away from quoting Biblical verses outside of the passage in question (this will be no exception); that’s partly due to the story nature of what’s going on and partly due to laziness. I do want to encourage people who read this to keep digging deeper throughout the Bible as you study. It’s amazing how one passage can clarify another (if often in unexpected ways).

And, one more note, on the names of God. I’ve been using Jehovah a lot both to distinguish “God” from “some god” and because it feels more personal to me. I occassionally, as in this article, switch over to Yahweh, which to my understanding comes from the same Hebrew, but a different transliteration. Which I use is mostly based on my mood, so whether I write “God”, “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”, I am meaning the same being.

Anyway, Abram, Sarai, and the rest of their group leave Egypt after the Pharoah tells Abram that his deception was not appreciated. And back they all go to the vicinity of Bethel. Aside from a note that Abram “called on the name of the Lord” (4), this passage is focused on money. That is, Abram has a lot of it. Lot, also, has a lot (hyuck). More specifically, they have large sheep and cattle holdings. Jehovah is fulfilling his promise to bless Abram, but, as with many blessings, this blessing introduces a potential problem. And this one goes beyond potential: the people who care for the animals of Lot and Abram begin fighting.

Abram, having previously revealed that he is, in fact, a stupid human, now reveals the wisdom which God is building in him. Instead of fighting it out or hoping the problem will just go away–instead of, that is, giving into fight or flight (and I will argue flight is what Abram did in the sister-Sarai episode)–Abram addresses the problem: there is not enough land for both Abram’s and Lot’s animals. Neither does he hope his nephew will come to same conclusion. As head of his family (if I understand ancient Hebrew customs), it is his responsibility to address this problem before it creates a division within his family.

His solution is nicely elegant. They’ll split up. I don’t mean to say that dividing up is always the answer to problems. In fact, it often exacerbates discension (see: church splits). Rather, in this case, it is a useful solution. After all, this is more of a business split for the sake of family unity, as opposed to a family split for the sake of building aesthetics, e.g.. What I do take from this is the importance of addressing issues before they become terminally divisive. Had Abram said “Time will heal”, Lot might have never had the chance to prove just what an idiot he could be…wait, that didn’t come out right. I’ll look at Lot a bit more next week and thereafter–he has issues all his own. But a war between Abram and Lot–well, think about if you ended up fighting one of your family members because you chose to ignore a minor disagreement until it escalated? If Abram had entered into that, how could he have ever focused on Yahweh enough to develop the faith he showed later in life?

I’ve seen friends pulled apart within a church congregation and the church leadership say “Time will heal”. Those leaders failed, and I have watched people go through a lot of pain. I hope that I will have throughout my life the faith in Yahweh to be able to say this needs to be dealt with now. Lot might have become angry with Abram for the suggestion. But Abram had to make it anyway, for the sake of his family and both his servants and Lot’s.

Genesis 12:2-3

2006.Dec.31 12:24

More Blessings, Curses, Etc.

Read Genesis 12

Jehovah continues speaking to Abram:

I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you. (Genesis 12:2-3, CEV)

The last sentence in the above verses is one of the things I would really like to be said about me. Maybe everybody wants this said of them, that everybody would be blessed because they lived. Then again, maybe for some people, that’s not a big deal. At the end of my life, I’d like to know that I was a good husband, a good father (assuming I have kids, which I hope to), and a good neighbor (which, with my inclination to be a loner, may prove more difficult than being a blessing to the world. I barely know most of my neighbors). And those things would be to a certain extent satisfying. With those, I would consider that my live was well-lived, but I don’t think I’d be totally satisfied unless I thought I’d made a positive difference also in a wider arena. Say, the world. So, I welcome reading that it is possible to live a life through which everyone will be blessed. Even more impressive is that God made it a promise to Abram, if only he would go.

Actually, it’s something that rather amazes me throughout the Bible, that time and again, the Word of God shows the decisions and actions of one person having these huge effects. I tend to see more the “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiates 1:9) side of this world. It’s a viewpoint that my natural cynicism exaggerates. But it is part of Jehovah’s plan for this world that what we as individuals do does affect the lives of other humans. And the truth that our actions can bless or curse others does not change under this sun. Even if those effects constitute a small subset of what is conceivable, the very reality of the effects should not be ignored.

Jehovah goes into some detail in Abram’s case. He will be famous and his descendents will become a great nation. Jehovah then asserts that he will return in kind any blessings or curses on Abram. That’s a promise I believe for all those walking in God’s will (I emphasize this is a personal opinion. I don’t have a supporting verse). There’s the selfish and vengeful part of me that’s pleased to know that God will give those who curse me their comeuppance, but there’s also this amazing wonderful feeling to know that the lady who changed lanes so that I could merge easier is going to be blessed for that, even though I will never know who she was.

I don’t like to make a “currency” metaphor–after all, I’ve heard the line about faith being the spiritual currency more times than I can remember, regardless of its accuracy–but I’m going to. Hah! There’s this exchange of blessings and curses that goes on in all societal interactions. They act like well-planned investments, producing a return in kind. And so, the more I bless others, the more I receive. Which brings me to the coolest point: the more I receive because I’ve blessed others, the more I can increase in blessing others. And that seems to be how Abram (and his descendents, over time) got around to blessing everybody. They blessed a little, and received more, then blessed more and so on. And when that people, at various times, turned from God and began walking in curses, the nation suffered. But because of Jehovah’s promise to Abram, eventually one of his descendents gave the greatest blessing to all humanity.

Genesis 13:14-18

2007.Feb.11 21:02

Abram gets a cookie

Read Genesis 13

The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Genesis 13:14-17, NIV)

In Chapter 12, Jehovah promised to make Abram a great nation (Genesis 12:2), and at Shechem, he tells Abram, “I will give this land to your posterity” (Genesis 12:7, AMP). There’s references to Canaan, but here is the first time I know of that Jehovah really defines for Abram what exactly the given land will be. Not that we as the readers really gain an understanding from this description, but assumedly Abram now has a clear idea. So a few points I’d like to consider:

1. This happens after the departure of Lot. This land is not to be inherited by Lot’s descendants, but by Abram’s, and God seems to be pretty specific about that.
2. God is giving the land to Abram. He does not tell Abram to conquer it, or to, well, do anything really. It’s a gift.
3. The land of Canaan is given to Abram’s descendants permanently. That’s a big thing to me, in that God is not placing conditions on this gift. He does place conditions later on the prosperity of the Israelites, and occasionally removes them from the land, but I don’t think God has ever revoked the Israelites possession of the land. He does, though, make it very clear that this is no excuse for mistreating foreigners (with the exceptions of those that God tells Israel to kill. But I am getting off topic here).
4. Jehovah promises Abram a lot of descendants. About which I have nothing interesting to say at the moment.

Then Jehovah tells Abram to walk through the land, in essence to physically (if symbolically for now) take possession of it. Abram could have rejected the gift. In this way, again in my interpretation, Abram takes possession of the promise. I’ll sort of tangent here and mention that if you have trouble believing God’s promises for you (and there are many throughout the Bible), finding a physical act that lets you show yourself taking possession of the promise can encourage you greatly. So, what does Abram do?

So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD. (Genesis 13:18, NIV)

He starts walking! Yay! And he settles for now, at Hebron. There he builds an altar to Jehovah. So, Abram listens to God, receives the promise of God, and worships God. That’s cool. That’s a process I need to work on much more; Jehovah does his part.

Genesis 13:10-13

2007.Feb.04 17:34

Lot’s Choice

Read Genesis 13

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. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 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. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. (Genesis 13:10-13, NKJV)

For me Lot is one of the most intriguing characters in the Old Testament. I suppose that’s because he, and his family, strike me as regular folk. Lot does some stupid stuff. He doesn’t do anything particularly great. He is successful, but up until this point, that seems to be mostly because he’s been following around his blessed uncle Abram. Abram exhibits leadership at various time in his life, such as in addressing the quarreling between his and Lot’s herdsmen, which is the immediate precursor to Lot’s decision in this passage. Lot never really does. Two nations descend from him, the Moabites and the Ammonites (Genesis 19:37-28), but especially since everybody around Abram seems to have nations descending from them, this does not qualify as an impressive, um, feat, to me. So, basically, Lot strikes me as a uncharacteristically normal guy. Poor schmuck.

Alright, returning to the story at hand. We had a little tiff between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen, and Abram recognizes it’s time for he and his nephew to split up. He offers Lot first choice of direction. Lot makes the ‘normal guy’ decision. The plain of the Jordan is fertile and has some nice cities. Never mind that these cities will soon have the fine distinction of getting blasted to smithereens by Jehovah for their persistence in sin, Lot probably reasons that he can live in a city, with lots of people to sell his his sheep to (or whatever he did for economic gain, if that idea even applies). Indeed, the immediate things look to be going very well for Lot.

But…

Here I’m going to guess (as an aside, I suppose I guess a lot in these entries). There’s no record that I can think of that has Lot seeking Jehovah or worshiping him in the ways that Abram does. Rather Lot has let Abram and Sarai be the ones with some relationship with God. He’s satisfied himself with growing his flock. Now, that guess may be wrong, but it’s clear that Lot does not let the sinful environment in which he will have to insert himself affect his decision. It is rather the ‘practical’ everyday influences–like money and ease-of-living–that inform his decision–and here is the key–at the expense of spiritual or moral considerations. And I have the feeling that decision sets Lot up for a series of bad decisions and failures. That’s certainly not all his life consists of, but I just wish he would have thought a little more about this decision.

Yeah, that’s what I want to say. Couldn’t have Lot thought through this a bit more. Especially as a father and husband.

Genesis 14:1-16

2007.Feb.25 19:21

War

Read Genesis 14

And now for the first war in the Bible (I think–I at least can’t think of a previous one). I don’t understand what’s going on very well, and the abundance of names of uncertain pronounciation is not encouraging. Nevertheless, here’s my best shot of a summary:

King Chedorlaomer and his three allies have ruled over five kingdoms, including Sodom and Gomorrah, for twelve years. In year thirteenth year, the five subservient kings rebel in some shape or form. A year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies launch what appears to be a widespread campaign against everybody except the aforementioned rebellious kingdoms (assuming that this passage is in chronological order). Now, beginning verse 8, the Sodom/Gomorrah alliance battles Chedorlaomer. The battles ends in disorganized retreat, at least by the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah (not sure about the others), and Chedorlaomer’s armies pillage those two cities, capturing, among other things, our dear beloved Lot.

At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram’s friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred eighteen of Abram’s servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan (Genesis 14:13-14, CEV).

Alright, so Abram’s nephew is captured, emphasising that Lot’s choice of location may have lacked wisdom. When Abram hears the news, he is quick to pursue Chedder-king’s army (I’m sick of pasting that guy’s name). Verses 15 and 16 show Abram and his 318 troops defeating “the enemy”, and rescuing Lot’s family and possessions. Phew.

Abram once again shows himself wise (unlike, in my opinion, in the “Case of the Pharoah and Sister/Wife”), as he did when he recommended to Lot that they split up. The wisdom I am speaking of is that he either recruited or trained servants to be ready to fight in battle. There’s certainly no evidence of Lot being so prepared. Now, I’m not advocating personal armies, but in Abram’s situation, this makes sense. After all, he appears to basically be the king of a nomadic tribe. Lot, in a similar position, does not seem to have taken precaution. Then again, this is a lot of reading between the lines, and may very well be inaccurate.

Abram also appears (again, reading between lines) to be operating in faith. There is no recording of hesitation on Abram’s part. Lot is family, and Abram pursues his captors. This could be pure machoism or the mesopotamian equivalent, but I’d like to think that by this point, Abram, recipient of Jehovah’s continual blessings, is trusting God for victory.

That’s a lot of interpretation, and I’m not altogether certain on the sequence of events, but at least it’s a bit clearer to me, now. Oh, one more thing, Lot has put himself under the authority of those (the king of Sodom, et al) who are, well, failing. The king of Sodom is under the rule of another kingdom, rebels, and gets flattened. Lot might have taken a different tact, continuing to seek his uncle’s wisdom and assistance, rather than placing himself under King Bera of Sodom.