And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. Ver. 1. _And Abram went up out of Egypt._] There must be likewise daily ascensions in our hearts, out of the Egypt of this world, to the heavenly Canaan, where Christ our altar is. The Church is... [ Continue Reading ]
And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Ver. 2. _And Abram was very rich._] All rich men therefore are not rejected of God, though it be hard for such to hit on heaven. Poor Lazarus lies in the bosom of rich Abraham there. Riches neither further nor hinder in themselves, but as... [ Continue Reading ]
_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;_ Ver. 3. _And he went on his journeys._] Many a weary step, and rested not till he came to his old altar at Bethel. Lo here a pattern of great piety and singu... [ Continue Reading ]
Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. Ver. 4. _Unto the place of the altar, &c._] There he had found God to his comfort, and there he looks now to find him so again. It will be some help to us, for the strengthening of our... [ Continue Reading ]
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. Ver. 5. _And Lot also, which went with Abram._] So he lost not all, by leaving friends and means, to go with Abram. They that side with the saints, shall thrive with the saints. God had promised to bless Abram, and he did it; fo... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 6. _And the land was not able to bear them._] This was sour sauce to their sweet meat, lest they should surfeit of their abundance. All earthly comforts... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 7. _And there was a strife between._] How oft do servants set masters at variance! But the devil is in it, when good folk fall out especia... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 8. _And Abram said to Lot._] Speech endeth anger, silence nourisheth it. Much malice and grudge would be avoided, and the very poison of it drawn out... [ Continue Reading ]
Genesis 13:9 [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. Ver. 9. _Is not the whole land before thee?_] Abram chooseth rather to take wr... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 10. _And Lot lifted up his eyes._] This was "the lust of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Ver. 11. _And they separated themselves the one from the other._] But not very far asunder. And herein they became a symbol of friendship: for friends, as parallel lines, neithe... [ Continue Reading ]
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward Sodom. Ver. 12. _And Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain._] Not in the land of Canaan with Abram, and his seed: God had a holy hand in that. _ Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom._] A g... [ Continue Reading ]
But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. Ver. 13. _But the men of Sodom were wicked, &c._] See their chief sins set down, Ezekiel 16:49,50. The Chaldee Paraphrast here translateth, they were first unrighteous with their mammon: and secondly, sinners with their bod... [ Continue Reading ]
_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:_ Ver. 14. _After that Lot was separated from him._] Till Lot was departed, and the strife ceased, God appeared n... [ Continue Reading ]
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. Ver. 15. _For all the land which thou seest is thine._] "God gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as a foot breadth"; Act 7:5 yet he promised that he would give it to him: and that Abram took for good fre... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 16. _And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth._] Afterwards, Gen 15:5 God promiseth that his seed shall be as the stars of heaven. Abram's seed... [ Continue Reading ]
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Ver. 17. _Arise, walk through the land._] Thus God rewards contented Abram with the whole country. He never suffers any man to lose by a humble remission of his right, in a desire of peace. "The... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. Ver. 18. _Built an altar._] _See Trapp on "_ Gen 12:8 _"_... [ Continue Reading ]