Lot gives
the picture of the failure of a believer’s testimony; the utter lack of fruit; the barest minimum of faith.
We turn
to the other picture of growing and increasing faith, and find it closely
linked with a growing and increasing separation. There seems a clearing of the atmosphere when
Lot is at last gone. Abram is now left
alone. He had left his choice with the
Lord. In the eyes of the world doubtless
he would be pronounced a fool — but he was God’s fool.
“And the Lord said unto Abram, AFTER THAT
LOT WAS SEPARATED from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place
where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee
will I give it, and to thy seed for ever (olam,
for the age of undefiled limits). And I
will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the
earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and the breadth of it: for I will give it unto thee” (Gen.xiii.14-17).
Lot chose for
himself and lost. Abram hears God’s
choice and obtained. Surely to each one
of us the contrast is pointed enough to
make us desire to emulate the one and shun the other. Leaving the well-watered plains of this
world, let us stand alone in fellowship with the Lord and hear Him say, “Arise,
walk through the land, in the length of it and the breadth of it”. There are blessings which are ours in Christ,
which we have never yet experienced. Let
us present that “other-worldly” spirit in contrast with the Lots of our time
and explore and appropriate the fulness of blessing that is ours already in
Christ.
It is
doctrinal verity, as much as a record of historical sequence, that Abram did
not hear these words until separation was complete. Separation however must never be considered
merely from one side. Abram was not
simply separated from Lot, but
separated to the Lord. This is indicated in his next movement:--
“Then Abram removed his tent, and came and
dwelt among the oaks belonging to Mamre (brother of Eschol and Aner, xiv. 13)
which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.”
It appears
from Gen. xxiii. 2 that the name of this city was originally
Kirjath-arba, the two names occurring together in the record of Sarah’s
death. Its first name means Strong-hold
of Arba, being built by Anak and the sons of Arba (Josh. xiv. 15; xv.
13). It fell to Caleb, the type of the overcomer,
where its second name again appears as Hebron.
Hebron means “fellowship” or “confederacy”, and was the name given to
the rebuilt city of Kirjath-arba by the Kharibi or allies. The introduction of the name in the case of
Abram emphasizes the typical meaning. Separation from worldliness
meant fellowship, covenant fellowship with the Lord. David
was king in Hebron before he was king over all Israel (II.Sam.ii.11). He also knew the blessing of fellowship even
though not at the time recognized by all his people.
This
twofold character of separation is found in many scriptures, e.g.:--
“Wherefore come out from among them and be
ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I WILL RECEIVE YOU” (II Cor. vi.
17).
“Let us go forth therefore UNTO HIM
without the camp, bearing His reproach, for here have we no continuing city,
but we seek one to come” (Heb. xiii. 13, 14).
Not, let us go forth
without the camp for temperament’s sake, or for misanthropic reasons, but
because He is there. “Unto Him” comes
before “without the camp”.
There is
a great deal of archaeological interest in the chapter that follows this
separation and fellowship of Abraham. We
will not deal with it here, however, but go to the end of the chapter to see
how Abram has progressed along the line of faith. After Abram had delivered Lot and all the
people and goods of Sodom we read:--
“And the king of Sodom went out to meet
him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and the kings that
were with him, at the valley of Shareh, which is the king’s dale; and the king of Sodom said unto Abram, give
me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.’
Now, viewed
from the standpoint of the world, Abram would have been perfectly justified to
have taken his reward. Will he do
so? Does he walk according to the
elements of the world, or does he now walk according to the unseen things of
faith? Before we allow Scripture to
answer, we must go back and insert the parenthesis which we have omitted.
Most
abruptly and strangely the episode of the meeting of Abram and the king of
Sodom is interrupted by the episode of the meeting of Abram and the king of
Righteousness and Peace:--
“And Melchisedec, king of Salem, brought
forth bread and wine, and he was priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram
of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he
(Abram) gave him (Melchisedec) tithes of all” (Gen. xiv. 18-20).
Before Abram is
tempted to sully the separate character of his walk with the goods of Sodom, he
meets with him who was the type of Christ, the High Priest, specially mentioned
in that epistle of perfection and overcoming — Hebrews. Abram’s attitude in chapter xiii.
led him on to victory and greater blessing. Did Lot have such a privilege in his “garden
of the Lord”? Could he have repudiated
the offer of Sodom’s king?
There are
times when the believer learns rapidly and accurately. Such was the condition of Abram. Melchisedec had ministered to Abram the
symbols of covenant-keeping. Melchisedec
had twice spoken of The Most High God, and further, that He was the possessor
of heaven and earth. Melchisedec had
blessed Abram in the name of this Most High God, taught Abram that the great
deliverance that had been accomplished was entirely the work of this Mighty
One, and Abram had recognized the truth and blessedness of all this by giving
tithes of all the booty before ever he returned to Sodom. He was thus equipped to meet the offer of
Sodom’s king:--
“And Abram said to the king of Sodom, i
have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of
heaven and earth (oh, how small the goods of Sodom become by comparison! How small Lot’s choice, with the northward,
southward, eastward and westward of a separate blessing!) that i will not take
from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that i will not take anything that is
thine, lest thou shouldest say, i have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten,
and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eschol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
Abram is
jealous of the glory of God. How marked
a contrast with the sad lapse before Pharaoh.
Abram’s attitude must have been wholly unintelligible to the king of
Sodom, especially as one professing like faith had acted so differently. “The far more exceeding, age abiding, weight
of glory” is in view “while we look not at the things which are seen”. An eye on the well-watered plains or the
goods of Sodom would soon lead to the reasoning that these things were Abram’s
possessions — for had not God Himself given them to him? But no, away with the thought — the blessing
is vitally connected with righteousness and holiness, and to be a pilgrim in
the midst of the earth is our only capacity “till He come”. Greater riches than the treasures of Sodom
are in store for Abram:--
“After these things the word of the Lord
came unto Abram in a great vision, saying, Fear not Abram, I am thy shield and
thy exceeding great reward.”
Great faith
leads us face to face with great reactions.
Abram had exposed himself and made possible enemies by his victory. He had further repudiated legitimate reward,
and to confirm his faith and still his fears, the Lord reveals Himself in the
twofold capacity of shield from enemies, and reward in the place of Sodom’s
repudiated gifts. As the man of faith
goes on in the pilgrim pathway, he learns by blessed experience that his all is
in God. Presently (chapter xvii.) God
will reveal Himself in a yet fuller light as El-Shaddai, God all-sufficient; but for the time being Abram’s faith can rest
satisfied in God His shield and exceeding great reward.
There is
no surer shield and reward for either the writer or the reader, than the same
Most High God, made known to us by Him Who ever liveth at the right hand of the
majesty on high. Oh that we all carried
the name of the Lord so high and so clear that we could always repudiate the
temptations of the world “lest it should say, i have made Abram rich!”. None shall enrich the child of faith but God
alone. The wilderness journey is
designed to teach that man does not live by bread alone.
It is
noticeable, that Abram had his faith “to himself alone”. He did not impose it upon Lot who owed his
life and liberty to his intervention, neither did he allow his own scruples to
rule the attitude of Aner, Eschol and Mamre.
The cause of truth is often hindered by zeal unaccompanied by
knowledge. Think of the offence often
caused by one believer telling another believer that he ought not to take the
Lord’s supper, for instance. In the
first place the probability is that the said believer is blessed under the
terms of the new covenant, and so would be wrong with his present light to
forego the observance.
Then
secondly, the only right that we have to use the word “ought” is with regard to
ourselves. I can say, "I ought not
to observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper" with clear
conscience and scriptural reasons, but this must not be imposed upon any who do
not take the same stand.
Lot,
Aner, Eschol and Mamre were representative of a different class. Abram it was that met Melchisedec, and was
blessed by him. Abram it was who lifted
up his hand to heaven. The others were
ruled by lower laws, that could not be imposed upon the man of faith, and
conversely could not be displaced except by like precious faith. What Israel did by faith, the Egyptians
‘assaying to do” were destroyed.
May we
all learn increasingly the blessing of a closer walk with God our shield and
exceeding great reward.
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