LESSON VI.--FEBRUARY 6.

LOT'S CHOICE.--GENESIS 13:1-13.

      GOLDEN TEXT.--Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.--MATT. 6:33.
      TIME.--About B.&nbp;C. 1917.
      PLACE.--Southeastern Palestine.
      HELPFUL READINGS.--Gen. 12:10-20; Gen. 14:1-12; Gen. 19:12-28; Luke 17:28-32; 2 Peter 2:4-11.
      LESSON ANALYSIS.--1. Strife between Brethren; 2. A Patriarch's Greatness of Soul; 3. A Selfish Choice.

INTRODUCTION.

      How many years passed between the entrance into Palestine and the separation from Lot, narrated in this lesson, cannot be told. During the interval Abraham, accompanied by Lot and all his flocks and tribe, had been compelled to take refuge in Egypt from a famine that prevailed in Palestine. The failure of rain would soon convert a country that depended on pasturage into a parched waste, incapable of supporting flocks, and they would have to be driven elsewhere, or die. Egypt, watered by the Nile, and irrigated, was renowned even at this early period, nearly 4,000 years ago, for its fertility, a reputation it has maintained to this day. It was also distinguished, already, for its civilization. The pyramids, according to the best authorities, were built 800 years before the visit of Abraham, and it is possible that he looked upon these renowned structures. At this period some chronologists have placed the domination in Egypt of a foreign race--the Hyksos--probably Arabians, called by Egyptians, "The Shepherd Kings," who conquered and occupied the country. These would recognize in Abraham a man more nearly allied to them by his pursuits than the native Egyptians.

      Abraham was a man of wonderful nobility when we contrast him with the age in which he lived, in most respects saintly in his life, yet there are a few faults that show that he was a real man, rather than an ideal character of fiction. One of these is revealed in the deception to which he is led by his fears, in a lawless age, during his Egyptian visit. He should have gone squarely forward, without regard to consequences, and trusted to the protection of God. If a grain of weakness is revealed here, it is more than counterbalanced by the magnanimity displayed in his treatment of Lot.

      I. STRIFE BETWEEN BRETHREN.--I. Abram went up out of Egypt. It cannot be told how long he remained in Egypt, in the time of his grandson to [46] become the home, and finally the house of bondage of his race. Pharaoh, as the king was always entitled, just as we call the Russian ruler the Czar, acted with integrity and justice toward Abraham, and sent him away with all he had. The distinguished treatment, the immediate prominence, the desire to secure Sarah for the wife of the king, all serve to show that Abraham was no obscure or insignificant character. He was himself a prince, the name of his wife means "princess," and he moved, wherever he went, as a great pastoral chieftain, with numerous retainers. Lot with him. It is not stated that Lot went into Egypt, but this passage shows that he did. After the death of his father, Haran, he seems to have become a member of the family of Abraham, who probably became his guardian. He had followed his uncle in the march to Canaan, continued to live with him, though having separate possessions, and went down with him into Egypt. Into the South. Not the south of Egypt, but of Palestine. On the return from his sojourn abroad, he would enter Palestine from the southwest.

      2. Abram was very rich. He was already a man of great substance before his sojourn in Egypt, but Gen. 12:16 seems to teach that Pharaoh had added to his wealth. The nature of his wealth is described; like that of all oriental chiefs it consisted, to a great extent, of flocks; but to these had been added, probably by sales from his herds, silver and gold. By these terms we must not understand coined money, for at this early age these precious metals were circulated by weight. When Abraham bought the cave of Macpelah he gave a certain weight of silver. "He weighed . . 400 shekels of silver, current with the merchant."--Gen. 23:16.

      3. He went on his journey from the south, even to Bethel. Literally, "he went according to his removings," that is, by encampments, pausing at each until the pasturage grew scanty, and then moving on. Bethel seems to have been the goal towards which he was moving--a favorite spot, because of its religious associations. The very name means "the house of God."

      4. Unto the place of the altar. To the spot where he had reared an altar, and conducted solemn worship, years before (Gen. 12:8). His heart doubtless longed for his first love, in the land of promise, and to get back to the sweet memorial places where he had communed with God. He had been an exile, and it was a delight to worship once more at the spots endeared [47] by the divine presence. There, as during his former sojourn, "he called on the name of Jehovah," solemnly worshiped the Lord under his revealed name. He kept up the faith of his family and dependents by public recognition of Jehovah, the one eternal God.

      5. And Lot also . . had flocks, and herds, and tents. Separate possessions and great property. A part he might have inherited from his father, and these would increase rapidly during the years of his sojourn.

      6. And the land was not able to bear them. Lot had shared Abraham's prosperity. They had come up out of Egypt with larger herds and flocks, and more "tents" for their numerous retainers. The land may not have fully recovered from the effects of the drought that had caused the famine; at any rate there was insufficient pasturage for such vast herds. These, scattered over the hills by thousands, would soon exhaust the grass anywhere within reach of the encampment, and their interests demanded a separation.

      7. And there was strife between the herdsmen. The servants of each chieftain, zealous for their master's interest, would seek the supplies of water and the best pastures, for the cattle of which they had charge. Conflicting interests would produce collisions, and they came to blows. And the Canaanite and Perizzite were then in the land. This statement is made in order that the danger which strife would cause may be apparent. It was needful that the two kinsmen be united and strong, lest they should be attacked by the half-savage inhabitants. The dwellers of the country, in that age, were not numerous, and under ordinary circumstances would not dare to molest such powerful chieftains as Abraham and Lot.

      II. A PATRIARCH'S GREATNESS OF SOUL.--8. Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me. Had Abraham been less noble and magnanimous, there was an excellent opportunity for a bloody conflict and a permanent [48] alienation between the two families; the strife had already begun; the rude herdsmen were ready to assert the interests of their masters by weapons; but Abraham instantly takes the initiative to maintain the peace. His example is worthy of imitation by all men of peace in every age. If all would exhibit the same spirit quarrels would cease. "The father of the faithful appealed to Lot in language that might well extend beyond the strife of herdsmen and shepherds, to the strife of pastors and teachers in many a church and nation."--Stanley. He who is the superior, who has the right, has the promises and the advantages every way, can well afford to take the initiative in securing peace. The earnest importunity of Abraham is remarkable. For we be brethren. Abraham was Lot's kinsman; they were both Chaldeans in a strange land. They were not only of the same blood and family, but of the same religion. Even the fact that they were brothers, in the sense of nationality, was a strong motive to friendship in a strange country, occupied by unscrupulous tribes, and it was a still higher reason that they were religious brethren. Would that all Christians would see in the fact that "they were brethren" a prohibition of strife!

      9. Is not the whole land before thee? The land of Canaan had been given to Abraham and his seed; he had the divine charter for its possession. He was the patriarch of the tribe, and in every way the superior, yet he offers to yield his rights and give to Lot the first choice. It is the true Christian spirit to "prefer one another," to "seek not our own." He could have said: "The land is mine by divine right. If it is not large enough for you and me, you must seek another country." That would have been the spirit of the world. But, instead, he proposes for Lot to choose what he wants, and he will take what is left. Separate thyself. The time had come for separation. Lot and his descendants were to form no part of the chosen nation. He was to become the ancestor of the two tribes of the Moabites and Ammonites, who settled in later times east of the Jordan. It was the policy of Jehovah to separate those not of Israel, until the time came for the expansion of the nation. Thus Lot, Ishmael and Esau were all separated.

      III. A SELFISH CHOICE.--10. And Lot lifted up his eyes. Instead of [49] reciprocating the magnanimity of one to whom he was so much indebted, Lot determined to accept the offer and to make the most out of it possible. Therefore he "lifted up his eyes" to survey the country. From the mountain heights of Bethel, it was only necessary to "lift up his eyes," in order to see the whole country. "From the spot where they were negotiating, the mountain summit east of Bethel, under its grove of oaks where the tent was pitched, Lot looked down upon the green valley of the Jordan--its tropical luxuriance visible even from thence--beautiful and well-watered as that garden of Eden, of which the fame still lingered in their Chaldean hills, or as the valley of the Nile, where they had so lately sojourned. He chose the rich soil, and with it the corrupt civilization, which had grown up in the rank climate of that steep descent, and once more turned his face to the eastward, and left to Abraham the hardship, the glory and the virtues of the rugged hills, and the sea breezes, and the inexhaustible future of western Palestine. It was Abraham's, henceforward; he was to arise and walk through the length and the breadth of it, for God had given it to him. This was the first appropriation, the first consecration of the Holy Land."--Stanley. Behold all the plain. The valley of the Jordan, with the rich lands of its lower course. Well watered everywhere. In the thirsty East water is regarded as the greatest of earthly blessings. Where there is water, there is fertility; where it is absent, there is desert. The Jordan, with its tributaries, in that tropical climate, converted the valley into a garden of vegetation. The garden of Eden was watered with four rivers, Egypt by the Nile; the luxuriant valley of the Jordan reminded of these. Until thou comest unto Zoar. Zoar was a city at the southern terminus of the valley, and the fertility extended until Zoar was reached.

      11. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan. In choosing this rich valley and excluding his uncle from it, Lot fancied that he had made a crafty choice. It was a selfish choice, an unwise choice, and the turning point of his own life downward. Henceforth misfortunes accumulate; he is made a captive by marauders and his property taken; he has to flee from Sodom to escape its fate and loses his wife; his history closes in shame. This plain is a great cleft from one to eight miles wide, by 120 long, and from 1000 to 2000 feet deep, lying at the Dead Sea 1316 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. They separated themselves. Abraham is henceforth separated from all earthly relations and stands by himself as the representative of his race in the land destined for them.

      12. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan. As distinguished from the valley of [50] the Jordan, being the portion of Palestine between the valley and the Mediterranean Sea. At a later period the term had a wider signification and took in Gilead, east of the Jordan. Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain. The cities of the Jordan Valley. These were five in number, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar, and located in the vale of Siddim, supposed to be partly covered now by the lower and shallow portion of the Dead Sea. And pitched his tent towards Sodom. Literally, "Tented unto or at Sodom." Probably a more disgusting wickedness never prevailed in any place than in Sodom, yet Lot, in the hope of gain, was willing to make it his residence. No religious man, in choosing a home, ought to disregard his social surroundings.

      13. The men of Sodom were wicked. "Lot had fallen into the very vortex of vice and blasphemy. The vices which prevailed have made 'Sodom' the synonym of the most degrading and brutal crimes in society. The after history of its destruction shows the vile and unblushing vices of the people, which, made their cup of iniquity brimful, and called for the vengeance of heaven."--Jacobus.

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

      A STRIFE AROSE.--In a country where the land is yet an unenclosed common and no one has a legal title, often the fiercest conflicts arise between herdsmen with different flocks. The only title to pastures and waters is that of force. Fierce conflicts have often arisen between the "cowboys" on our western plains, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, and many lives have been lost because "the land could not bear them all." Not long since, the newspapers noted a bloody struggle between the "cowboys" and the shepherds in which several lives were sacrificed.

      THE CANAANITE AND PERIZZITE.--Strife is always an evil, full of danger and full of woe, but it is especially to be deplored when enemies are near at hand ready to leap upon those weakened in the conflict. The church should realize that "the Canaanite and Perizzite" are always in the land; enemies gloat over the conflicts of those who should be the closest friends. The enemies of Christ prosper through the conflicts of Christians. If all could be one, even as the Son and the Father are one, unbelief would cease.

      LOT'S CHOICE.--No doubt Lot congratulated himself that he had done a clever thing in getting the choice of Palestine, but he over-reached himself. He was led by greed to take a right that belonged to Abraham, to go into the valley of Jordan, and to settle among the wicked. By grasping overmuch he lost all, and was indebted even for liberty to the intervention and rescue of Abraham. His selfish choice was the first step to ruin.

      PITCHED HIS TENT TOWARD SODOM.--Abraham and Lot are the representatives of two classes of men. On one side are the friends of God, who [51] will remain about Bethel, or raise a Bethel wherever they go. On the other side is a numerous class who care little for aught save that they shall have a goodly, profitable and pleasant land. They do not intend to come to a bad end and never expect to have homes in the doomed city that they see afar oft, with the dark clouds of destruction hovering over it, but when told to make their choice they see that the land is fair to the eye, promises profit and pleasure, and they rush at once to occupy it. It is true that they know that Sodom is on the borders of the land they choose, but they never intend to go there. They never purpose to fall so low, yet they will pitch their tents nearer and nearer to the wicked city, daily mingling with its ungodly inhabitants, until at last, almost before they know it, they have moved out of the plain, are out of their tents, and have homes in the wicked and doomed city.

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

      1. Observe the great caravan moving slowly from Egypt to Bethel; why to Bethel, and what was done there. 2. Note the various passages that Speak of Abraham's "calling on the name of the Lord" and what they mean. 3. Point out the two chieftains, the rival interests, the grounds for strife, the fierce conflicts that still arise for water and grass. 4. Emphasize Abraham's noble example; so condescending, so patient, so unselfish, so magnanimous. Note also that his nobility was recorded. He was kept out of the track of invasion and war. A good example for a Christian in any age. 5. Note Lot's selfishness, contrast with what he ought to have done, show that it led to his ruin. Draw conclusion that selfishness does not pay. It pays to do right and be noble. 6. Observe the associations chosen by Lot. See the effect on his wife and daughters. Evil communications corrupt good manners. The conclusion is, "Not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or to sit in the seat of the scornful, or stand in the way of sinners. 7. Point out the fate of wicked Sodom, and show that wherever any people becomes utterly depraved it will be delivered over to destruction.

Source: Barton Warren Johnson. The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1887. Des Moines, IA: