And Abram said to Lot, I pray thee let there be no contention between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren.
Abram and Lot both grew rich, and their wealth drove them apart: the land could not feed both households, and their herdsmen quarrelled. Abram spoke first, and asked for peace because the two of them were family. (Older translations end the verse "for we be brethren." The writers quoted below use that wording; the ESV has "for we are kinsmen.")
The quarrel began over pasture. One writer traces it back to what each man was living for, and to what wealth reveals about faith:
Lot made no advance in faith. As Abram's companion, he claimed to take the same position — that of a pilgrim. But he did not have a pilgrim's ways… Lot was a follower of Abram rather than of God. The land mattered to him more than obeying the call of God. His herdsmen fought with Abram's herdsmen over the better pasture… Where nothing disturbs, very feeble faith looks as bright and strong as great faith. But nothing exposes the lack of faith like greed for earthly possessions, whether for ourselves or for our children.
The previous verse names who else was living in the land. Abram makes his appeal in front of them, and one writer reads that detail as deliberate:
It is sobering that Scripture records "the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land." It is as though the record points out how serious strife is in front of such unfriendly eyes and ears. Enemies are looking on. They note with barely hidden satisfaction the strife and contention that is all too common among the people of God. Contention is usually connected with something that belongs to us in this world. It is something the heart is set on. But having it will not help us grow; it does the opposite.
Abram does not ask Lot to give anything up. He removes the cause of the quarrel by absorbing the loss himself:
Abram's whole concern in that matter was for the Lord's honour. He wanted it kept up in the harmonious walk of "brethren" before the "Canaanite and the Perizzite." "Let there be no strife," he says, "between me and you… for we are brethren." Nor did Abram want to end the strife by demanding concessions from Lot. No; he was willing to concede everything himself. He would surrender every claim and sacrifice every advantage, as long as the strife stopped. And how does the Lord meet this self-sacrifice? He comes in, in the fullness of His goodness, and makes it up to him a hundredfold.
The claim was his, not Lot's:
Lot was the nephew, he the uncle. It was to Abram, not to Lot, that everything had been promised; yet when the dispute arises, he stands up for no rights of his own. He knew his own wrongs too well. He had been down before the Lord, and is as far as possible from taking a high place, even with one who ought to have been subject to him.
Abram appeals to brotherhood, yet what he proposes is separation. One writer explains why the two fit together:
Abraham is a restored man in a true position with a right motive. Lot, though in a right position, is only a follower of others. So the strife becomes the sad occasion of revealing Lot's worldly-mindedness. It also brings to light Abraham's heavenly-mindedness, which can give up the things that are seen… A man in a position he has no faith for will in the end become a source of strife among brothers. He had better separate from the man whose faith he cannot follow.
Giving Lot the first choice looks like poor judgement. It makes sense once you see what Abram valued more:
Abram says, "Is not the whole land before you?" Take what you want, let us not quarrel… The promise is my portion. I am a complete stranger here. The city of God is open in glory before me. His heart is on the promises of God, and everything else is nothing by comparison. It might look foolish to let Lot choose. The right to choose is Abram's own. But his heart is elsewhere, and his faith goes entirely free of earthly advantage.
- Cause. The quarrel grew out of possessions. Nothing exposes weak faith like greed for earthly things — for ourselves or for our children.
- Audience. The Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land. Enemies watch the strife among God's people with barely hidden satisfaction.
- Surrender. Abram ends the strife by conceding everything himself. He guards the Lord's honour instead of his own claim.
- Separation. A man in a position he has no faith for becomes a source of strife. He is better parted from the man whose faith he cannot follow.
- Reward. Abram gave up his claim, and the Lord answered that self-sacrifice by making it up to him a hundredfold.
Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me if to the left, then I will take the right; and if to the right, then I will take the left.
Abram's offer comes after wealth made living together impossible and the herdsmen began to quarrel. The older man, who held God's promise of the land, gives the first choice to his younger nephew. The chapter then shows what each choice was worth.
The quarrel was still only between the herdsmen, but Abram saw where it was heading. He also saw who was watching.
Scripture solemnly records that the Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land. It is as if we are meant to see how serious strife is in front of such unfriendly eyes and ears. There are enemies looking on. They notice with barely hidden satisfaction the strife and contention that is all too common among the people of God. Contention is usually connected with something that belongs to us in this world, something the heart is set on. But having it will not help us grow spiritually — it does the opposite... How beautifully we see this in Abram; he was completely free from the spirit of strife. He meets the spirit of strife with the spirit of surrender: he did not insist on any rights of his own.
There is a sadder side to this. The remedy itself points to a deeper problem.
Something was very wrong when only separating from each other could keep them from strife. We can be sure the man of faith was not absorbed in his possessions. He would never have let his flocks and herds separate him from someone he could have happy fellowship with in the things of God.
Count what Abram was entitled to. Every claim in the situation was his.
In every respect Abram had the right to the first choice, as we would say. He was the elder both in years and in relationship. He was the leading figure in the whole action that had brought them to this distant land. Lot was, as it were, only attached to him. He was noble and generous in surrendering his right to the younger man.
Handing the choice to Lot looks reckless until you see what Abram was holding instead.
Abram says, "Is not the whole land before you?" Take what you want, let us not quarrel. The promise is my portion. I am a complete stranger here, and the city of God is open in glory before me. His heart is on the promises of God, and everything else is nothing in comparison. It might seem a foolish thing to let Lot choose. The right to choose is certainly Abram's own. But his heart is elsewhere, and his faith is entirely free of earthly advantage.
The offer was a test, and Lot failed it by accepting.
It is not merely that he chose the best part that makes our hearts condemn him, but that he made a choice at all... Lot was blind to all this, and he takes on himself to make the choice. Then, as we would expect from such a beginning, he chooses on an entirely worldly principle. He takes the well-watered plain for his flocks and herds, though that brought him close to the corrupt city.
Choosing by what the eye can see is the whole method, and one writer turns it into a question that outlives the story: does anyone ever choose well who chooses for himself?
Abram could say, in the generosity that comes from faith, "Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me"... but Lot was of another mind... Sadly, they were separated by more than distance, and we know the later history of Lot's fatal choice.
The moment Abram let go, God spoke.
Notice how blessed it is to bow before the Lord and refuse to fight for our rights, however natural that is to the heart. The moment Abram gives up to Lot, the Lord appears again. Never was a gift given to man in such clear and generous terms as the one He now gives Abram... "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever."
How sweet for Abram to have trusted in the Lord, leaving the whole question — apparently with Lot, but really with the Lord! When will we learn to be this simple and trusting? We will also learn at the same time that there is never a giving up of self that the Lord does not answer. He answers it in His grace, and in the sweet assurance of it to our souls, with a better gift still through Jesus Christ our Lord!
- Surrender. Abram meets the spirit of strife with the spirit of surrender. He claims nothing from Lot.
- Right. He was the elder, the leader, and the man God had promised the land. The first choice was his, and he gave it away.
- Portion. He could afford to. The promise was his portion, and a heart fixed on the city of God is free of earthly advantage.
- Choice. Lot's fault was not only taking the better half. It was taking the choice at all. He chose by his eyes, and the corrupt city lay just beyond the good grass.
- Return. The moment Abram let go, God gave him the whole land in every direction; no giving up of self goes unanswered.