 |  |
Gen. 12: 4, 5 significantly reads `and Lot went with him'. "And Lot his brother's
son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in
Haran." Abraham can hardly be said with this passage before us that he had left his
`kindred'.
There is an intended parallel between Gen. 11: 31 and 12: 5. "They went forth . . . . .
to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there." Note the word
THERE. The second reference reads: "They went forth to go into the land of Canaan;
and into the land of Canaan they came." So far we may say, this is good. Canaan has
now been entered, but there is a significant comment in verse 6 "And the Canaanite was
then in the land". Note the word THEN. It appears that Terah's delay gave Satan an
opportunity of forestalling the purpose of God and consequently, Israel could not really
possess their possessions until the Canaanites were expelled and destroyed.
This also is a solemn lesson for all believers, and links the failure to possess with the
conflict of the two seeds, a theme too vast to develop here.
After Abraham's return from Egypt, where nothing but a Divine interposition saved
Sarah and the true seed from contamination, we read "and Lot with him". Still the
condition remained unfulfilled, and it was not until strife arising because of the greatness
of their substance that Abraham, driven apparently by exasperation, gave Lot the choice
of the land if only he could be persuaded to separate from Abraham.
"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" (Gen. 13: 9).
Then come the significant words:
"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 . . . . . all the land which thou
seest . . . . . arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it; for I
will give it unto thee" (Gen. 13: 14-17).
God kept His word. He had said "I will show thee" (Gen. 12: 1) and He kept His
promise immediately after Abraham kept the terms laid down.
The several hindrances that are revealed in these passages have a bearing upon the
believer today, when translated into spiritual realities.
Terah, assayed to do in the flesh, what could only be done in the spirit. He intended to
go into the land of Canaan but dwelt in Haran. He made a move, and probably impressed
his contemporaries with his sincerity, but it was after all just a `religious movement'. He
never "passed over". The Euphrates flowed between him and the land of promise after he
reached Haran as surely as it had when he lived in Ur.
Abraham was held by `the old man'. He could not respond until Terah died.