So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev,
along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. (Abram was very rich
in livestock, silver, and gold.) From the Negev, they continued traveling
by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai,
where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had
built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.
Lot,
who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep
and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. But the land could not support
both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close
together. So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At
that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
Finally
Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our
herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! The whole countryside is
open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will
separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the
right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
Lot
took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of
Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of
Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah.) Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the
east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company
with his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot
moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But
the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.
After
Lot had gone, the Lord said
to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east
and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and
your descendants [seed*] as a permanent
possession. And I will give you so many descendants [seed*] that, like the
dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in
every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
So
Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to
Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.
But
God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever
Sarah tells you, for
ISAAC is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
* in Hebrew
~ Source:
Genesis 13:1-18, 21:12; [Holy Bible - NLT] from https://www.biblegateway.com
~ For further reading:
1. http://www.letgodbetrue.com/bible/prophecy/seed-of-abraham.php
2.
http://www.bibletrack.org/cgi-bin/bible.pl?incr=0&mo=1&dy=22#God
No comments:
Post a Comment