ABRAHAM - Part 2: A Lot to Save

The Saga continues from Genesis Chapters 13 & 14. #abraham #storytime #bible

Abram and Lot Separate
13 Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.

2 Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. 3 Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, 4 where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.

5 Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. 6-7 At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.

8 Abram said to Lot, “We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. 9 There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north.”

Abram Moves to Hebron
14 After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:

Look around to the north, south, east, and west. 15 I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! 16 I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. 17 Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.

18 Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.

Abram Rescues Lot
14 About this time, King Amraphel of Babylonia,[a] King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2 attacked King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, a city also known as Zoar. 3-4 King Chedorlaomer and his allies had ruled these last five kings for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year the kings rebelled and joined forces in Siddim Valley, which is now covered by the southern part of the Dead Sea.

5 A year later King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh-Kiriathaim. 6 They also defeated the Horites in the hill country of Edom,[b] as far as El-Paran, near the desert.

7 They went back to the city of Enmishpat, better known as Kadesh. Then they captured all the land that belonged to the Amalekites, and they defeated the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.

8-9 At Siddim Valley, the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela fought the armies of King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. The valley 10 was full of tar pits, and when the troops from Sodom and Gomorrah started running away, some of them fell into the pits. Others escaped to the hill country. 11 Their enemies took everything of value from Sodom and Gomorrah, including their food supplies. 12 They also captured Abram's nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom. They took him and his possessions and then left.

13 At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram 14 that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred and eighteen of Abram's servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.

15 That night, Abram divided up his troops, attacked from all sides, and won a great victory. But some of the enemy escaped to the town of Hobah north of Damascus, 16 and Abram went after them. He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “All I want are my people. You can keep everything else.”

22 Abram answered:
The Lord God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him 23 that I won't keep anything of yours, not even a sandal strap or a piece of thread. Then you can never say that you are the one who made me rich. 24 Let my share be the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me, so give them their share of what we brought back.