Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
God said “let there be Light,” and there was Light.
God said “enter the Promised Land,” and Abram and the people he brought entered the Promised Land with him.
This sounds like the Gospel. This is very good news, indeed.
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:5 (NKJV)
The text says that Abram brought with him the “people he had acquired.” It is literally translated “the souls he made.”
The rabbis see this as “converts” in the Midrash. I suspect the Christian might see it that way, too.
But what I see is an echo of God creating.
Perhaps Abram was invited to be a part of the creation process – to breathe spiritual Life into otherwise dead people.
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:5 (NKJV)
The translators note the word “people” in Genesis 12:5 is not actually “people. ” Rather it means “souls” or “living beings,” which is a strange way to describe people.
But stranger yet is that the word “acquired” here does not mean “acquired.” The word is עָשָׂה (asah). It means to MAKE.
As in, “and God made,” which points us back to Genesis 1.
They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
Genesis 14:12 (NASB)
When the kings of Empires captured Lot, the rabbis suggest that they knew exactly who Lot was, and that perhaps they could demand a ransom for him from Abraham.
ויקחו את לוט בן אחי אברם, they made a special effort to capture Lot because he was Avram’s nephew. They were aware of his wealth. They were expecting that Avram would pay a heavy ransom for the release of his nephew.
Sfnorno on Genesis 14:12:1
Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.
Genesis 13:9 (NASB)
אם השמאל ואימינה IF THOU WILT TAKE THE LEFT HAND, THAN I WILL GO TO THE RIGHT —Wherever you settle down I will not go far from you and I will stand by you as a shield and as a helper. Ultimately, indeed, he (Lot) was really in need of him, as it is said, (Genesis 14:14) “And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive etc.”
Rashi Genesis 13:9:1
There are two lessons that jump out.
Then he proceeded from there 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 upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 12:8 (NASB)
And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 13:3-4 (NASB)
First, repeating things is a way to highlight the story. It’s underlined, bolded, italicized and blinking: REMEMBER THIS! A great famine will drive the people of God into Egypt, where a Pharaoh will take what is not his. But remember God’s mighty hand; you will be rescued. Remember!
Second, the rabbis say that “called upon the name of the Lord” can mean that Abram preached. He told people who God was.
But imagine how different his preaching was before and after being in Egypt. What lessons has Abram learned? Experience, suffering, seeing God rescue… these things change a person. They grow a person.
After the first altar, Abram is still willing to let his barren wife be taken away, fearing for his own life.
After the second altar, he is willing to accept a barren land, allowing Lot to take the fertile plain of the Jordan, trusting that God can turn barrenness into fruitfulness.
Some suggest that Abram’s herdsmen were the instigators, believing themselves entitled to Abram’s blessing, to the exclusion of Lot’s family and herdsmen.
Perhaps they’re all to blame.
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
Genesis 13:7 (NASB)
But this is also a story about “strife.” In Hebrew, this is “reeb,” and means “contention,” or “debate.” It’s often used to describe the kind of dispute that requires an impartial judge to step in and give wisdom.
Sometimes there is no “right” answer. There is only God’s wisdom.
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
Genesis 13:8 (NIV)
Look:
Therefore [Pharaoh] treated Abram well for her sake; and he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
Genesis 12:16 (NASB)
The Hebrew writers want you to know something. This word “rich” in v2 is “kabad.” It can mean “rich,” but it also carries the connotation of “heavy.” Burdened. Slowed. It’s not entirely good.
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.
Genesis 13:2 (NASB)
Later, we’ll read about Hagar, who is one of those possessions. I think we’d agree that a concubine leads to trouble.
But also, this passage in Genesis 13 is almost immediately followed by the land being unable to “bear the weight” of Lot and Abe’s posessions. Again – “heavy.” Burdened. This leads to another problem in the story.
And yet… it seems that God blesses, despite our possessions.
Perhaps Abram is clinging to God’s perpetual promise: “be fruitful and multiply.” We know from the previous chapter that Sarai is barren, so Abram has no children. No heir of his own, so maybe Lot is the natural successor. Abram might be doing everything to keep his heir safe, thinking that God intends to use Lot to carry out the blessing.
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
Genesis 13:1 (NASB)
After Abram and Lot separate, God reveals that He’s going to make the barren land bountiful, and we’re given a clue. This appears as a foreshadowing about how God will accomplish His blessings through a barren woman. Abram will have an heir of his own.
May God always surprise us with the way He accomplishes His blessings.