Genesis 13:1-18
1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.a
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain 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.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plainb of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Thus, delivered by the divine intervention, Abram set his face again toward the line of the divine purpose and returned to Bethel. In this act is seen the victory of faith over failure.
It was at this crisis that the separation came between Abram and Lot. The occasion was strife between herdsmen, but the reason is to be found in the differing principles governing the lives of the two men. Abram was following God. Lot had been following Abram; and while in the deepest desire of his life he was loyal to God, the lack of direct communion seems to have resulted in clouding his vision and lowering his ideals. In the hour of crisis he made his own choice and it was the choice of a man attempting to compromise. The conflict of desire within him is seen in the phrases, 'like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt." If these two things could be made contributory, then success was ensured by all the standards of human measurement.
Abram is seen in direct contrast to Lot in every way. Lot chose for himself. God chose for Abram. Lot chose by sight; "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld." Abram, by faith, chose not to choose; and now Jehovah brought him into the place of sight on the basis of faith: "Lift up now thine eyes." Lot, having chose, obtained, and yet did not possess. Abram, trusting God, received from Him the title deeds to all the land, even including that which Lot had chosen for himself.
Abram immediately moved his tent and built his altar. In this connection the strength of faith is most clearly seen. Dependent on the promise of a seed to be as the dust of the earth, which at this time must have appeared to be contrary to all the probabilities of Nature, he took possession of the land by faith.