seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3 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 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
3 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 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
So after all this time, Abram was right back where he had started. Now he had more flocks and more riches. Now he knew how to lie.
Everyone talks about Abram and his faith. He showed faith when he moved to Canaan in the first place. This is true. According to the commentary, however, when he moved everyone and everything to Egypt he was showing a lack of faith. There was a famine but if Abram had stood his ground, God would have provided for him. Instead, he moved everyone and everything to Egypt. After coercing Sarai to go along with a lie, they were told to leave Egypt. Now he's moved everyone and everything back to Canaan.
Abram should not have used the blessing God brought to him in Egypt as a justification for going there. Even though God is great enough to bring good even when we disobey, there is still a cost built into disobedience.
Abram's unbelief took him from his place of worship; it led him into sin, and caused him to lead others into sin. It made him more confident in his ability to lie than in the protecting power of God. It even broke apart his family for a while. Finally, even an ungodly king rightly rebuked him.
Abram's unbelief took him from his place of worship; it led him into sin, and caused him to lead others into sin. It made him more confident in his ability to lie than in the protecting power of God. It even broke apart his family for a while. Finally, even an ungodly king rightly rebuked him.
The church has always had the challenge of what to do with believers who slip into sin and want to come back into the church. For example, in the third century, the heroes of the faith were the martyrs and the confessors, but there were also many lapsed believers who failed under the threat of persecution. Some churches were too lax, admitting them back as if nothing happened. Some were too harsh, saying they could never come back to the church and be used of God. Most churches did the right thing: they allowed the lapsed back, but basically as beginners again, not pretending as if nothing happened.
Here, Abram came back into the Promised Land basically as a beginner. He came back to Bethel, back with the tent and the altar, back doing what he should.
God wants us to walk in our first love and our first works (Revelation 2:4-5).
God wants us to walk in our first love and our first works (Revelation 2:4-5).
Abram is a good example of wasted time and new beginnings.
