Seder 11: Genesis 12-13---Separating from Lot

 The biblical narrator often reports the actions of the characters without giving explicit moral evaluations of those actions.  That leaves plenty of room for readers to second guess the characters.  

For example, in Genesis 12:1 God instructs Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."  

Verse 4 reports Abram's response:  "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him."  Abram was certainly obedient in leaving his country.  But in taking his nephew Lot along, had he really left his kindred and father's house behind?  

Abram and Lot later part ways after disputes between their herdsmen make it advisable for them to separate.  It is after that separation that God affirms the promise of the land to Abram (Ge 13:14-18).  

In a 2011 paper in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament ("Rethinking the Place and Purpose of Genesis 13") scholar Dan Rickett suggests that the timing of this promise is not a coincidence.  After Lot's departure, Abram has complied fully with the directive of Genesis 12:1.

We are not told why Abram brought Lot along in the first place.  By the time that Abram left, we know that Lot's father Haran had died (Ge 11:27-29), and apparently Abram's father Terah had also died (Acts 7:4).  Perhaps Abram felt responsible for Lot.  

One midrash proposes that Lot insisted on going along with Abram, as Lot's descendant Ruth later would with Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17).  At that point, according to this proposal, Lot wanted to be Abram's disciple.  In this scenario Abram was justified in bringing Lot along on his journey.  

But those who adopt this scenario then have to explain the later parting of the ways between Abram and Lot.  For example, Joseph Soloveitchik proposes that something changed during their time in Egypt.  When they came out of Egypt with greater wealth, Lot may have become more interested in growing his fortune than in blessing the nations, leading to his separation from Abram.  

Seder 11 Sermon: A Famine...or a Plague

Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8) is a model of intercession.  He calls upon God to hear the prayers of his people in time of need, much as in Psalm 33:18-22. 

In his sermon on Seder 11, Kyle Kettering noted that times of trial do not bring out the best in us.  We may react in fear and distrust, as Abram did in a time of famine (Gen 12:10-13). 

What we should do instead in time of trial is to pray like Solomon, empathizing and interceding for those who are suffering and in need.  Kyle noted the punishment in Ezekiel 9 of those who were not sighing and groaning over the sins of Jerusalem in Ezekiel's day.  He also pointed to the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15), who might be viewed as lacking compassion.  Kyle urged us to never lose our compassion for human suffering when our lives are filled with such goodness. 

Seder 11: Gen 12-13--The Promise in Peril

At some point after Abram and Sarai arrived in the land of Canaan, they left during a time of severe famine and sought refuge in Egypt.  Fearing that the Pharaoh would have him killed in order to add Sarai to the royal harem, Abram pretended that Sarai was just his sister, not his wife.  Pharaoh then proceeded to add Sarai to his harem (Gen 12:10-16)

Abram's deception put his wife in great danger and jeopardized the future of his family.  But God intervened, striking Pharaoh with plagues because he had abducted Sarai.  Pharaoh then reprimanded Abram and threw them out of Egypt (vv 17-20).

In this episode we see an example of how God would deal with people according to their treatment of Abram's family.  Pharaoh threatened that family and suffered as a result.  We also see that God's promise to Abram depends upon his grace, not upon Abram's goodness.

This passage in Gen 12-13 also foreshadows the later Exodus.  Abram and Sarai travel to Egypt during a time of famine, as Jacob would later.  They are in danger there, as the Israelites would later be enslaved.  Pharaoh suffers plagues, as Egypt would later.  Abram and his family are thrown out of Egypt with great wealth (12:16; 13:2), as the Israelites would be later.  And Abram then journeys by stages (13:3), as the Israelites would on the Exodus (Num 33:1).  The repetition of exodus themes in the Bible sends the message that God is consistent.  As he has acted in the past, so he will act again in the future.

Back in the land of Canaan with increased wealth, Abram and Lot needed to spread out to provide more room for their flocks.  The strife among their herdsmen (13:7) foreshadowed later strife between Israelites and Moabites.  Lot chose to go east to a fertile area near Sodom and Gomorrah, a move that looked good at the time.  But as has been the case so far in the book of Genesis, people run into trouble when they head east in a direction away from the Promised Land. 

Here some have seen an analogy between Gen 13:10 and Gen 3:6.  In Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that the forbidden fruit looked good and gave it a try.  In Genesis 13:10, Lot saw that the Jordan Valley looked good and decided to go there.

Abram acts as peacemaker, reminding us of Matt 5:9.

After Abram and Lot parted ways, God reaffirmed the promise of the land (13:14-17).

Seder 11: Psalm 33---Singing a New Song

Psalm 33 is a song of community praise for both past and present manifestations of God's love.  It may have been used originally in congregational singing at the fall festivals of Israel.

At the start of this psalm the righteous and upright (those submitted to God who trust in his love and deliverance) are exhorted to "shout for joy in the LORD".

The congregation rejoices in the fact that God's word and works and faithful and true and show his love (vv. 4-5).

Specifically, they praise God's work of creation through his word, both his spoken word and the incarnate Word (John 1, Heb 1:1-3).  They praise God's omniscience and omnipotence, and his care for his covenant people.

Psalm 33 calls upon the congregation to "sing to him a new song" (v 3).  The words of the psalm are familiar, but their praise is renewed by their fresh experience of God's love.  At the end of the psalm, the congregation prays that God's love toward them will continue, as it always has (vv 20-22).