Man of Faith
Learning from the Life of Abraham
Ray C. Stedman
Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture references are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, (c) 1971, 1973, Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.
Cover design by Phil Malyon and Judy Quinn
Photograph by Wayne Aldridge
MAN OF FAITH
(c) 1986 by Ray C. Stedman
Published by Multnomah Press
Portland, Oregon 97266
Published in cooperation with Discovery Foundation, Palo Alto, California
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stedman, Ray C. Man of Faith.
1. Abraham (Biblical patriarch)-Meditations.
2. Bible. O.T. Genesis IX, 27-XXV, 8-Meditations.
1. Title.
BS580.A3S75 1986 222'.110924 85-21772
85 868788899091- 10987 65432 1
CONTENTS
2. The High Cost of Letting Down
(Genesis 11:31-12:9)
There is a simple secret that ties together the Old and the New Testaments and makes the study of the Old Testament a never-ending delight. The Old Testament is designed as a picture book, illustrating with fascinating stories the spiritual truths presented in the New Testament. This is especially true of the books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and the book of Joshua; for in the life histories of men like Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, we have symbolized for us the progress of spiritual growth.
One of the most convincing proofs of the inspiration of the Bible is how the Spirit of God has taken simple history--facts as they were lived out day by day-and recorded them in such a way as to weave an accurate pattern of the development of spiritual life. What took place physically in the Old Testament is a spiritual picture for contemporary believers of what takes place in their own growth in grace.
It is not mere fancy to view the Old Testament in this manner; the New Testament itself gives ample proof that God planned the structure of his book in just this way. In the tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to many incidents in the history of Israel. He concludes the account with these words:
Now these things happened to them as a warning (literally "type"), but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come (1 Corinthians 10:11).
And in Romans 15:4, he says,
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
The letter to the Galatians, as well as our Lord's own use of these stories, further shows they were regarded as an analogy to the course of intended spiritual development.
We need, of course, to guard against wild and fanciful interpretations. We must move with care so that we do not overstep the laws of interpretation. But it would be a pity to miss (for example) Old Testament illustrations of the great Christian truths reflected in the book of Romans and elsewhere. Abraham's life beautifully portrays justification by faith; Isaac teaches us what it means to be a son, a child of God; Jacob's life is designed to show us how God works in sanctification to deliver us from the reigning power of sin; and Joseph is a stunning picture of what it means to be glorified by resurrection and thus enter into the challenging and exciting task that awaits the final unveiling of the sons of God.
Perhaps the clearest and most helpful of all these Old Testament portraits is the record of Abraham's life, beginning in distant Ur of the Chaldees and ending at last in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron, in Canaan. Abraham is clearly the model man of faith. Again and again in the New Testament he is held up as the example of how God works in the life of a man to fulfill his promises of grace. He is obviously chief of all the heroes of faith recorded in Hebrews 11. And in addition to the Christian faith, two of the great religions of the earth hold him in high esteem.
Therefore we may well begin the study of this man's life with a sense of excitement. In Abraham we will find ourselves reflected. In tracing his life's story we shall discover the very secrets by which the Spirit of God intends to transform us from faltering pilgrims into men and women of stalwart faith, worthy to stand beside the heroes of Hebrews 11.
Abraham is first introduced to us in the closing verse of Genesis 11 and in the opening verses of Genesis 12. His name was originally Abram; it was not until years later that it was changed to Abraham. The reason for this change was highly significant, and we shall examine it in due course. But for now let us get acquainted with young Abram. The Spirit of God passes over his early life in Ur of the Chaldees with but the briefest notice, and begins the sacred record with his encounter with God. This is where life truly begins!
We know from Stephen's great speech (recorded in the seventh chapter of Acts) that this call came to Abraham when he lived in Ur of the Chaldees. It was once thought that Ur was a very primitive city. I have read several books which attempt to depict Abram as an ignorant, unlettered nomad of the desert who lived in a primitive mud-walled village. We could hardly expect to find in such a man much more than the primitive search of a barbarian struggling to discover God. But the spade of the archaeologist has since turned up the ruins of Ur, and we have learned that this was a city of great wealth and considerable culture, containing a library and a university. The city was devoted to the worship of the Moon Goddess, and it is almost certain that Abram was an idolater, a worshiper of the moon. The book of Isaiah more than hints at this.
Stephen declared that the God of glory appeared to Abram there in Ur. We have no knowledge of the form this appearance took. But whatever it was, it is important to note that God took the initiative. This is true throughout history. Men may think they are feeling after God, but that feeling itself is the drawing of a seeking God. Here then is God, suddenly breaking into the life of Abram as he lived in Ur, worshiping the moon and kneeling before his dumb idols.
In this meeting Abram came face to face with a command and a promise; he was commanded to go, and he was promised a land. There is no question that the land to which he was to go was a literal place. Likewise the promise to make his name great and to make him the father of many nations has been literally fulfilled. I stress this now because I am not going to mention it again in this study. I believe in the literal fulfillment of these promises as history has already amply confirmed them. The study of how God literally fulfilled these to Abram is helpful and illuminating; but our concern here is to discover another dimension in this historical account. We will follow the warrant given to us by the New Testament, and make spiritual application to our own lives of what we see here.
Above all, we must not make the mistake (which is so common today) of taking these promises of the Old Testament and applying them literally to the believer today. When Israel, for instance, was told that they were not to intermarry with other races, God meant what he said. But when we try to apply that literally to nations today, we get into all sorts of absurdities. Some of the false concepts on which the doctrine of racial segregation is based come from an attempt to apply the instructions of God to Israel in a literal way today. We must not follow that road.
Still, all these things were written for our spiritual instruction. As we read this great command and promise to Abram, we may see ourselves here. For this is nothing more nor less than what God says to every person today, in a spiritual sense.
Abram was commanded to do three things: leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house. This is exactly the command that comes to every person who hears the call of the gospel today. We are to leave our country--the place where we have been living, our residence since birth. That is not our physical residence, but rather the old life with all its ambitions, loyalties, worship of money and fame and power, its imagined independence which is really slavery--all that we have been by nature since birth. There comes a command in the gospel to leave our country. This is a picture of the world--organized society with its satanic philosophies and value systems.
Abram was also told to leave his relatives. In the spiritual sense these are the moral forces that shape our lives. Just as blood relatives affect us greatly on the physical level, so these moral forces at work today change our lives constantly and color all that we think and do. The opinions of others, the traditions of men, the pressures from family and friends, the attitudes of our employers and others around us--these are the kindred we must be willing to forsake when we hear the call of God. When God confronts us with his call, these cannot count any longer. We are to renounce all concern about what others think and be preeminently concerned about what God thinks.
Third, Abram was to leave his father's house--that is, the ties with the "old man." Our father, in this sense, is Adam, the father of us all. What theologians call our "Adamic nature" is the father's house in which we all live. We are called to leave this, no longer putting any dependence upon our looks, talents, or any of our normal resources. Instead we must begin to walk in dependence upon another to do through us what we cannot do ourselves.
This is where a man stands when he first hears the gospel. He may have grown tired of the land of Ur, for it is a land of darkness, of weariness of soul, of spiritual hunger and death. Yet when the call of the word of God comes to him, there is much that seems desirable in the old life. He hesitates to leave, feeling the pull of these things upon him. Undoubtedly, Abram felt this hesitancy. The land to which he was called was unknown. It could not be known until it was experienced. But he could not deny the reality of God, and he could not evade the clear command: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."
Have you heard this command of God in your own life? Have you heard the living God, the God of glory, say to you, "You must no longer depend upon what you have been depending on--the opinions, the attitudes, the philosophy in which you have been reared. These are wrong. They are based upon the lies of Satan and you must not live on this basis any longer. You must learn to accept the truth reflected in the Word of God, though it cuts right across the philosophy of this world. You must, above all, leave your father's house; that is, dependence upon your "natural self." It is a simple but vital decision--you cannot stay in Ur and go to the land at the same time.
Now with this command comes a mighty promise. It, too, is threefold:
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves (Genesis 12:2,3).
The first promise, that God would make of Abram a great nation, was literally fulfilled in Israel. But what does it symbolize spiritually, to us? What is a nation?
It is simply the life of a man, expanded and enlarged to great proportions. In our day, a nation may be made up of a thousand strains from many different family groups, all living together in a heterogeneous society. Such is not the biblical nation. In the Bible, every nation begins with a man; then there is the family, and as the family grows and expands, there is finally the nation. Every nation is but the continued, expanded life of a man.
This promise, then, becomes for us a picture of eternal life, which is the first promise of the gospel. "The wages of sin is death" (that is the old country of Ur), "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house, and what happens? "I will give you eternal life," God says. "I will make of you a great nation. I will constantly expand and enlarge your life--life will take on infinite proportions for you."
The second promise, "I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing," meant several specific things to Abram. As we trace the story of his life, we find it meant he would have riches, he would find honor, and he would be a blessing to others. He would become influential and effective.
This is spiritually what God offers today. Of course, if you are thinking of dollars and cents, you are on the wrong track; this is never promised to a believer. God never commits himself to make us wealthy when we become Christians, but he does promise us the riches of Christ. Paul says, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33). These are, indeed, wonderful riches. This is the adventure the world is looking for more than anything else. Men are earnestly looking for something that will satisfy them within and change them without, and they will spend everything for it. But money cannot buy it. Only in Jesus Christ can you become what God intended you to be. Only in Christ can you fulfill the beauty of your womanhood or the glory and strength of your manhood. These are the riches of Christ.
But God offers still more--he offers honor (but not the honor of men). If you are looking for big crowds and excitement and the praises of men, you might consider running for political office; but if you are looking for honor, genuine honor, then listen to the words of Christ: "If any one serves me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26b). The honor he will give makes you the very nobility of earth; your name will be listed with those in Hebrews 11:38, "of whom the world was not worthyÉ"
Last, God offers this, the choicest of all: "I will make you a blessing." This is the glory of being used to bless others, the joy of a fruitful life. There is nothing more wonderful than that. It has been my privilege on a few occasions to have God use my life in a way that has opened up and blessed the hearts of others, and I tell you there is no other joy like it on earth. It is the most thrilling experience to feel that God has used you--the words you have spoken, the things you have said-to solve someone's desperate problem, to make life begin to unfold for them, to see homes reunited, estranged hearts brought together, and problems solved. This is what God offers every believer in Jesus Christ. All these--riches, honor, and blessing--are part of the second promise of the gospel.
But there is yet a third part: "I will bless those who bless you and him who curses you I will curse, for by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." What is this but the truth of identification, of sonship? It is what every parent thinks of his child: "I will bless those who bless him, and those who curse him I will curse." We are wrapped up in our children. They are the apple of our eye, and whatever touches them touches us. So John writes, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1). God says, "I will identify myself with you. What concerns you, concerns me." But listen to this again: "I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse." That is, we will be identified with God in the eyes of the world. We will be, like him, a creator of crises. Everywhere you go, you will be either a blessing or a curse... but no one will ignore you. God will make your life so vitally in touch with himself that you will have the effect he has when he touches lives.
It was so with Jesus of Nazareth. No one ever came into contact with him and remained neutral. This is what God says to each pilgrim in the life of faith: "If you will leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house, I will make you into this kind of person, so that you will affect every life you touch for better or for worse. They will bless you or they will curse you." Surely this is what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16:
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
This is God's design for the Christian. Your life will be vibrant with that vitality that God himself possesses. Then all the families of earth will be blessed through you. That is universal usefulness. God will take anyone and touch the world in some sense through him. This is a vast and marvelous promise, is it not? Perhaps now you can see that in these brief, ancient words to Abram, God has hinted about the life detailed in the pages of Romans, Ephesians, Galatians, and Corinthians--in all of the New Testament. It includes all God offers to do in us through Christ.
Note that it is all of God. Abram was to do nothing except obey; God would do everything else. If Abram would but set his face toward the land, leaving the old things behind, God would do the rest.
What is the land? This we must recognize, for we are going to meet this land of Canaan throughout the Word of God. Perhaps you have heard it described as heaven. It is not heaven, except in the sense that heaven begins here on earth. It is not some state that we must wait to enter until we die. It is intended that we should, like Abram, enter it at the beginning of our Christian life, and live in it all our days. What is the land then?
It is simply life in Christ. It is what the New Testament calls the fullness of the Spirit. It is life controlled by the Spirit of God, reflecting the glory of Christ. We enter it by conversion, but we do not experience the fullness of its blessing until we learn, like Abram, to adjust ourselves to its peculiar demands. But it is the land of promise, the land of fulfillment, the land of God's blessing and power. The whole of the Bible is written for no other purpose than to bring the people of God into the land of God. This is where he called Abram to go.
At this point in the record there comes a little interlude which we must consider. We are told that Abram obeyed God and started out for the land, but he stopped along the way. The record of those wasted years at Haran is found in Genesis 11:31-32.
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
As far as we know from the record, Terah never heard the call that Abram heard. He left Ur, not in order to enter the land of Canaan, but simply to get away from Ur! The call of Abram made him recognize that Ur did not offer a life satisfying to the heart, and when he saw that his son was determined to leave, Terah said, "I'll go along." As the father and head of the family, he went out; but only as far as the land of Haran, half-way to Canaan. How powerfully this pictures those who attempt to gain the promise of the gospel by leaving Ur (the world and its ways), but who never enter Canaan!
There are thousands today who have left Ur and come to Haran. But they have settled there, and there they will die. The word Haran means "parched" and it is indeed a parched and barren place to live. Many, like Terah, have left the world and its ways. They may have joined a church. They have got religion. They live moral lives, they sing the songs of Zion and they go through the outward motions of faith. But they will never go farther than Haran. They are dying there; they are religious, but not born again. What a parched experience that is!
But Abram was there, too! He left Ur by faith and was on his way to Canaan . . . but he wasted many years in Haran. While he was there, there was no discernible difference between him and his father. He was not yet ready to fully obey God, for he had not left his father's house--dependence on his own resources--as God had commanded. As a result, he wasted seventy-five of his one hundred and seventy-five years. Finally Terah died, and when the old man was gone, Abram was free to go on into the land of Canaan.
I hope you follow the typical significance of this. If we depend upon our own resources to be acceptable to God, he must take them all away. He will let us go on for a long time so that we may learn the weakness and folly of such a life. But finally he will take them away. When he does, we think it is a dreary day for us--but it is really the greatest day of our lives. Only then are we free to enter the land, where we may learn to depend upon God alone.
Now as Abram comes into the land, we have a revealing description of life there:
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they bad gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So be built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb (Genesis 12:4-9).
This is more than just a record of what happened to Abram when he first entered the land. It is an accurate picture of the conditions of a Spirit-filled life. The first thing we are told is that Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. These names are most revealing. Shechem means "shoulder," and the shoulder is to the Hebrew a symbol of strength. We think of the shoulder of a mountain in the same way. The name Moreh means "instruction." When we combine these two words, we get our first glimpse of what it is like in the land. Only as we are taught the Word of God by the Spirit of God do we find strength to live.
Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation (1 Peter 2:2).
The second picture we have here is that life in the land is to be a life of constant conflict. We read, "At that time the Canaanites were in the land." These Canaanites were the pagan tribes which afflicted Israel all through its history. When Israel came back into the land after its stay in Egypt, God ordered the extermination of these tribes; but Israel failed to carry it through. Therefore, these people hounded, bothered and afflicted Israel the whole of its history. They are thus a good picture of those evils we live with and continually wrestle against. They are named for us in the New Testament in many places: lust, envy, jealousy, impatience, intemperance, irritability, touchiness, etc. They are our daily enemies--these outbursts of self which make for continual conflict.
Third, it is also a life of continual cleansing, for we next read, "So he built there an altar to the LORD." We think of an altar as a symbol of worship, which it is, but that is not the essence of its meaning. An altar is first a place of cleansing which provides the basis for worship. The reason for a daily altar is the urgent need for cleansing in the pilgrim life. Every pilgrim needs the cleansing of blood, the cross of Christ, to which he can come and judge self as it exhibits itself in his life. So many Christians seem to feel they need the cross only at the beginning of their Christian life; but that is not true. We need it every day, for it is the word of the cross which is the power of God in daily life. This is why Paul cries, "I die every day" (1 Corinthians 15:3 1). This life of the Spirit must be one of continual cleansing by the cross of Christ.
Fourth, this is a life of unending choice. Abram pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai. Bethel means "the house of God," Ai means "ruin." This is just where we must live the Christian life, ever looking either to the things of God or to the ruin of the flesh. We can choose to go to Bethel or to Ai, to Christ or self--it can never be both. I am either pleasing myself, or pleasing him. I am either at Bethel, the house of God, or at Ai, the place of ruin. I must continually choose.
The last characteristic is represented by the tent. What did Abram do when he got to the land? He journeyed on! He never stopped for long. He lived in a tent because he was a pilgrim. He could never settle down; he could only sojourn for awhile. All through the New Testament the Christian pilgrim is exhorted to walk in the Spirit. Walk, walk, walk! When you have learned a lesson from God, that is not the end. That is just another step. Tomorrow there is another step to be taken, and another the day after that, and another the day following. How the flesh resents this! We are always delighted when the Spirit of God drives us to the place where we achieve some victory, overcome some habit, take some needed step. And then we want to settle down there. We say to the Lord, "You go on for awhile and leave me here. I want to enjoy this for a bit." But he will not let us stop. Life in the land is a life of continual progress, a never-ending journey.
Everyone is living in one of three places--Ur, Haran, or Canaan. Where do you live? What a question to search the heart! Ur is the land of death and darkness, the land into which we were born. Haran is the half-way house where we gain the outward appearance of being religious but where there is no inward reality. Canaan is the land of power and blessing, the place of the Spirit's fullness. Have you entered the land?
As we continue our study of the life of Abraham, let us determine to wholeheartedly follow the command of God, for only then may we rise up to go into the land of fullness of blessing in Christ. Let us remember that every word God says is true and that every promise will be fulfilled. And let us hear the voice of God saying to us, "Arise, get up, go out from your country, your kindred, and your father's house, into that land which I will show you!" That is the road to success. There is no other.
2.THE HIGH COST OF LETTING DOWN
(Genesis 12:10-13:4)
It is refreshing to meet a real pilgrim in the midst of our secular, security-loving age with its continual emphasis upon comfort, convenience, and compromise. We can identify pilgrims by two invariable symbols: a tent and an altar. Not that such people actually live in tents; but their whole outlook is transitory, like those who live from campsite to campsite. They hold material things loosely and are conscious of the fleeting, ephemeral values of what the world thinks important. There is a discontent with what the earth offers and a hunger for something more. This is the tent. The second characteristic is the altar, the place of self-judgment where true worship is found. It means having a low opinion of one's own abilities and a high opinion of God's. It is an awareness of the constant need of cleansing and a dependence upon a power greater than self.
The story of Abraham is the story of such a pilgrim. It takes us back several thousand years to the other side of the cross; but the spiritual history of this man is as up-to-date as if he were born in the twentieth century. With his tent and his altar, Abram sojourned in the land of Canaan. He had no permanent home, but moved about from place to place. The land of Canaan, as we have already seen, is a picture of the Spirit- filled life. It is not a place of special privilege, as many think. It is not a place which invites only the great and the favored few. The land of Canaan is where God expects every Christian to dwell every day of his life, twenty-four hours a day!
Though Abram is now in the land, he has not yet learned the conditions of life in the land. He stands in the same place as any new Christian who is now "in the Spirit" but has not yet learned to "walk in the Spirit." And as so often happens at this stage of the Christian life (as we pick up the story of Abram in Genesis 12), we find it is the story of the failure of faith. What new Christian has not discovered what it is to lose his sense of joy and his awareness of the presence of Christ? We shall find the reasons for this perplexing experience traced here in three movements: the famine in Canaan, the folly of Egypt, and the fullness of God in the land.
The account begins in chapter 12, verse 10:
Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
The land of Canaan was much like parts of California--a wonderful land with a magnificent climate, but dependent upon the limited rainfall for water. There are times when there is no rain and the land suffers a drought, becoming parched and dry, and the grass withers. For those whose livelihood depends on pasturing flocks this is a dangerous time. Abram was a man with flocks and herds, and when the rains failed these were severely threatened. He saw his immediate source of sustenance endangered, and it must have seemed increasingly impossible to remain where he was. As the scarcity of food grew, he felt driven to leave, even though God had called him to be there.
There is not a word here about asking God's permission to go down to Egypt. Abram took counsel, not from God, but from his fears alone. To use a contemporary expression, he "pushed the panic button," and down to Egypt he went. It was fear that drove him. Now if the land is a symbol for us of the life of fellowship with a living Christ, then a famine in the land is any circumstance that threatens our dependence upon him. It is any circumstance that makes faith difficult. Have you ever experienced such a famine? Have you been living in the full joy of fellowship with Christ when the strength of God is yours, and suddenly some circumstance beyond your control makes it hard to maintain that fellowship?
It may be a new boss who turns out to be an ogre; it may be neighbors who throw their garbage over the back fence; or a tiger of a mother-in-law who comes to live with you. It is always some difficult circumstance of life that makes it hard to maintain fellowship with Christ. Perhaps it is hard and demanding labor that leaves you little time for cultivating the spirit. It may be a bitter disappointment that crushes you, making your heart ache and leaving you with little strength for prayer and fellowship. It may be the continual oppression of depressing surroundings which are hard to rise above. It may be misunderstood motives--you meant to do good but someone took it wrong and you have been cut to the quick. In short, it is any temptation that seems more than you can bear and which threatens to cut off your very strength, your fellowship with Christ.
When this occurs, we are tempted to flee rather than to stick it out. We do not enjoy trials like this, and we try to get away--physically, if we can. We move to another neighborhood, change jobs, take a trip, or go home to mother. If we cannot flee physically, we try to run away mentally. We escape the unpleasant reality by a flight into unreality. There is so much of this today--some retreat into a mental Egypt where life seems more pleasant.
Once, perhaps, it was a simple problem of daydreaming. But now we can have it done for us electronically through the television set. "Dr. Parker's Fourth Wife" is brought to us in picture as well as sound. Many live in that realm of fantasy all day long. Or maybe you begin to haunt movie theaters for distraction from your worries. Or you find a perpetual din from the radio keeps you from disturbing thoughts or from quietly, thoughtfully facing life as it really is. Perhaps the retreat you choose is a constant round of social life or the overloaded weekend. Far too many Christians demonstrate that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is ready for the weekend! Some retreat to alcohol or to overeating, forgetting that an overhang is perhaps as bad as a hangover. Whenever we attempt to satisfy the spirit with the resources of the world, we have gone down to Egypt.
There is a vast difference between this escape and the occasional need for recreation and rest which God himself recognizes: "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while" (Mark 6:31). Nor is Abram's flight into Egypt a warning to us that we should have nothing to do with worldly people. We are expected to live our lives in the midst of the world and its ways. But going down to Egypt means adopting the attitudes, the expectations, and resources of the world. It is trying to slake the thirst of the spirit at a dry cistern.
Abram's experience here is given to teach us the unutterable folly of Egypt:
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you area woman beautiful to behold; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife',' then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account. " When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, he-asses, menservants, maidservants, she-asses, and camels. But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and be gone." And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had (Genesis 12-11-20).
Now let us see what happens in Egypt. First of all, the pressure is off! Abram found in Egypt the release he was seeking. There was a famine in Canaan; he felt its pressure; he ran away from it and immediately found the pressure relieved. There was plenty to eat in Egypt. And it is far more comfortable and relaxing to live in a house in Egypt than in a tent in Canaan. But this is not the whole story.
What else happened in Egypt? It is plain that when Abram lost his faith he also lost his courage! Even before he got into Egypt he grew afraid and descended to cowardice and falsehood. He told "a little white lie" (that is what we would call it today). He said to his wife, "Look, dear, I know these Egyptians. I read about them in the library in Ur. They are all wolves, and you are a beautiful woman. I know what will happen when we get down there. They will want to take you, and if they know you are my wife, they will kill me. Let's play it smart with a little strategy. You tell them you are my sister."
This was not wholly a lie. Sarai was Abram's half-sister. She was the daughter of a woman who married Abram's father after Abram was born. So this was a half-truth. But a half-truth is also a half-lie, and a lie in any proportion is intended to deceive. The nearer it is to the truth, the more perfectly deceitful it is. Abram's intent was clearly to deceive. Doubtless he justified it on the grounds that it was needed to protect his beautiful wife. Perhaps this is the most startling thing about this story. Sarai was sixty-five years old at the time, yet so remarkable is her beauty that Abram is afraid he may lose her, and when the Egyptians see her they immediately take tales of her beauty to Pharaoh. Abram feels cast upon his own resources to defend her, and his only recourse is to lie.
This is the first result of moving out of Canaan and out of fellowship with Christ. Out of the land, away from the tent and the altar, old self comes to the fore and assumes control. The immediate result is hypocrisy and deceit. Have you found that to be true? The minute you begin to move away from the control of God, your old self, with its defensive mechanism against being hurt, comes to the surface and you stoop to falsehood, hypocrisy, and deceit.
The outcome of this lie was that Sarai was put into a place of real danger. The king claimed her for his harem, and it was the lie Abram told that opened the door. The danger he thought existed had no power to harm her until he made it possible by his lie! This is the second folly of Egypt--our loved ones suffer because of our cowardice and deceit. Abram was trying to protect himself, but in protecting himself he exposed Sarai to ignominy and danger.
This is the trouble with Egypt. It is true the pressure we fear is relieved there, but when we try to live on the resources of the world we lose our own strength and endanger those who look to us for help. Not only was Sarai endangered, but Lot also. Abram's nephew, Lot, went down to Egypt with him. Later on, when the allurements and enticements of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah cast their spell over Lot, we are told that he saw the land as though it were the plain of Egypt. The lust for comfort and worldly glory that was born during this stay in Egypt almost destroyed him then. Remember that when you flee to Egypt, your loved ones are being hurt as well as you.
The third factor about Egypt is that Abram was made very rich. You say, "What's wrong with that? This is not an evil but a blessing." Perhaps, but it was Jesus himself who used the phrase, "the deceitfulness of riches," referring to one of the things which could choke the Word in a person (Mark 4:19). In Egypt, Abram was given sheep, oxen, he-asses, menservants, maidservants, she-asses, and camels. This is the wealth of the oriental world. But when he comes back into the land, the first thing we hear of is strife between his herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen over the riches they got in Egypt. Furthermore, we are told he was given maidservants. One of them was named Hagar, with whom Abram later conceived the child, Ishmael, the father of the Arab nations (who ever since have been a thorn in the side of Israel). The price of living in Egypt is a fearsome one indeed.
But this is not all. Abram became a curse to the worldlings with whom he lived. 'The LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife." He was called to be a blessing, but when he got into Egypt, he became a curse instead! A Christian out of fellowship with Christ is of no help to the lost people around him. Instead, he is a hindrance. His life of hypocrisy and weakness is a stumbling block and a plague upon the hearts of those who watch him. In God's name, if you are not walking in the fullness of the Spirit, do not attempt to witness to anyone about Christ. You will become a curse to them if you do.
Finally, Egypt is a place of rebuke and humiliation. What a scene this is! Here is Abram, the man of God, standing before this pagan king who has better morals than he has, being publicly rebuked for his folly.
Years ago, when I was a young Christian living in Denver, Colorado, I took on the job of soliciting advertisements for a small church paper. The pastor felt that some businesses which dealt with the church would be willing to put an ad in our little paper. I was to call them on the telephone and solicit the business. One of those I called was the manager of a prominent restaurant nearby. I opened the conversation by telling her I was calling for Mr. Hewitt, the pastor of the church, as he had given me permission to do. Evidently she misunderstood and thought that I was Mr. Hewitt. Throughout the conversation she addressed me as Mr. Hewitt. It took me by surprise at first, and I did not correct her at the time. She placed an ad, and the next month I called her again to renew it. It had worked so well to be mistaken for Mr. Hewitt that I thought I would tell her it was he calling again. I got another ad.
The third month I tried it again. But this time her voice grew cold and distant as she said, "I don't know who you are, but you are not Mr. Hewitt, for as I sit here in my office I can see Mr. Hewitt and his wife eating lunch. I don't know what kind of church you run, but if this is the means you have of getting business then don't bother with me anymore." And she hung up the phone. I can still feel the shame and humiliation of that moment as though it were yesterday. What a terrible place of rebuke and folly is Egypt!
But now God terminates the painful lesson of Egypt in Abram's life. At the deepest moment of his agony, crushed with humiliation and sick at heart, Abram comes out of Egypt, tarred and feathered and riding on a nil, back into the land of Canaan. We read, "pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had." "Good riddance, Abram, we're through with you!" What a sad price to pay for the release from pressure that Egypt affords.
Once back in the land, he finds again the fullness of supply that he could have had all along!
So Abram went tip from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that be had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD (Genesis 13.7-4).
As soon as Abram is back in the land, there is the tent and the altar again. There is no tent or altar in Egypt. That is, there is no pilgrim character, no place of worship or cleansing, no fellowship in Egypt. But even back in the land, Abram must come back to the place where he had made an altar at the first; and there Abram calls upon the name of the LORD. In other words, time spent in Egypt is wasted! There was no growth in grace in that land. He had to come right back to where he was when he went down to Egypt. He had material gain to show for the time in Egypt, but nothing but barrenness and weakness spiritually.
Have you discovered how true this is? When you forsake the pathway of faith, when you refuse to walk in fellowship with God, when you depend upon the resources of the world to satisfy the empty hunger of the heart--these are wasted years! They may literally be years. I know Christians who have lived almost all their Christian lives in Egypt, and all they have to show for it is a barren, wasted, empty, dreary, boring existence.
When Abram at last returned, what did he find? There is no mention of famine when he returns, but I think the famine is still going on. Remember, Abram was driven out of Egypt. He was not yet ready to leave it of his own choice, and this would indicate the famine was still raging in Canaan. Also, the quarrel which developed with Lot's herdsmen over the pasture land suggests there was still a severe shortage of feed. But though the famine still continues, Abram is no longer troubled about it. Why not? Because when he reached the land, the first thing he did was to call on the name of the LORD! This is what he should have done and could have done when the famine first struck.
The name of the LORD stands for all the resources of God. When we cash a check we are calling on the name of the man who signed the check. When Abram calls on the name of the LORD he is discovering the resources of God. He discovers that God is able to meet his needs despite the famine, the trial, or the circumstances. Just as Paul proclaims, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
In the closing days of Hudson Taylor's life the Boxer Rebellion broke out in China. Every day reports were coming to missionary headquarters of the death of national pastors, or the persecution and imprisonment of missionaries. It seemed that all that Hudson Taylor had given his life to was crumbling before his eyes. One black day, after some particularly distressing news had come, Hudson Taylor's associates wondered if it would be too much for the old man. He spent the morning in his house alone, and when they came to see him in the afternoon, they trembled at what they might find. But as they approached the house, they heard him singing to himself:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness,
Of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bade me gaze upon Thee,
And thy beauty fills my soul,
For by thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.
Are you in a time of testing and trial that makes it difficult to hang onto God? Do not think for a moment you will find what you need by running down to Egypt. You will find a kind of relief, but the price of Egypt is terrible.
For the soul that says, "Its all right, Lord, I'm looking only to you to see me through," there awaits a sure and full supply of God--that inner strengthening of the heart that makes it possible to meet whatever trial may come in the joyfulness and glory of faith.
(Genesis 13:5-18)
Someone has pointed out that life seems to be arranged backwards. We are called upon to make our most important choices at a time when we have the least amount of experience to guide us. It is because of this that we so frequently hear expressions of regret like, "If only I had known," "If I had it to do it over again", etc. It is this very quality of life which reveals our inability to handle life by ourselves. It is a wise person, indeed, who learns this lesson early and gives heed to the biblical admonition, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
After the temporary failure of faith which took Abram from Canaan into Egypt, we find him once again in the land, with his tent and his altar, enjoying the fullness of divine supply. As we saw earlier, however, life in the land is one of continual conflict; we must go from victory to victory. Furthermore, it is a life of unending choice. We are now given an illuminating account of what happens when strife and trouble break out in the Christian life. Who has not stood at this place?
And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left" (Genesis 13:5-9).
We have been reading of Lot all through the story of Abram. He was Abram's nephew, and he came with him out of the land of Ur. The whole story of this man is told in one brief phrase in verse 5: "ÉLot, who went with Abram." That sums up Lot's whole life. He went with Abram! Wherever Abram was, Lot was. When Abram stopped, Lot stopped. "With Abram"--that is all that can be said of him.
Many commentators seem to think Abram was wrong to take Lot with him out of the land of Ur. There is no doubt Lot was a continual weight around his neck. But Scripture never implies that it was wrong to bring Lot along. Lot evidently responded when God spoke to Abram and called him to go out into a land which would be shown him. Lot wanted to go along, and Abram, wishing to help him, agreed. The trouble is not with Abram but with Lot.
Lot pictures those Christians who depend upon others for faith and inspiration to act. There are many Lots around. They never seem to learn to walk alone with God, but lean on another's faith for strength. As long as they have a strong church to lean on, or a close friend who is a faithful Christian, or they can listen to a gospel radio station all day long, or they have a Christian magazine coming regularly, then all goes well. But where the prop is weak, they are weak also. When Abram's faith failed, Lot's faith failed. Lot leans on Abram all the way. He is a second-hand Christian. Although his own faith is genuine (and the New Testament makes it clear that Lot was a righteous man), nevertheless he depends wholly upon Abram to make his service effective.
This works well as long as the pressure is on. As long as things are a bit rough, Lot will stay with Abram; for he senses his need for the strength of the man of faith. Lot feels his weakness to act upon his own faith. There are many like this. As long as things are a bit difficult, they lean hard upon their Abram, whoever or whatever it may be. But there is one kind of test this type of Christian cannot stand--the test of prosperity, when all goes well. Material prosperity, especially, will always show up the Lots in our midst.
So we read here that when their possessions became so great they could no longer dwell together, strife came between them. Today we would call this a conflict of interests. There are many parallels in modern life. Here are two partners in business, both of them Christians. For the stronger of the two, the man of faith, this business exists for only one purpose: to benefit the work of God. He knows that God expects him to take his normal living from it, but that is not why he is working. His real reason for working is that he may use the strength and wisdom God gives him to invest and make money to advance the work of God.
At first, the other partner goes along with him and agrees that his goal is a worthy basis for the business. But prosperity comes! They make a little money, the second man raises his standard of living and gets his eyes on the material things of life. He becomes more concerned about increasing the business and making a big thing of it than about anything else. When that happens, there is only one thing to do. As with Lot and Abram, there comes a time for a dividing of the ways; and it is the man of faith who takes the initiative. Lot would have let this thing fester until it broke out into some serious conflict, but Abram says, "There is only one thing to do. We must separate now before there is any further difficulty."
Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left" (Genesis 13:8,9).
Note the reasons Abram gives for this separation. Every word here is important. In the last part of verse 7 we are told, "At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt in the land." Why is this mentioned here? Is it not a warning to us that whenever strife looms between Christians, the enemies of the Lord are ready to take full advantage of it? These Canaanites and Perizzites, dwelling in the land, represent the evils of the flesh that lurk in every Christian heart: jealousy, envy, resentment, bitterness, malice, etc. They are always ready to spring into action if there is any dissension or grievance between Christians. Abram acted before they awakened, for he knew they were in the land. Everyone's heart harbors something that, if allowed to fester, will come to the fore, and he will be possessed by the spirit of jealousy, resentment, or bitterness. Abram acted before this could happen.
The second reason is found in his words, "Let there be no strife, for we are kinsmen," that is, "brethren." We are brethren! That means we are tied together in the same bundle of life, and if! hurt you I am hurting myself. If you hurt me, you are hurting yourself. Brethren cannot have strife without injuring one another. Whenever strife develops between members of the Body of Christ, it always has this result. It is a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. If you hurt your brother, you are surely hurting yourself.
Abram, in his God-given wisdom, said, "Let us not have any of this. We are brethren, so do not let this become an issue between us. Let us calmly settle the matter now before it breaks out in open conflict." Then Abram did a magnificent, God-honoring thing; he gave up his own rights without a murmur. He was the older man of the two and the acknowledged leader, Lot's superior in every way. Yet he said to him, "Lot, you take the first choice, I give up my right to it. If you want to go this way, I'll go that way." How evident it is that the tent and the altar have already done a work of grace in this man's heart!
I once heard Dr. H. A. Ironside tell of an experience in his early life when his mother took him to a meeting where two Christian men almost came to blows over a disagreement. One man finally stood and pounded the desk and shouted, "I don't care what you do, but I will have my rights!" At that, an old, partially deaf brother, who had been sitting nearby, leaned forward, cupped his ear in his hand and said, "Eh? What's that? What did you say, brother? Your rights is it? Is that what you want? Ah, brother, if you had your rights you'd be in hell! The Lord Jesus didn't come to get his rights--he came to get his wrongs, and he got them." And with that the belligerent fellow flushed and sat down saying, "You're right, you're right, settle it any way you like." Soon there was perfect agreement. It was this same spirit that moved Abram to give Lot the first choice.
Now we learn what happens when Lot chooses:
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD (Genesis 13.10-13).
Evidently Lot and Abram went out on a promontory overlooking the valley and Lot lifted up his eyes. What did he see? It is obvious he only looked in one direction. He had been out looking around before! Without hesitation now, he looked to the east and saw the well-watered plain below like the garden of the Lord in the midst of the desert. He saw the Jordan River cutting through its great gorge, the deepest point on the face of the earth. On either side of the Jordan the lush green grass was growing, and the variety of palm trees made the whole place a veritable garden. He was greatly attracted to it; it was a modern real estate developer's dream!
Then he saw the cities of the plain. They were like Egypt! Lot remembered Egypt as a place where one could get rich quick, with its vast commercial enterprises and its blind materialism. This is what Lot saw as he looked across the valley.
But the passage suggests there were some things Lot did not see. Although the Jordan Valley was there before his eyes, he did not see the significance of its name. The word "Jordan" means death. The river descended out of the living waters of Galilee and dropped far below sea level into the Dead Sea, from which there is no outlet. It was grand to look upon; but spiritually it meant the place of death. This Lot failed to see.
Then it is specifically pointed out that the men of Sodom were wicked--great sinners before the Lord. Lot saw the profitability of these cities, but he did not see their moral corruption. The name of Sodom today is linked to a particularly revolting form of sin. Though the life of the city was morally rotten, it was hidden beneath an attractive prosperity. We have our Sodoms today. Moral corruption has permeated our social life and is something we must consider as we face the choices of life. This Lot failed to do.
We are told yet another thing that Lot missed: "Éthis was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah." Here is a mention of the judgment that was to come. Lot saw the prosperity and the beauty, but he did not see this was a place marked out for judgment; it was all to be swept away forever.
Now, it is true that neither Lot nor Abram could foresee the death, the rottenness, the judgment that life in Sodom would bring. But the whole point of the story lies right here. Lot, presuming to run his own life, "chose for himself." Deceived by what he saw, he stumbled blindly into heartache and judgment. Abram, on the other hand, was content to let God choose for him, though it looked second-best. And long before the true nature of Sodom became apparent to Lot, Abram saw it in its true light.
When will we learn that the inner nature of things--things as they really are--is only revealed to the man with the tent and the altar? It is only as we become pilgrims, remembering that we do not have our final dwelling place here on this earth, that the Word of God unfolds before us and we see something of the judgment, the moral corruption, the deadly character of what otherwise looks so attractive.
So we read, "Lot chose for himself." What a telling phrase that is! As he looked out, Self said, "Ah, this will advance you, this will make you prosperous, this will give you status and position." So he chose for himself and pitched his tent toward Sodom. Every time he moved his tent, he moved it ever nearer Sodom. We shall see more of what this meant in a later chapter.
But now, what happened to old Abram? How did it go with the man who was willing to let God make the choices for him?
The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see! will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron; and there he built an altar to the LORD (Genesis 13.14-18).
Lot had lifted up his eyes and chosen for himself; now God says to the man of faith, living in his tent on the hillside, "Abram, lift up your eyes." Where? Everywhere--to the north, the south, the east (the portion Lot chose), and the west. All the land is his! This land is consistently a symbol of the fullness of life in the Spirit of God; the life of joy, power, love, and glory; the life of refreshing ministry to others. Surely this is what Paul longs for us when he prays, "That you may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:18,19). This is all yours, if you are willing to let God make the choices of life for you.
Lot will never know this! Nor will we, if we make our choices on the basis of what we see, relating to the materialistic, commercial standards of those about us. But if, like Abram, we are content to have what God gives us in life, all the fullness of Christ will be ours. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23: "For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
Then God said to Abram, "Not only do I give this land to you, but I will fill the land with your descendants." That is, "I will make you fruitful beyond belief. I will make your life one of such blessing that after you are gone there will be those who will stand up and say, 'I received my spiritual life through that man; there came to me strength for my journey through him; he has been a great blessing to me."
Then he said to Abram, "Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." The land is all that Christ will be to us through the eternal ages to come. But God is saying to us, "Don't wait for it. You don't have to wait until you die to enjoy this. You can have it now, if you will possess it. Walk through the land. Set your feet upon it. Possess it--now!'
If we, seeing Abram walking up and down the land, had said to the Canaanites and Perizzites, "Do you know who this man is? This is the owner of all this land!" they would have looked at us with pity, laughed, and continued on their way. But it was true! Wherever Abram wanted to move in that land, God opened the door. The whole land was his. He could go where he wanted. He could live where he chose. The Canaanites and the Perizzites had to move out when Abram came in. Thus also the Spirit of God declares to us in Romans 6:14: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Whenever you want to be free from the weakness, and ruin, and power of sin, you can! The land lies open before you. Possess it!
So we read, "Abram moved his tent and came down to the oaks of Mamre." Mamre means "fatness," the place where the soul is made fat with the fullness of supply. And there at Hebron, which means "fellowship," he built an altar to the Lord. In the place of fatness and fellowship, Abram confessed again by the building of an altar that he was nothing but a fallible human being, without strength in himself, needing the constant cleansing of God. It is a wonderful picture, isn't it?
Everyone dwells in a world exactly like that of Abram and Lot, a world in which material values constantly clamor for us to make a choice. We have only so much time to invest, so much life to spend, and we are pressured to grab the best for ourselves while we can. We can say with Lot, "I want what the world can offer me now, I want the cities of the plain.' Or we may wait with Abram, content with our tent and altar, enjoying the blessings of the land by faith now, and waiting for God's fulfillment of all his promises in the wonderful age yet to come. The Christian who is content to let God make his choices finds it easy to fulfill the New Testament word: "Égive thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
(Genesis 14:1-16)
Many think the Christian life is prosaic, dull, uneventful. It is anything but that! If it appears that way, it is almost certainly a life out of focus with true spirituality; in other words, a carnal Christian life.
We have seen already that whenever Abram is found with a tent and an altar in the land of Canaan, he is a wonderful picture of a Christian living in the power and joy of his pilgrim life--in this world but not of it, daily judging self by the cleansing of the cross. Lot, on the other hand, pictures the carnal Christian, flesh-governed, living for sell He has forsaken the place of fellowship with Christ. Lot left Abram on the hillside and moved down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain. He was drawn by the allurements of the world and began to live for himself and for the pleasures of life. He pictures a Christian who is born again, but enmeshed in the enticements of the materialistic, commercialized world around.
But now, suddenly, Abram's quiet and pleasant life is shattered. Life in the Spirit is like that. We are never permitted to rest beside the still waters very long, nor would we want to, for life there soon grows dull and uninteresting. In Genesis 14 we are introduced to the first war ever recorded in Scripture. It is a stirring account, vividly contrasting the blustering armies of earth with the quiet, overcoming power of faith. We get our first glimpse of these earthly armies in the first three verses.
In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea) (Genesis 14:1-3).
The spade of the archaeologist has amply verified the existence of the kings named here. Long before the rise of the Babylonian Empire, these kings made a military foray into the land of Canaan, perhaps to defend their trade routes with Egypt or to subdue the warlike tribes of the area. The account here could have been taken from the daily newspaper of Sodom; the city recognized the threat to its welfare and liberties, and was much alarmed.
As the account progresses, we learn that Chedorlaomer is the chief of the invading kings. Historically, he is identified as the Elamite dictator from the land east of Persia, now known as West Pakistan. He came with his satellite kings against a confederacy of five monarchs from the cities of the plain. His coming in this way represents the world's power to harass and enslave Christians. But more than one type is required to portray the whole aspect of the world's enmity. Sodom, for instance, pictures the world in its lust for sensual pleasures. In contrast to this, the invasion from the east portrays the world in its naked power to enslave and tyrannize and take away the physical liberties of man.
These forces are often found opposed in history. Our own beloved nation of America is already enslaved to the forces of materialism, greed, and sex. These forces dominate our national life. But it is also threatened by an outside force, communism, which ruthlessly seeks to destroy our physical liberties and enslave the nation. Here are two differing forces, both arising out of the fallen nature of man. One desires material gain, economic advancement, luxury, ease, and sensual pleasure. The other is sheer, naked tyranny, threatening our very physical existence.
This is exactly what confronted the cities of the plain, and Lot especially, as he now dwelt in Sodom. Lot is already enmeshed in the blind commercialism of Sodom, but has kept himself free from the sexual degradation of the place. Now he is threatened by circumstances that would deprive him of basic liberties.
How does this relate to us today? It might be some form of legalism, or perhaps some vicious habit such as alcoholism or sexual abuse. It might even be a sickness that renders one a bedridden invalid--although all sickness is certainly not of this sort. Whatever may be the problem, it is something outward that threatens physical or spiritual liberty. Here is Lot, a carnal Christian, caught between the jaws of a vise--the materialism of Sodom and the tyranny of Chedorlaomer.
Verses 5-7 reveal the apparent invincibility of this enemy:
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Astheroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in Mount Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness; then they turned back and came to Enmishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar.
Rephaim and Zuzim were families of giants. It is from this group, later in Israel's history, that Goliath came, whom David decapitated with his own sword. These were men eight to ten feet tall, a mighty race who were greatly feared by those around them. Yet the invading kings swept away even these giants.
The territory mentioned here is quite extensive, covering from the north and west of the Sea of Galilee, down the Jordan Valley, all the way south to the Red Sea. Here, then, was an enemy, seemingly invincible, relentless, unstoppable, striking fear into every heart as he relentlessly crushed all opposition.
At this point we have the first mention of Lot. If it were not for him, we would know nothing at all of these events; the Bible never reports any human history except as it relates to the peoples of God.
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the mountain. So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way, they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed (Genesis 74:8-12).
It is specifically called to our attention that in the valley of the Dead Sea there were many tar or bitumen pits, filled with natural asphalt. If you have visited the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, you will know just what is described here. These open pits of asphalt would be covered over by the desert sand as the wind blew across them and they would appear like the surrounding ground. But anyone venturing into such a pit would be held by the tar and his body would be imprisoned for centuries. The bones of dinosaurs and other beasts have been found in the La Brea pits, having been encased in tar for many centuries. Evidently the five kings of the confederacy felt that this area would be the best place for battle, as the pits would be a natural defense. But instead they became a trap. As the tide of battle turned against them, they fled to the mountains in headlong haste. Many of them, falling into the pits of tar, were destroyed. In the ensuing capture of Sodom, Lot, his family, and all his goods were carried away by the invading army.
Perhaps you have fallen into just such a circumstance. You have tried to fight back, but nothing seems to avail. The very defenses upon which you rely become threats against you. You can choose capture or falling into the slime pits, one or the other. And perhaps, as Lot, you have found yourself captured against your will by some evil habit or power that enslaves you.
Then notice what happens! The Holy Spirit shifts the scene to Abram up on the mountainside, so that we might see the overcoming power of faith. All hope for Lot now lies in Abram's hand:
Then one who had escaped came, and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram (verse 13).
A messenger comes to Abram, perhaps sent by Lot. At the last moment before his capture, he may have hurriedly sent this man out to slip through the lines and find his way to Abram. It is likely that he barely escaped from the clutches of the enemy with his life. He finds Abram in Hebron, the place of fellowship. With him are three men who are his allies.
Mamre, as we have noted before, means fatness or richness. Eshcol means a group or bunch, and Aner means an exile, one who withdraws himself. Taking these three names together, spiritually speaking, I see a prayer meeting here! Here is a group of people, living in the richness of fellowship with Christ, who have withdrawn themselves from the ordinary demands of life for a specific purpose. This is exactly what our Lord bids us do in Matthew 6:6a: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father." Abram the Hebrew is leading the meeting. Since this is the only place in Scripture where Abram is called a Hebrew, it must have some special significance. The word Hebrew means passenger, or pilgrim. The Spirit of God would highlight for us the character of the ones to whom Lot looks for rescue. They are led by the man who holds lightly the things of earth, the man of the pilgrim life.
To this band on the hillside comes the message that Lot is in trouble. When Peter, in the New Testament account, was put in prison, we are told that the church prayed for him without ceasing. As a result the doors of that prison were flung back, the iron gates were opened, the shackles fell off and Peter was led out by an angel. When a child of God through ignorance or selfish folly has fallen into something that enslaves and grips and holds him, the only answer is the believing prayer of the people of God. That is what we have here.
Now let's see how victory is achieved:
When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus (Genesis 14:14,15).
Here is the key to victory--three hundred and eighteen men, trained for warfare! Now, this was not his entire battle force. There were other men belonging to Abram's allies, but this is the hard core of trained, disciplined men he relied upon to lead his little army into battle. He had only three hundred and eighteen, but that was all he needed! It might have seemed a pitiful handful beside the vast armies of those four kings who had come out of the ancient east, plundering everything before them as they came. But if we will learn the lesson taught here and all through Scripture, we need never be discouraged by overwhelming numbers again. The lesson is simply this: God's victories are never won by force of numbers! Never! "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6b).
If three hundred and eighteen people were to gather to pray today, that would be a red letter day indeed. And if those three hundred and eighteen people knew how to pray, were trained in the warfare of prayer, they would shake the powers of evil around the world! Three hundred and eighteen would put to rout all the vast armies of the enemy.
Our world is threatened by the tremendous power of communism, and many of our brothers and sisters around the world are grievously threatened by fear if they stand firm in their faith. I fully believe God is showing us that the whole secret to the defeat of this terrible enemy will lie in a relative handful of people, who here and there will faithfully get together and recognize that victory does not lie in the might of weapons, of nuclear missiles, or diplomacy, but in men and women of faith who are pilgrims and strangers here in this world, and who will regularly separate themselves from the demands of life and seek the mind and face of God. Then the forces of tyranny will be routed in many places, and men and women who are now enslaved by the pitiless, ruthless chains of atheistic communism will be set free.
Note the careful strategy Abram employed. We are told he divided his forces by night. The march of Abram and his tiny band is one of the most remarkable forced marches in history. They traveled the whole length of the Jordan River, coming upon the enemy considerably north of the Sea of Galilee. As was the custom with armies of that day, when the pagan invaders had withdrawn to a place they considered safe, they made camp for several days and indulged in a time of carousing and reveling in celebration of their victory. It was at such a time and place that Abram and his allies found them, and during the night, they divided their forces and surrounded the drunken camp. Abram sent one part of his army one way and one the other, one group perhaps with spears and the other with swords for close combat. At a signal, they sprang upon the surprised host and there was a general rout and a great victory.
This division of Abram's forces into a two-pronged attack suggests the Christian's weapons in spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6, we are reminded that we possess two effective weapons-the Word and prayer.
And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. . .for all the saints (Ephesians 6:17,18).
Many a "Lot" has been delivered from the slavery which bound him by the helpful counsel of the Word of God given through some fellow-believer, and the prayers of the men and women of God who have supported him. Thus Abram divided his forces, and using a twofold approach, he set the enemy to flight.
Notice yet a third incident. Abram pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Hobah means "hidden," and therefore signifies a complete victory, even to the point of the enemy hiding himself to escape. Abram never let up. He kept on till the forces against him were demoralized. He pressed his advantage to the utmost. He did not quit fighting, he did not stop praying at the first little break, but pressed on through until he won a great and tremendous victory. In verse 16, we see the extent of the victory Abram won:
Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.
Now in all this, the Holy Spirit would drive one thing home to our hearts. We do not lead our Christian lives in seclusion--we are members one of another, and in circumstances of this nature, one Christian can often be the means of deliverance to a weaker brother or sister. There was nothing Abram could do to deliver Lot from Sodom. Sodom represented an inward choice in the heart of this man. Lot chose to live in the materialistic, sensualized atmosphere of Sodom. If a child of God chooses to be materialistic, sensual, commercial, greedy for things of the world. . . not much can be done for him. Only Lot could take himself out of Sodom. But from this circumstance that threatened Lot's very life and liberty, Abram's resources were ample.
James 5:16b tells us, "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects." There is an excellent Chinese translation of that verse: "The earnest, hot-hearted prayer of a righteous man releases great power." That is certainly the case in this incident. 'The prayer of faith," we are told in the same chapter of James, verse 15, "will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up." Many have been puzzled by this verse, but if we read the context, we see that the affliction is one that has come because a child of God has become involved in deliberate sin. Such a one is to call the elders of the church together and confess his faults. Then the prayer of faith will save the sick, the Lord shall raise him up again, and he will be delivered from the thing that has held him captive.
It is wonderful, this power of prayer for someone else. The history of the church is replete with such deliverances through faithful prayer. Some time ago, a wise and experienced missionary leader, speaking to a group of us about prayer, talked about overwhelming sin that so grips the heart as to enslave the life and frustrate all activity for God. He gave some very wise words of advice.
"Perhaps some younger Christian," he said, "may find himself in such a circumstance, and the thing he is doing is so shameful that he cannot bring himself to confess it publicly; then let him seek out some older man of God, someone he can trust, and lay the whole matter out before him and ask him to pray concerning this."
It is wise counsel, indeed. When Lot could not possibly help himself, Abram, separated in heart from the Sodom-like attitudes that rendered Lot so powerless, was able to lay hold of God and effect a great and mighty deliverance.
(Genesis 14:17-24)
Following Abram's great victory over the invading kings from the east, the fourteenth chapter of Genesis relates a curious incident with a strange and mysterious king named Melchizedek. The book of Hebrews makes so much of Abram's encounter with Melchizedek that our curiosity is awakened and we are stimulated to find out more about this man of mystery. We may be sure that the deliberate interjection of this account at this point in Abram's life is designed by the Spirit of God to help us in our own lives of faith.
Abram is now on his way back to Sodom with all the goods of the city and much of the population, including Lot and his family. It is a time of victory for Abram, and therefore a time of peculiar peril. In our spiritual life, the enemy loves best to strike when we are relaxed and off-guard after some spiritual victory or period of great usefulness. His approach then is never open or frontal, but subtle and insidious, taking full advantage of our relaxed defenses. Let us note how Abram is suddenly confronted with a subtle temptation on his way back to Sodom, how by a strange interlude deliverance comes to him, and observe his sensible attitude toward others in this incident.
After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley) (Genesis 14:17).
Our special attention is directed to the place where the king of Sodom met Abram on his way back from the battlefield. It was a valley right outside the little village of Salem. In later Israelite history, Salem was transformed into Jerusalem, the capital of all Israel. The valley outside the city, even then known as the "King's Valley," was none other than the Valley of the Kidron, the little brook that ran down along the eastern side of Jerusalem, separating the mount of Olives from the city. It was into this valley that our Lord went with his disciples on the night he was betrayed, crossing over to go up the slopes of the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane's garden. In this strategic and historic spot, the king of Sodom met Abram. Skipping down to verses 21-23, we read:
And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself" But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'"
Here is the subtle temptation which suddenly came upon Abram. He was met by the king of Sodom, who had somehow escaped capture and was in the city when news came of the triumphant return of Abram with the spoils of war.
On the surface, the king's offer seems a perfectly justifiable reward. Abram had fought his great battle not on behalf of the king of Sodom, but for the sake of Lot and his family. Nevertheless, his victory greatly benefited that whole wicked city. That is why the king was there to meet him. A special welcoming committee had been appointed, headed by the king himself, to confer upon Abram the usual reward for a conquering hero. The king simply asked for the return of the residents of the city; the goods and riches he gratefully offered to Abram. The wealth of Sodom was all to be Abram's!
Now notice the subtlety of this temptation. It appeared so right and proper! Abram could well have said, "This is certainly only what I deserve, and after all, it is the custom to do this. Everyone does it! There are no strings attached. I can take the wealth and go my way back to my tent and altar and never go near Sodom again." Who of us, standing in Abram's shoes, would not have thought like this?
But it was exactly in the apparent freedom of the gift that the peril lay. To a man of Abram's character, it is impossible to accept this kind of a gift without feeling an obligation to the giver. If he had been required to sign some kind of contract, he would have found it easy to say no; but to accept this gift without strings would be to make it exceedingly difficult to say no to anything later on. From that day on the king of Sodom could say, "Abram is indebted to me. If I ever need any military help, I know where I can get it. My man is up there on the hillside." The gift was an insidious threat to the independence of the man who took orders from no one but God. If Abram yielded, he would never be wholly God's man again.
Note the timing of the temptation: it came when he might well be off-guard, enjoying the popularity of the hour. He had earned a few moments of relaxation after the strain of battle, and at this quiet moment in his life the subtle offer came. Have you experienced something like this? I have seen young Christian college students surrounded throughout the school year by subtle and perilous dangers to their faith and fellowship with Jesus Christ, and who maintain proper safeguards, keeping alert, aware of the peril that confronts them. But when they come home on vacation, they let down their guard and there comes some sudden and appalling failure. Satan has chosen that moment to attack.
There is no doubt that the pressure on Abram to accept this gift was very great. It was an expression of gratitude on the part of the king, and I am sure that Abram felt the king would be hurt if he rejected this sincere offer. I have found that many Christians, myself included, have been trapped by the fear of offending someone if we say no. We are troubled about what they will think, and so often very little troubled about what God will think. We fail to realize if we cannot say no now, how can we ever say no after the offer has been accepted and we are indebted to some degree? The easiest time to say no is now!
This is what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12b). That is, the only one I wish to serve is Christ. The only power to which I will yield my life is his. Anything else that threatens to control me or limit me I reject! It may be lawful, it may even be in good standing all around; but if it makes any demand upon me that is not his demand, I do not want it! This is what Abram so beautifully demonstrates here.
He replies to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'" Note the positiveness of that decision. He says, I will take nothing; not a thread, not even a shoestring! I do not care what you offer me, I want nothing. No thing. Period. That settles it! More emphatic language is simply not possible.
And note the solemnity of what he says. This is tremendously important to Abram. It is not some mere passing whim. He says, "I have sworn to the LORD my God." This touches the deepest thing in his life. He takes a solemn vow that he will not touch anything of Sodom's. And how perfectly frank he is: "lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'" In other words he is saying, "I want you to know why I have done this. I can serve only one king at a time, and I want you to understand that I am not concerned for my own enrichment, least of all through you. If it doesn't come to me through my God, to whom I have committed my life, and from whom I have determined to accept whatever he offers, then I don't want it."
It is a bold and positive declaration, is it not? What a clear-cut victory! The subtle trap of the enemy has been uncovered and the danger is safely past. The Lone Ranger escapes unscathed again! Ah, but why? This is what we are interested in. How is it Abram saw through this subtle thing so clearly, and so stoutly resisted those almost overpowering pressures? Now let me put it to you bluntly: If you were in Abrams shoes that day, knowing your own heart, would you have offended the king by rejecting his grateful offer? I am sure my own devious heart would have viewed it as an added bonus from God, as a result of my great faithfulness to him in battle, and I would have accepted Sodom's gift. Abram did not! Yet he was a man like me, of like passions and heart. How, then, could he pass this test so easily? The answer lies in this strange interlude with Melchizedek which we have passed over till now, verses 18-20:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Before the king of Sodom met Abram with his wily offer, Abram had already met with another king, the mysterious Melchizedek. This king steps suddenly out of the shadows, ministers to Abram, and just as suddenly disappears from the pages of Scripture. We never hear another word about him until we come to Psalm 110, where David declares that the Messiah to come is made a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Then another thousand years roll by, and in the book of Hebrews we have another extended reference to this strange individual. Who was Melchizedek? The guesses range from Shem, the son of Noah (who according to some chronologists could of the preincarnate Christ in human form.
All we are definitely told is that he is the king of Salem (which afterwards became Jerusalem) and that he is the priest of the Most High God (Hebrew: El Elyon). His own name means "king of righteousness. " He appears suddenly in the Scriptural record without any mention of father or mother--in a book, remember, replete with genealogies--no birth date, and no subsequent account of his death. These omissions from the record are seized upon by the writer of Hebrews to indicate that since we have no record of his genealogy, this man is a type of the eternal priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ who literally has no beginning or end of days, but who ever lives to make intercession for all those who come unto God by him. Thus, the Melchizedek priesthood is a ministry of help to those who face a time of trouble.
Here, then, is a man who is evidently a Gentile king. The original knowledge of God as the maker and possessor of the heavens and the earth, passed along by Adam to his descendants, has evidently come down to Melchizedek unchanged. He is a worshiper of the true God, and a priest to that true God. In this sublime presentation of Scripture the record shows him in such a way that he becomes a type of our Lord Jesus who is our heavenly Melchizedek, ready to minister to us in our needs. His specific ministry is to reveal El Elyon, the Most High God, the One who owns everything in heaven and on earth. He is the one perfectly adequate to meet any human need. This is what Paul declares in Philippians 4:19: 'And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Now we can see why God led Abram back to his home by way of the King's Valley. The king of Sodom is coming to meet him, but Abram knows nothing of his approach nor of the subtle offer with which he plans to put Abram in his debt. Had he known of it, he may have seen nothing wrong with it, for Abram is not different from you and me. The peril is too subtle to detect; it looks too innocent and attractive. So God sent Melchizedek to meet him!
His first ministry to Abram was to remind him of the character of the God he