Decisions

(Gen. 13:1-13)

Introduction: Last Sunday’s sermon title was ‘Abram, the root of blessing’ based on Gen. 12:1-9. Originally, Abram and his father Terah worshiped idols when they were in Ur of the Chaldeans. God came to Abram and told him to leave his hometown, relatives, and even his father to go to a place God prepared. Then God blessed Abram and made him the root of blessing. Anyone who blesses Abram will be blessed and anyone who curses him will be cursed. Eventually, all people in the world were blessed because of Abram. We are all justified and saved following Abram’s faith in Jesus Christ. Abram built an altar to glorify God for His blessing. We also need to worship God for His grace and salvation. Furthermore, through the quiet time and Bible study, we can maintain a close relationship with God. Today’s passage is Gen. 13:1-13. Abram went to Egypt due to a famine in Canaan. In Egypt, Abram made a big mistake with his wife Sarai. But, with God’s protection Abram came out of Egypt. Then, he and his nephew, Lot, separated each other. Lot made a wrong decision and ruined his life. We hope to learn the importance of making decisions and to bring our problems to God for His guidance.

1) Coming back to the altar (1-4): When Abram went to Egypt, he told a lie to people there that Sarai was his sister. So, the king of Egypt took Sarai as his wife and gave livestock, gold, and silver to Abram. Because of God’s protection, Abram was able to get out of Egypt and came back to Negev, the south land of Canaan. Abram moved to a place between Bethel and Ai where he first built an altar to God. There Abram built an altar again and called on the name of the Lord. It was Abram’s good character that he tried to resolve his problems in front of God when he made a mistake. When we have issues, problems, and decisions to make, we should remember that it is our blessing to bring the issues and problems to God. God will make our righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of our cause like the noonday sun (Psalm 37: 5-6, 50:15). Our life is full of decisions to make such as your study and  major, your marriage, and other decisions in life. I hope you make good decisions following God’s Will in the Bible.

2) Another conflict (5-9): When Abram came out of Egypt, his nephew, Lot, came with him. Both of them had lots of gold, silver, and livestock. In Canaan, because of their possessions, Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen fought with each other. So, Abram made a proposal to separate them. “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers” Abram said. He gave Lot a priority. If Lot chooses left Abram will choose right, and if Lot chooses right, Abram left. When an issue arose, Abram put Lot first. Abram had an assurance that God would guide him wherever he went. If we have this attitude, many conflicts will be easily resolved.

3) Lot’s decision (10-13): When Lot heard Abram’s suggestion, he looked around the area first. He evaluated the land before him. Lot found that the whole plain of Jordan River was well watered, like the garden of the Lord and like the land of Egypt. Lot chose the land around the Jordan River based on his worldly evaluation. While Abram remained in Canaan, Lot moved toward the east and toward the city of Sodom. Sodom was well civilized, but people in Sodom were wicked and sinning against God. Later, when God destroyed the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot escaped from it with empty hands. He lost all his possessions, and his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Later, Lot again made a terrible mistake and ruined his life. If we read II Peter 2:8, Lot was under the pain in his soul because of the evil behaviors of the people in Sodom. He should have left the evil city earlier. When you make decisions in life, try to follow God’s Will in the Bible. If you make a mistake, you should quickly return to God and seek His guidance through the Bible. Thank you.