Genesis 12:10-13:18

Genesis 12:10-13:18 (English Standard Version) (If time is short, focus on Genesis 13:1-18)

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, ¹²and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake." ¹⁴When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸So Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go." ²⁰And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Separate

¹So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³And 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, ⁴to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. ⁵And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, ⁷ and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

⁸Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. ⁹ 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." ¹⁰And 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.)¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. ¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. ¹³Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

¹⁴The 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, ¹⁵for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. ¹⁷Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." ¹⁸So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Pastor's Commentary:

Our text today has basically two parts. First, Abram and Sarai go down into Egypt because of a famine. There, God's promise of blessing the entire earth through Abram's offspring through Sarai is put in jeopardy. Abram, showing a lack of faith in God's protection, fears the Egyptians will take Sarai from him and kill him. He therefore tells Sarai to say that she is his sister. She was very beautiful, so she was taken into Pharaoh's house, presumably to be one of Pharaoh's wives.

But God intervened. God afflicted Pharaoh and his household on account of Sarai. Even now this points forward to another time when the children of Israel would be in jeopardy in Egypt and how God would save them by afflicting the house of Pharaoh. Pharaoh ordered no one to touch Abram and Sarai as they left.

Even when we exhibit a weak faith, God is able to protect us and care for us. But we really ought to trust God's Promises. Abram had no reason to be afraid. God saved him and his wife for the sake of their offspring, through whom the entire world would be blessed. Jesus is Abram's offspring, and so are you and I by faith in Jesus. We too are heirs of the promise of God.

In Genesis 13 we see the second part of our text. This is a happy time for the people in Abram's party. They are coming up out of Egypt. They enter into the land of promise, and Abram worships God at the very place where he was before. But then there are problems again. There was strife between Abram's servants and Lot's servants. Abram and Lot were both rich with many flocks and herds, and the land could not support both of them. Abram lets Lot pick where Lot wanted to go. Lot saw the plains of Sodom and decided to go there. Abram went into the hill country of Canaan.

There God gave Abram a great promise! Abram's descendants would possess the land, and more importantly they would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. Abram was to walk the length and breadth of the land, kind of like scouting out a piece of property, as a testimony to the fact that God would do this.

God has also assured us through Jesus Christ our Savior, who is Abram's promised descendant. Again, through Jesus we are the inheritors of all the promises. Forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, and even heaven itself are ours through Him.