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- [00:06]
A
Hey, this is Shelby and Scott. We're walking through the book of Genesis, and today we're in chapters 13 through 15. We see a little bit of Abraham and Lot's relationship in these chapters. And we also have this moment of Abraham's covenant with God. So there's a lot. A lot going on. We said we're going to be saying that a lot.
- [00:27]
B
We're going to be saying that a lot.
- [00:28]
A
And here we are saying it a lot. Scott, will you walk us through these chapters?
- [00:33]
B
Yeah, absolutely. So something I think is cool in the Bible is how sometimes geography can be an indicator of one's relationship with the Lord. And to go back real quick to 12, I think he see an example. So we didn't cover this in the episode, but in chapter 12, you have this moment where Abraham goes down into Egypt to escape a famine and then come back up. And. And it's definitely frowned upon. And the text actually talks about him going down into Egypt. And then as 13 begins, he comes up from Egypt. And some scholars would kind of see a commentary there on, you know, he did wrong by going to Egypt. He's doing right by coming out of Egypt. But I think you see this with Lot, too. And so you get this moment where these men are growing rich. They realize they need to kind of divide their resources. Abraham very deferentially lets him choose the land, but Lot actually chooses a land outside of the promised land that he had brought Abraham and his family to. He actually goes outside the land toward Sodom, and it's a beautiful land. Ominously, Genesis 13:10 compares it to the Garden of Eden. And. But it's a foolish choice for law. And we see that in chapter four. Him being there results in him being captured by these kings. And, you know, he could have stayed in Canaan. Like, Abraham wasn't telling him to leave the promised land, but he journeyed eastward, which is incidentally the same direction God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden. It's the same direction he sent Cain after he murdered Abel. And so it's this kind of being further and further away from God and his purposes. And so I think what you see with Lot and just him traveling there, it's. It's as if he wanted nothing to do with God and his promises to Abraham. He's choosing material wealth at the expense of spiritual blessings. And, you know, Shelby, I think there's a question for us here in that, too. It's like, have we ever pursued wealth or fame or just anything at the expense of our spiritual lives?
- [02:37]
A
Yeah, and that's a challenging question. And my answer at times has been yes, you know, and so it's a great thing to think about today. If we jump to chapter 15, we see this conversation happening between Abraham and God. There's animals, there are burning fire pots. I mean, what is going on here, Scott?
- [02:57]
B
Yeah, so this is where God actually makes a covenant with Abram. And so earlier in the chapter you have that. That familiar scene where he tells Abraham to number the stars, says, hey, that your. Your offspring will be this numerous. But yeah, then we get to this covenant ceremony where God actually enters into a formal covenant to fulfill the promises he made back in chapter 12. And yeah, there's this. What's interesting in this chapter, Shelby, is you actually get this preview of the Exodus because God promises to bring Abraham's descendants into this land, but he says that first they're going to suffer in a foreign land for a few hundred years. And so. And after those few hundred years, he'll bring the descendants up to inherit the land. And so you get in this comments really a preview of everything that happens in the books of Exodus through Joshua. And speaking of Joshua, I think Genesis 15:16 is really interesting to keep in mind here because when you get to the. The conquest in Joshua, you know, a lot of people have problems with that. They're like, hey, this seems really harsh that God told the Israelites to drive out all the Canaanites. I think this verse in Genesis 15, verse 16 is really important to keep in mind here because God says that the iniquity of the Amorites, so they're just. That's a represent. Representative tribe of the Canaanites, essentially. He says the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. So in other words, what God is communicating here is that the Canaanites are a wicked people, but their, their sin is not yet reached a level where judgment on them is justified, which I think is important to remember when we get to the conquest. Like, God is very patient with the Canaanites. He's a just God. His judgment, God's judgment is never excessive. It's actually very quite measured, which we'll get back to I think in the next episode. But I just think Shelby, in a world filled with injustice, it's just comforting to remember that God will right all wrongs. Like no act of injustice goes unseen by him. And his justice is perfect. It's very measured. And that just brings me hope.
- [05:11]
A
Yeah, absolutely. And that's got to be my takeaway from these chapters. Both seeing God's mercy in his patience and his long suffering, but also his his justice. And those two attributes being wholly true of God at all times. Man. Is there anyone we can trust more than the Lord? You know, it's just a beautiful thing. Thank you for walking us through these chapters, Scott. I'm excited to be back tomorrow to talk through the next few chapters in Genesis.