David Bahn – Reflections

For your personal meditation and edification this Lord’s Day

Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Psalm 34:1-3
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

Psalm 64:1-4
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.

Psalm 94:12-15
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the LORD will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalm 124
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

About this time war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim ² fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).

³ This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.

⁵ One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸ Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea. ⁹ They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. ¹¹ The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. ¹² They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned.

¹³ But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies.

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan.¹⁵ There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.¹⁶ Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. – Genesis 14:1-16

Suellen has a bigger heart than I do. She would always take the phone calls. And no matter what the situation, the need, the person, she would listen. And she would take their needs to heart. I must admit, I was more often skeptical. If ever she expressed reservations, I would know…it is a scam. 

Thank God there are Suellens in the world. Otherwise we would all be poorer for it. Too often we want to dismiss the needy. We too easily look the other way when we stop by the homeless person at the intersection. It’s much easier to ignore the needy, dismiss the panhandler, forget the captive. Easier, but such an approach is not the way of the reign and rule of God. 

When Abram hears of Lot’s misfortune he sets out to rescue him. True, Lot is a relative. True they had been through some challenging times, and have a shared story together. But Abram had given Lot the choice of which land he would occupy. Lot had chosen that place near Sodom and Gomorrah. It could well be a case of you’ve made your bed, now lay in it. Abram, however, doesn’t go down that path. Instead he chooses to muster his resources and rescue his nephew. 

What do you do when you see someone in need? The choices are several…

• Ignore them. Don’t let their pain get to you.
• Blame them. It’s their own fault. They’ve made their bed…
• Pile on. Make it worse for them since they’ve obviously done something wrong.
• Come to their rescue. This is the kingdom choice. This is how God works.

God is a God of redemption, and whenever we move toward someone in need, and bring them to safety, we are reflecting his character. We are joining him on his mission. For God is the original rescuer. 

This is one way to consider Jesus’ death. He took it all in: all our sins, all our sorrows, all our rebellion, all our pain, all our self-destructive decisions, all our waywardness. He took all these into his heart. He didn’t turn away. He embraced all of our pain, and it killed him. He did that because he loves us. He did that to redeem and rescue us from sin, death, and the devil’s destructive powers. 

Abram is reflecting God’s character when he comes to Lot’s aid. He is not only, therefore, the father of faith, but a foreshadowing of The Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post. 

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When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. ¹⁵ He split up his men to attack them at night. He defeated them, pursuing them all the way to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back everything they had, including women and soldiers. He also brought back his relative Lot and his possessions. – Genesis 14:14-16

My dad built a somewhat unusual looking swing set for us. It was two long pipes, cemented into the ground, sticking straight up into the air. Across the top was a heavy beam – smaller than a rail road tie. And from that beam were hung two chains. The seat for the swing was at the bottom. I don’t remember using it much as a swing. But I do remember playing Rescue-8 with my next door neighbor, rescuing my sister who was able to shiny up the pole to the top of the swing set!

Rescue-8 was a TV program about a group of firemen who had the assignment to rescue people from perilous situations. An elderly clock maker was trapped in the chime tower of a church and in danger of getting caught in the mechanism he was trying to repair. A girl was trapped in the sewer of a city. A woman and boy were trapped atop a Ferris wheel. All these people needed rescuing. And the Rescue-8 team was there to save the day.

Lot and his family needed rescuing. They had been taken captive by warring kings in the area. We’re not told any more than that. But we are told that Abram and his 318 trained men managed to rescue them and return them to their home – along with their possessions and those of Sodom and Gomorrah. Rescue-318!

I had never given it much thought, but now I wonder about life after rescue. Is it like the lottery winners who are flat broke within years of winning the lottery? Or is it more like the newly-discovered AGT winner who goes on to major recording contracts and a life of fame and fortune? 

In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, the sad answer will be revealed as the coming events unfold. They will be destroyed. For, as was already pointed out, “the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). Lot, on the other hand is a mixed bag. Abram will manage to save him from the fiery destruction of Sodom, but Lot’s wife will meet a dramatic end. 

In some cases, the rescue of sinners from the deceitful and destructive devices of the devil is equally dramatic. I’m thinking of the stories of drug addicts, prostitutes, and gang members whose lives and souls have been saved through the ministry of Jim Cymbala at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

I recall the man who was living in his truck, estranged from his wife, and so strung out on drugs one Sunday that he didn’t know what to do with the host during the Lord’s Supper. He was rescued by the grace of God and even served as an elder for the church I served at the time. There are countless others, many of whom go on to live to the glory of God and as powerful testimony of the far-reaching grace of God. Sadly, however, some crash and burn. Their character proves not strong enough to handle the success and influence they are given. 

But what about those of us whose rescue was not nearly as dramatic? What of the life-long Christians, the faithful followers who have no dramatic conversion experience? They, too, have been rescued. Many of those who read this blog are likely of that kind. What will be your legacy? Will you stay on the path of god’s grace or make shipwreck of your faith (cf. 1 Timothy 1:19). 

So, I join St. Paul in praying…

…that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:9-14

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post. 

But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies.

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan.¹⁵ There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.¹⁶ Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. – Genesis 14:13-16

I’m much more of a fisherman than a catcher-man. My sons took me on a fishing charter for my 60th birthday. I was the only one who caught a fish, but it was an ugly fish. I think that was actually its name! It was ugly. Recent forays into the fishing world have seen me casting, reeling, and coming up empty. Our neighbors have more luck. We have a pond in our neighborhood with fish, and my down-the-street neighbor caught two nice largemouth bass just the other night. I can’t even brag about the one that got away. 

In the events surrounding Lot’s captivity and rescue, the one that got away is key. Although the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were taken captive, and some of their kings apparently fell into tar pits in the nearby area, one got away. And he came and told Abram about the routing, and Lot’s calamity. He was key to the turn of events in this episode. Without his escape the story would not unfold as it did. 

The one who got away may be the one worker in the office who survived the pink slip deluge, and was able to warn others that it was coming. She may be the one who managed to alert her friends to a proposed change in the school’s policies so that they could offer their input. He may be the police informant who manages to infiltrate the drug cartel and gets out at the last moment before the big arrest is made. The one who got away may play a larger part of redemption than we would first imagine. 

I’m thinking of the persecuted church in China, Iran, India, or North Korea. How many have been the one who got away from the arrests and managed to keep the faith alive because they were not taken? How many lives were saved because a plot was revealed. How many were rescued because one girl got away from her Boko Haram captors and alerted others to their peril?

The Bible warns us of the devil’s schemes “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Corinthians 2:11). It’s interesting to me that this particular quote centers on the necessity of forgiveness between brother and sister in Christ. For the greatest damage and gravest danger satan poses relates to our wholeness in our relationships with God and others. If there is a lack of forgiveness, the whole message of Jesus Christ, and the fullness of Jesus’ reign is thwarted. His scheme is to destroy relationships, undermine the grace of God, and rob us of the forgiveness of sins.

It is vital that followers of Jesus would be like Abram and his fighting men. When there is a rift in the Body of Christ, we who hear of it – from the one who has managed to escape the maelstrom of the devil’s schemes – must bring our resources to bear. That will mean freeing those who are being held captive from forgiveness with the message of Jesus’ mercy and grace. That will means doing what we can to restore the erring brother or sister gently. That will mean using others in the battle against Satan and his ways – never the brother or sister who is caught in Satan’s grip. It means reminding people that God forgives the repentant sinner. It means rejoicing when one sinner repents. It means recognizing false piety for what it is: a ruse and smokescreen for one’s own sin and shortcomings.

Maybe you’ve gotten away from some scheme of Satan. Perhaps you’ve recognized his ultimate play to steel, kill, and destroy. You’ve determined that the path you were following was leading nowhere good. If that’s the case, watch for others who might be heading down that pathway. For the one who gets away from Satan’s wiles is of vital importance to the reign and rule of Jesus. 

Jesus is the One, ultimately, who got away from the devil’s schemes. Of him is said, “For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness, and re- established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:13). 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post. 

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.¹¹ So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.¹² They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. – Genesis 14:8-12

I came home from my college class one day back in the early 1970’s to a horrific discovery. I opened the door to our basement to discover that my 8 year old sister had died. A tragic accident. A devastating event for our family. A traumatic experience for me. A sad end to sweet Kathy’s life. 

You likely remember where you were on September 11, 2001. The sight of the twin towers crumbling to the ground and people fleeing the cloud of dust and debris is easily recalled.

A good friend – just a year older than me – caught the covid virus and died after several weeks in the hospital. He left a wife, three grown children and several grand children. All of us were rocked at his death: our loss. 

A 59 inch rainfall upstream from the church I served at the time, brought flood waters into three of the six buildings on our church campus. This “Tax Day Flood” (April 16, 2016) put us out of those buildings for more than 2 years – because that flood was followed by another, brought about 18 months later because of a Hurricane Harvey. 

More recently people in Miami were rudely awakened during the night as the building they called home suffered a third-world-like calamity when a portion collapsed. Ten people have died and more than 151 people remain missing as I write this. 

Lot and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah experienced this first hand. They and their possessions were taken by warring kings. Some even died when they fell into the tar pits nearby. It was a bad day. A day much worse, even than Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! (Cute book, by the way!)

Bad things happen. We live in a fallen world. Family, friends, churches, and total strangers suffer hardships. We have no exemption from calamity by fire, flood, or famine. Why would we think otherwise? 

We think otherwise because we are at heart little demigods. We think we should be able to chart our course with little difficulty or trouble. We imagine we can avoid the bad neighborhoods, risky situations, troublesome activities, and dangerous places, and live a life of ease. 

There is a twin danger in such thinking. First of all, we are not even little demigods. We have less power over our situations, neighbors, and even our loved-ones than we imagine. Second, a life of ease and with no troubles all too easily lulls us into a false sense of wellbeing and a false notion of control. Jesus warns against this in his parable of the rich fool (cf. Luke 12:13-21). God’s stunning confrontation, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ is a warning for those who always have life well in hand.

I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer (or should I say, David Downer?!). But our modern notion that life should be good all the time, and that we should never have to face trouble does not serve us well. No one likes to be warned – unless we are immediately aware of the danger before us, and agree that it’s actually dangerous. But this can serve as a reminder that sometimes bad things happen. 

God, however, is never far from us. He is an ever present help in times of trouble. Bad things do happen. But they can serve as a reminder of our fallen world and a call to lean into God’s goodness…all the time. That’s good to remember today or any day that trouble might come to us. 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of the blog post.

Happy Birthday Diane!

In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,² these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).⁴ Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,⁶ and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness.⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.¹¹ So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.¹² They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. – Genesis 14:1-16

Maybe you remember the movie Ransom. Mel Gibson plays Multi-millionaire Tom Mullen, whose son is kidnapped. After initially agreeing to pay the ransom Mullen decides to use the ransom money as a bounty. It’s powerful and gripping (at least it was to me when I was a 40-something year old male with growing boys, not yet out of high school). It is a gritty and intense movie, with many plot twists and turns. 

I was reminded of it when I read this account of Lot’s rescue by Abram. Only this time, Abram does not put a bounty on the heads of those who abducted Lot, but uses his resources to rescue his nephew. By the way, here we see three of the five capitals at play. The relational capital is immediately obvious: Abram cares for his nephew. Their relationship makes the rescue mission urgently important. Abram has allies. 

But that’s not all. Most obvious is the financial capital. The possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of Lot, and the provisions of Sodom and Gomorrah are in play. And these enemies seek to enrich themselves with ill-gotten wealth.

The enemy will always point to financial capital as most important. The devil seeks to seduce us to trust in our riches rather than in God. For most Christians money is the chief rival god. Jesus says that you cannot serve God and mammon. Paul tells us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. In fact, he says, “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” – 1 Timothy 6:10 It is gravely difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 10:25).

Money can do much good. It can support missionaries around the world. It can fund the church in our neighborhood. It can purchase housing, food, and clothing. It can allow us to travel to far-away places and experience exciting encounters as we travel. Money is not evil…except when we make it our god.

But Abram – though very wealthy – seems to handle his wealth quite well. And he uses his financial capital to rescue Lot and his family. He pays no ransom, but leverages his resources to do battle and save his nephew.

All this makes me want to reexamine the way I use my money. Diane and I are committed tithers. We have set a habit from our earliest years of marriage of giving the first 10% of our income to the local church. These days, that is a bit nuanced for us. We give to the church of which we are officially still members. But we’re on a one-year absence from that church. This will allow the transition to new leadership there to take hold. So we seek to follow the instructions given in Galatians 6:6: “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” So wherever we visit on a given Sunday we give an offering. We also support local, national, and international mission efforts. 

Money can certainly be a rival god, and we need to be on guard constantly against that. For we want to serve God, not money. But money can be a tool for good. We want to use our financial resources as God’s gift for good. How about you?

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post.

For your personal meditation and edification on this Lord’s Day

Psalm 27:1, 4

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

Psalm 57:1-3

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
³ He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

Psalm 87:1-3

On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
²     the Lordloves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³ Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O city of God. Selah

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
² For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lordendures forever.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 147:1-5, 10-11

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant,^[a]and a song of praise is fitting.
² The Lordbuilds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.

After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look north, south, east, and west of where you are. ¹⁵ I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. ¹⁶ I will also give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then he could also count your descendants. ¹⁷ Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees belonging to Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar for the Lord. – Genesis 13:14-18

God tells Abram to do it. Nehemiah did it. David urged it. Jesus did it at least once. And Yogi Berra once commented on it: You can see a lot just by observing. The question is, “What will you see?” 

I took a tour years ago of a large church in another state. The pastor showed me the remarkable and extensive facilities. He spoke of remodeling and renovation processes as well as future plans for expansion – including purchase of a public school building across the street from the church. It was amazing and inspiring. 

As we were touring I noticed a stack of printed sheet packets. They were the minutes from a recent voters meeting so I took one. I was curious about how they chronicled their efforts and plans. Sitting in my airplane seat on the way home I took out the voters meeting minutes. And was I in for a surprise! Amid all the regular reports of various boards and committees was a paragraph(!) on whether to spend $400 on repairs to a boiler used to heat the building.

I don’t deny that being a question worth considering – even in sunny warm climes. But I’m not sure it’s worth a paragraph in the minutes – much less a (10 minute?) conversation in a voters meeting. There was scant little in the minutes about future renovation plans, ministry outreach programs, or evangelistic goals. You can see a lot just by observing! 

To be fair the pastor was leading this church in a robust outreach mission. They were a great blessing in their community. His willingness to take me under his wing at that time was commendable. I was very new in ministry then, and needed to learn to see the “fields that are white for harvest” (cf. John 4:35). 

God told Abram to survey the land because he had given it to him. It would be his. He would raise a family there. Their descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. Take it all in. Don’t lose sight of what is I’ve promised you. Don’t ignore that promise. Don’t fail to plan for what I have in store for you.

This is a good reminder for us as well. That means we need to look to the promises of God for eternal life. That makes the book of Revelation so valuable. Not as a book about freaky visions and mysterious symbols. But as a book of promises: God’s ultimate victory. A city splendid in every way being let down from the heavens. The desire of God for all people to experience his gracious presence. The glory rightfully due to Jesus fully given. 

Those things put into perspective all that we face on this earth. Keeping them in mind as we face temptation, tribulation, suffering, or discouragement will serve us well. For the day of God’s promises in Jesus will arrive. We don’t want to spend our time ignoring the needs and blessings of this life. Neither do we want to ignore the promises of God for the life of the world to come. Take a good look at those promises as you navigate the here and now.

Click here or on the podcast player below for an audio version of this blog post.

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. ¹⁵ I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. ¹⁶ And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! ¹⁷Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord. – Genesis 13:14-18

“So you and God wasn’t enough.” These words from my Christian counselor sunk deeply into my heart. I was recounting an experience in which I felt overlooked and unappreciated. It seemed to me that I had gifts to give that were neither recognized nor utilized at that time. A fellow pastor was in the spotlight. I was in the shadows. 

My counselor’s words brought an unexpected challenge to my self-pity and envy. They were needed as well. For there are plenty of times when a less-qualified person gets the promotion, the less-gifted musician gets the limelight, or the person who just happens to be standing there gets the call. Or she knows someone who reaches across all the other candidates to make her choice. Sometimes we’re left standing alone. 

Abram and Lot split and Abram carries on. He’s not exactly alone. He has family, servants, and herdsmen. But this moment seems stark to me. After setting out from Ur, passing through this same area, and on into Egypt with Lot and his entourage, he now watches as Lot and his clan leave for the Jordan Valley. He will chart his own course. So will Abram. And I find the manner in which Abram does so to be instructive.

He does so, first of all, under the reminder of God’s gracious promise. God had chosen Abram, promised him many descendants, and a land as his future legacy. Now God repeats the promises: Land and descendants. 

God also tells Abram to walk through the land. Take a look! There’ is much here for you to enjoy. God is generous, and gracious. Abram is to take count of that. It’s not something to be dismissed or forgotten. 

In response Abram builds an altar to the Lord – a second one. This will be a place of worship and prayer. Abram recognizes God’s proper place and gives testimony to all of the presence of God and the propriety of worship and prayer.

For us, these same lessons apply. God has made gracious and generous promises to us. He has promised us eternal life in a new heaven and new earth. Jesus promises that when we pray in his name, God answers. He has done all this before we’ve done anything to gain his consideration. God truly is worthy of our worship, and ready to hear and answer our prayers. These gifts – and the evidence of his faithfulness – are worthy of our remembering, recounting, and deeply-thankful regard.

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Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! ⁹ 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.”

¹⁰ 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.) ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. – Genesis 13:8-13

Have you ever played the “One Divides, the Other Chooses” game? It’s not a game, really, but a means by which squabbles and claims of unfairness can be prevented. My mom would use that on my sister and me in our younger days. If I got to divide, I’d try to do it in such a way that the smaller piece actually looked more appealing than the larger one. I don’t think it worked very well. 

Abram uses that tactic with Lot when it becomes clear that they would have to separate. He offered the division: right or left, this area or that. Then he asked Lot to choose. I don’t know if he was strategic in asking at the moment that the land that Lot chose appeared to be more desirable, or not. I don’t know whether Lot knew about the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah or not. But the choice was Lot’s. And Lot chose the Jordan valley. In all appearances the better choice; the more desirable location. 

There is some foreshadowing here. Moses tells us that Sodom and Gomorra have not yet been destroyed by the Lord. But everything else about the land of the Jordan valley appears lush and green, desirable and attractive. This isn’t the case of the forbidden fruit in the garden: Good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for wisdom (cf. Genesis 3). But it might serve as a reminder to look beyond the outward appearances when making life choices.

I’m thinking of everything from the car you buy to the home you live in. From the job you take to the church you attend. If you look only on the outward appearances you will be in danger of choosing the fools gold of the world’s false riches.

If you’re reading this account of Abram and Lot for the first time, you don’t know exactly what it means that Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed – apart from the fact that this is somehow related to the fact that they are described as extremely wicked and constantly sinning against the Lord. Did Abram know this? Was lot aware of it? Was the allure of the glitz of the ancient near-eastern equivalent of Sin City so powerful that Lot couldn’t resist? Might this be a time for him to pray, “Lead me not into temptation” rather than seeking out a place where temptation lurked nearby?

Diane and I walked through a casino once. Bells, lights, money pouring into the slot machines, dice being thrown on the table, the roulette pill clattering, conversations abuzz… I was fascinated. Diane was repulsed. Better her reaction than mine. And I’m thankful for it. For while I’m not the gambling sort, the lure of glitz and glamor can distract me. Lot may not have chosen his land based on that appeal. But in any case, he will need to be rescued by his Uncle Abe. 

Meanwhile Abram journeys on. In faith. Willing to trust God with his future. Perhaps this is a moment of resolute humility after his debacle with Pharaoh and Sarai. Perhaps it’s a renewed conviction of God’s goodness. In any case, he offers the choice and will live within God’s protection and provision…for a time. 

Click here, or on the podcast player below for an audio version of this blog post.