Gold for the heart - Genesis 12-14

Genesis 12

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram, Get out of your country, and away from your relatives, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you: 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing: 3 And I will bless those that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you all families of the earth will be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him: Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

All of this great blessing to Abram would be the work of God, not something Abram could to do.

God brought Abram to the glory of all lands

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls they had gotten in Haran; and they left to go into the land of Canaan; and they came into the land of Canaan. 6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the plain of Moreh. The Canaanite was in the land then. 7 And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, I will give this land to your seed: and he built an altar there to the LORD, who appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an altar to the LORD, and called on the name of the LORD.

An altar was the place of approach to God.
It displayed God’s work on behalf of man through the sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the world.
The land God promised Abram was the best, the glory of all lands.(Deuteronomy 8:7, Ezekiel 20:6)

9 And Abram journeyed, going on toward the south. 10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to turn aside there; for the famine was in the land grievous. 11 And when he came near to enter Egypt he said to Sarai his wife, Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.12 So when the Egyptians see you they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive. 13 I beg you, say you are my sister: so that it may go well with me for your sake; and my soul will live because of you. 14 And it happened, when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And he treated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, oxen, he asses, menservants, maidservants, she asses, and camels.

Egypt in scripture portrays the world. Abram went back to the world during the famine instead of trusting God.
God uses famine to call the world out of idolatry unto Himself (II Kings 8:1,2, Psalm 107).

God protected Sarai

17 And the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, She is my sister? I might have taken her to me as wife: now here’s your wife, take her and go. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and do not lean to your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

Psalm 3:3 But you, O LORD, are a shield for me…

Genesis 13

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the south to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 to the place of the altar that he had made there at first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

God is always listening.
The altar pictured God’s great love to be poured out for us through His Sons death on our behalf.
God continued to bless Abram.

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich; he adds no sorrow with it.

5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them dwelling together because their substance was so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between those tending Abram's livestock and those tending Lot's livestock: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled in the land then. 8 And Abram said to Lot, Please do not let there be strife between you and I, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me: if you will take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

God wants us to live peaceably with all men if possible.
Murderers, terrorists, are to be executed (Genesis 9:6).

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the circuit of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you come to Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the circuit of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Lot took the best for himself.

13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners before the LORD. 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are north, south, east, and west: 15 For all the land that you see, I will give it to you, and to your seed forever. 16 And I will make your seed like the dust of the earth: so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your seed also will be counted.

God sees our lives; he sees all that men do (Proverbs 15:3).
God’s promises are BIG! This was the best land on earth. Forever! God has the best for all of those who seek Him.

Ezekiel 20:6 … a land that I saw for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

17 Get up, walk through the land its length and its breadth; for I will give it to you. 18 Then Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.

God has special blessings for each person.
To see God’s blessings for us we need to walk through His word and claim all of His promises.
Anything that he promised to someone else in the Bible, He has similar blessings for you.
‘To Him that overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne’—Revelation 3:21.
Hebron means communion. This is where God wants us to dwell. He wants us to live in continual communion with Him. He is the source of life. Abide in me—John 15

Genesis 14

1 And it happened in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings that were with him, and struck down the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzims in Ham, the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.

It was BC 1913.
Shinar was the lowland of southern Babylon.
Ellasar was southern Babylon between Ur and Erech.
Elam was east of Babylon beyond the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Historical records reveal a fierce coalition army that ravaged the land all the way to the valley of Sodom, that beautiful place like the Garden of the Lord.
Verse 4 tells why—they quit paying them tribute or protection money. So they swept violently across the whole land murdering, raping, and stealing as they went.

8 And the king of Sodom went out, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;). They joined battle with them in the valley of Siddim; 9 with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, with Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against five.

True peace begins in the heart— in a right relationship with God.
War always has its roots in idolatry.
God protects and provides peace when man’s heart is right with Him.
The rest of the world fights over the stuff that won’t make them happy.

Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace, says the LORD, to the wicked.

Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

10 And the valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; while those that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

The ‘vale of Siddim’ is south of the tongue which projects into the Dead Sea from the east shore. The actual area is now submerged under the waters of the Dead Sea.
The king of Sodom abandoned his people and ran to hide in the mountains while Chedorlaomer kidnapped his people.
God never abandons us.

Exodus 21:16 he that steals a man, and sells him, if he is found with him, he will certainly be put to death.

John 10:13-15 The hired hand flees, because he is a hired hand, and does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known by mine… and I lay down my life for the sheep.

13 And one came that had escaped and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner: these were allies with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, 318, and pursued them to Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and struck them down, and chased them to Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought his brother Lot, his goods, the women also, and the people.

Abram’s relationship with the Almighty God gave him the courage to do what was right.
Abram had trained his servants to defend against aggressors or plunderers.
He consulted God and pursued and brought back all. Notice how large Abraham’s staff was—318 grown, trained men.
What they did wasn’t murder. Abraham was a peaceful man of God who rescued and protected from murderers. Evil has to be stopped.

Luke 11:21 When a strong man armed guards his palace, his goods are in peace (Jesus).

The Most High God is possessor of heaven and earth

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: he was the priest of the Most High God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes/tenths of all.

God possesses heaven and earth.
He gave the victory.
These kings were stealing a few earthly things when they could have had much greater eternal things forever.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the people and take the goods to yourself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 I will not take from a thread to a shoelace; I will not take anything that is yours, so you cannot say, I have made Abram rich: 24 Except what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

It was the custom for a conqueror to keep all that he had conquered.
The king of Sodom had abandoned his people to sneak away and hide in the mountains.
Abram was entitled to all because he was the victor.
His focus on the Most High God kept him from greed.
Abram had something far more valuable--the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth.
We have the source of all wealth.
Without the Source of life, life has no meaning.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your way of life be without covetousness and be content with what things you have for He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

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SUMMARY: Genesis 12-14

God protect, blesses, and promises great things
He brought Abram to the most glorious of all lands
He protected Sarai when Abram failed to
His blessings make rich
He gives victory in battle
He is the owner of heaven and earth