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#28. Faith's Heritage and Repudiation (Gen. 13: 14 - 15: 1).
pp. 101 - 105
Lot gives the picture of the failure of a believer's testimony; the utter lack of fruit;
the barest minimum of faith.
We turn to the other picture of growing and increasing faith, and find it closely linked
with a growing and increasing separation. There seems a clearing of the atmosphere
when Lot is at last gone. Abram is now left alone. He had left his choice with the Lord.
In the eyes of the world doubtless he would be pronounced a fool--but he was God's
fool.
"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: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed for ever (olam, for the age of undefiled limits). 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. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and the
breadth of it: for I will give it unto thee" (Gen. 13: 14-17).
Lot chose for himself and lost. Abram hears God's choice and obtained. Surely to
each one of us the contrast is pointed enough to make us desire to emulate the one and
shun the other. Leaving the well-watered plains of this world, let us stand alone in
fellowship with the Lord and hear Him say, "Arise, walk through the land, in the length
of it and the breadth of it". There are blessings which are ours in Christ, which we have
never yet experienced. Let us present that "other-worldly" spirit in contrast with the Lots
of our time and explore and appropriate the fulness of blessing that is ours already in
Christ.
It is doctrinal verity, as much as a record of historical sequence, that Abram did not
hear these words until separation was complete. Separation however must never be
considered merely from one side. Abram was not simply separated from Lot, but
separated to the Lord. This is indicated in his next movement:--
"Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt among the oaks belonging to
Mamre (brother of Eschol and Aner, 14: 13) which is in Hebron, and built there an altar
unto the Lord."
It appears from Gen. 23: 2 that the name of this city was originally Kirjath-arba,
the two names occurring together in the record of Sarah's death. Its first name means
Strong-hold of Arba, being built by Anak and the sons of Arba (Josh. 14: 15; 15: 13). It
fell to Caleb, the type of the overcomer, where its second name again appears as Hebron.
Hebron means "fellowship" or "confederacy", and was the name given to the rebuilt city
of Kirjath-arba by the Kharibi or allies. The introduction of the name in the case of
Abram emphasizes the typical meaning. Separation from worldliness meant fellowship,