Genesis 13 – God Promises Abram the Land Again

A. Abram and Lot separate.

1. (1-4) Abram returns to the land promised to him.

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 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, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

a. To the place where his tent had been at the beginning: Even though Abram came back from Egypt with great riches, he returned to the same place as before. He was right back where he started. Essentially, Abram’s time in Egypt was wasted time. God could have and would have provided for his needs in Canaan, even in a time of famine (Genesis 12:10).

i. Abram should not have used the blessing God brought to him in Egypt as a justification for going there. Even though God is great enough to bring good even when we disobey, there is still a cost built into disobedience.

ii. Abram’s unbelief took him from his place of worship; it led him into sin, and it caused him to lead others into sin. His unbelief displayed greater confidence in his ability to lie than in the protecting power of God. It even broke apart his family for a while. Even an ungodly king rightly rebuked Abram.

b. To the place of the altar which he had made there at first: Yet, at this point Abram did what he should. Instead of agonizing over his past sin, he did what he needed to do: living with the tent as a pilgrim and the altar as a worshipper, calling on the name of the Lord.

i. The church has always had the challenge of what to do with believers who slip into sin and want to come back into the church. For example, in the third century, the heroes of the faith were the martyrs and the confessors, but there were also many lapsed believers who failed under the threat of persecution. Some churches were too lax, admitting those lapsed ones back as if nothing happened. Some were too harsh toward the lapsed, saying they could never come back to the church and be used of God. Most churches did the right thing: they allowed the lapsed back, but basically as beginners again, not pretending as if nothing happened.

ii. Here, Abram came back into the promised land where he started, basically as a beginner. He came back to Bethel, back with the tent and the altar, back doing what he should.

iii. God wants the believer to walk in their first love and their first works (Revelation 2:4-5).

2. (5-7) Contention between Abram’s and Lot’s hired workers.

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

a. Lot also, who went with Abram: God commanded Abram to leave his family behind when he came to Canaan (Genesis 12:1), but Abram brought his nephew Lot with him. This kind of trouble was the result.

i. This conflict came after Abram did the right thing. When believers get right with God, they may often expect attack from the enemy of their soul.

b. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock: Something had to be done about this strife between the estates of Abram and Lot, because they could not continue a conflict like this before the unbelieving inhabitants of Canaan.

i. When the Canaanites and the Perizzites saw the herdsmen of Abram and Lot fighting, they must have thought, “See, they’re just like we are. They say they worship another God, a God they say is the true God, but I see they argue just as we often do.”

ii. “Many people will never listen to what any believer says because of what some believers are.” (Barnhouse)

c. Their possessions were so great: There was a significant difference between the riches of Abram and the riches of Lot. They both had great wealth, but Lot’s wealth possessed him. Abram had great possessions, but his wealth did not possess him.

3. (8-9) Abram’s generous offer to Lot.

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. Is not the whole land before you? 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.”

a. Is not the whole land before you? Since Abram was older, and God’s promise gave all the land to him and not to Lot (Genesis 12:1, 7), it was great generosity on Abram’s part that moved him to make this offer to Lot.

b. If you take the left, then I will go to the right: Abram was able to fight when the occasion demanded it (Genesis 14:14-16). He did not yield to Lot out of weakness, but out of love and trust in God. A few acres of grazing land didn’t seem worth fighting for to a man who lived with an eternal perspective.

i. God was glorified when Paul, out of love, surrendered his right to be supported by the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14-18). God was glorified when Jesus, out of love, surrendered His right to an existence that knew no human suffering or trial by experience (Philippians 2:5-11).

ii. Abram fulfilled the New Testament principle of love: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

c. If you go to the right, then I will go to the left: Right or left, Abram knew he could trust God. He had learned God would provide for his needs, and he did not have to worry about being too generous. Abram knew whatever Lot chose, God would make sure Abram prospered.

i. In Egypt, Abram thought he had to take his fate into his own hands and protect himself. Here, he was wiser and willing to let God look out for his interests. Right or left, it didn’t matter to Abram, because God would be there.

ii. Because he trusted in God, there were times when Abram surrendered his rights. The believer will also have such times when rights should be surrendered for the glory of God and the furtherance of the gospel.

4. (10-13) Lot chooses his portion of land.

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.

a. Like the garden of the Lord: Lot made his choice purely based on what he could see with his eyes. He cared only for the material abundance of the land and was not concerned for how it might spiritually impact him and his family.

i. Believers do not walk by what they see, but by what they know to be true in God: For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Abram walked by faith; Lot walked only by sight.

b. Pitched his tent even as far as Sodom: At this point, Lot’s tent was merely in the direction of the wicked city of Sodom. Later, Lot became a leader of that sinful place. Valuing only the things that could be seen increased Lot’s wealth temporarily, but he would eventually lose everything he possessed when Sodom was judged (Genesis 19:23–28).

i. Lot probably thought, “I can serve God as well in Sodom as anywhere else. They probably need a witness there.” However, Lot deceived himself, as many since him have done. It is common to trust a deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9).

ii. “In the end, he who sought this world lost it, and he who was willing to give up anything for the honour of God found it.” (Maclaren)

iii. It wasn’t Lot’s choice that led his heart astray. His heart was already astray, and this was demonstrated by his choice.

B. God confirms His promise to Abram.

1. (14-15) God promises the land to Abram and to his descendants forever.

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; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.

a. After Lot had separated from him: God wanted to talk to Abram alone after Lot left. This was a promise made only to Abram, not to Abram’s nephew.

i. This promise of the land had been made to Abram when he lived in Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 12:1-3, Acts 7:2-4). God now repeated this promise.

b. All the land which you see I give to you: God also wanted to remind Abram that even though Abram had been generous enough to grant some of the land to his nephew Lot, God still promised the land to Abram.

2. (16) God reminds Abram of His promise to give Abram many descendants.

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.

a. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth: This was a remarkable promise to a childless man in his seventies or eighties. Yet Abram knew to walk by faith and not by sight.

b. Your descendants: This promise of many descendants was made to Abram when he lived in Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 12:1-3, Acts 7:2-4). To reassure Abram, God repeated the promise.

3. (17-18) Abram walks through the land God gave to him.

Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

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.

a. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you: As a token of Abram’s reception of the land by faith, God wanted Abram to explore the land of promise, to walk through it as if it were his, though he did not yet have any record of ownership to the land.

i. In the same way, God wants believers to explore a land of promise, for them – His word – where God has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4), where He has given His people all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). God wants believers to figuratively walk through this land, possessing it by faith.

b. Dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron: The name Mamre means, vision. Hebron means communion. Abram once again walked in the Lord’s vision for him and in communion with the Lord.

c. And built an altar there to the Lord: Abram built another altar. He lived life in constant awareness of the need for a sacrificial atonement and covering.

©1996–present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik