1
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The choice of Abram and Lot
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2
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[Genesis
13:9]
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."
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3
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Abram, who came to Canaan from his
hometown in obedience to God's Word,
made a mistake to go down to Egypt
when the famine was on the land.
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4
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Abram's lie that went down to Egypt,
his wife Sarah is in danger of becoming the wife of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. But God
rescued Abram from the crisis.
In addition, God has brought Abram up
to Canaan with much wealth.
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5
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Abram became a great rich man. In
addition, his nephew Lot became rich in wealth he received from Egypt. There were many
servants, cattle, sheep, and tabernacles.
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6
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As Abram and Lot became rich, the land
in which they were staying relatively did not seem that good enough. There
were also Canaanites and Perizzites in this area, and the land was not that wide to live
with.
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7
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That's why a quarrel began between
Abram and Lot's servants. It was a quarrel to give a good spot to the sheep they
supervised each other. This quarrel was increasingly frequent.
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8
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Abram called his nephew Lot. He went
up with his nephew to a place
where the land was well visible. They
were able to see well around there.
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9
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Abram told Lot. "Should there be
a conflict between you and me?
There should be no controversy between
your shepherds and my shepherds.
Are we not relatives?
All the earth is
before you, let us live apart from one another.
If you go to the left, I will go to
the right, and if you go to the right,
I will go to the left."
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10
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When Abram took the promise of God and
left his home by faith, Lot had been with him until now, believing in the God of his
uncle Abram.
Abram said to Lot that he should live apart from one another,
because families who believed in God could not keep fighting each other.
Abram, like his son, gave
Lot first consideration in choosing the land.
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11
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Lot heard Abram's uncle and began to
look around the whole land.
Lot, who was able to choose the land
first, wanted to live in a good and fertile land.
At that time, there was a land coming
into Lot's eyes.
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12
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The land that was rich in water from
the Jordan valley to the Zoar area looked like the garden of God and seemed
like the fertile land of Egypt that he had just seen.
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13
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Lot told Abram that he would go to the
land. Abram accepted it with pleasure.
Lot left his uncle Abram and left for
the land.
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14
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Lot chose to look good in his eyes.
But the land that Lot chose was near the place where the Sodomites live, which is
evil. As time went by, Lot gradually moved to a place close to Sodom, a
sinful place. This choice later becomes a big rostrum for Lot's family.
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15
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After Lot left, God appeared to Abram.
And God gave a wonderful promise to
Abram with the following words:
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16
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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." (Gn 13:14~15)
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17
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"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." (Gn
13:16~17)
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18
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Abram received God's amazing promise
to give all the land he trampled on his feet.
God told Abram that he had chosen
God's way of believing and believing
that God would give better things.
What God gave Abram was a blessing
that was incomparable to the good that
is visible to us.
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19
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We live each day with choices,
and we
all want to remember Abram and Lot at the moment of choice.
We believe in Jesus and
become children of God who have been saved.
We must be people of faith who will
glorify God with the help of the Holy Spirit.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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