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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
From the Negev, he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s.
The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
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. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.
The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:1-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After his time in Egypt, Abram took his wife Sarai, nephew Lot, and went back through the Negev “from place to place” before finally settling in between Bethel and Ai “where his tent had been earlier” and where he “built an altar”. Because of his time in Egypt, the scriptures tell us that Abram “had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold”. It was there that “Abram called on the name of the Lord”.
Now, everything seemed fine at this point. Abram, Sarai, and his nephew Lot were back in Canaan, the land God had promised but as we will see in our passage for today, things began to go south before long.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s.
The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
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. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.
The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord. Vv.5-18
Here, we begin to see where tensions began to happen between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. The problem was in trying to share land when both parties had possessions that were so great that the land couldn’t support them both. It didn’t take long before problems began to arise between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen.
Now Abram, the elder of the two, could have very well just told his nephew Lot to leave the land if he could not get his herdsmen under control but he didn’t. Instead, he sought to compromise and come up with an arrangement that would satisfy the needs of both parties. And so he proposes that they part company but does so in a way that shows he is willing to work with Lot to ensure the matter gets resolved properly.
"Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
In this proposal, we see Abram giving Lot the first choice as to where he would like to settle and he chose the fertile Jordan plain. This allowed Abram to remain in Canaan.
The conflict was resolved effectively with everyone getting something they could work and live with.
The scriptures show us that there was more to come in this matter because we read where the Lord entered in and once again bestowed blessings on Abram saying:
“Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
Through this, we get a sense that Abram, who had just shown sin and failure in Egypt, had once gotten back into good graces with His God by the way he had handled the dispute with his nephew. Not only was Abram going to be blessed but so would his offspring who would succeed him in Canaan. Having received the blessing from God, scripture tells us that Abram moved “to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron”, the location “where he pitched his tents” and then “built an altar to the Lord”.
Through this story, the Word of God gives us several key take-aways from Abram and the way he handled conflict:
1. Always be willing to work with the person you’re in conflict with.
Too many problems are doomed from resolution because either one party or the other are not willing to work matters out. Abram did not hesitate to engage Lot right away on the land conflict. He use dialogue that was cooperative vice provoking saying, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers." His compromising attitude set the stage for a settlement.
2. Use a language and attitude that fosters productive negotiation toward resolving disharmony.
From the very beginning, Abram used an attitude and language that was non-confrontational. You can go a long way toward diffusing negative attitudes and language by staying positive and collaborative. Typically, anger begets anger when two people are in dispute. Conversely, I have found that peace begets peace. As believers, we are to allow the Holy Spirit sow His fruits and two of those are peace and self control. We see both of these in Abram’s negotiation behavior.
3. Humility and a willingness to compromise are vital to resolving conflict.
Abram was willing to let Lot choose the land he wanted first even though he was the elder. Abram knew that all the land was useful and no one was going to be a loser in his proposal to part company. Yet by allowing Lot first choice, he showed he was willing to do whatever he could to resolve the problem at hand, even be self sacrificing. The result was an easy settlement and family peace.
4. The Lord favors effective use of humility and compromise to resolve matters.
Abram’s actions led to the Lord renewing His blessings, not only on himself but his offspring as well. When we seek common ground out of a willingness to work with others, we find that the Lord sends blessings, as long as our concessions don’t violate Him and His principles.
In the end translation, conflict is inevitable in our lives whether it is in our families, amongst friends, in the work place, or even in instances with strangers. How we conduct ourselves when we are in the midst of these circumstances can make all the difference in whether we are able to reach resolution or be mired in the pain and agony of discord.
Through Abram, we’re reminded that humbleness and conciliation are at the heart of effectively solving contention. The Lord expects these qualities to be at the center of our hearts as well as we deal with our own differences with others.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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