Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13:1–18
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Having failed the Lord, Abraham leaves Egypt with his family and possessions; a sad but wiser man. No doubt he made a choice and promised himself he would never again step out of the will of God. We see 3 characteristics in the life of Abraham that are characteris­tic of a spiritual man:

1. Separation - “And Abraham, who was very rich, went up out of Egypt” (v. 1). The first mark of a spiritual man is Biblical separation from the world.

2. Sanctification - “He went . . . even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning” (v. 3). Sanctification is not so much “separation from” as it is “separation unto.” It is keeping as far away from the world as possible.

3. Sacrifice - Abraham came “unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at an earlier date: and there called on the name of the Lord” (v. 4).This symbolizes his choice of readiness for any sacrifice that God might ask of him.

In contrast to the characteristics of a spiritual man which we find in Abraham, the characteristics of a carnal man are found in Lot (vv. 5-15):

1. Weak Devotions - Lot did not have an altar or a time of waiting on God (v. 4).

2. Worldly Desires - Lot was more concerned about having a good place to graze his cattle than a good place to raise his children (v. 10).

3. Wrong Decisions - Lot chose to pitch his tent toward wicked Sodom rather than keeping in touch with his godly uncle (v. 12).

Abraham moved to Mamre at Hebrom where he built an Altar for the Lord (vv. 16-18).

Application

We face some of the same choices that Abraham and Lot faced in life. I can either follow the Lord or surrender to the pull of the world.