GENESIS
CHAPTER 13
Abram returns from Egypt—He and Lot part—The Lord will make Abram’s seed as the dust of the earth in number—Abram settles in Hebron.
1 AND Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. [ The southern part of the Holy Land, today. ]
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to aBeth-el, [ Which is about 10 - 15 miles north of modern day Jerusalem. ] unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, [ Gen 12:8. ] which he had made there at the first: [ The place where he build the first altar when he initially entered the land as he travelled from Haran. Before he went to Egypt. ] and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
[ Were he offered sacrifice. Back to his sacred spot. And asks the Lord what would you have me do now? ]
5 ¶ And Lot [ Abraham's Nephew. ] also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. < [ They are both very prosperous, their flocks have doen very well, maybe too much so tha the land cannot bear them all in one place. ]
6 And the land was not able to bear them, [ The stress on the land from the number of animals and people requiring resources. ] that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife [ Contention. ] between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, [ In order to receive the blessing of God and to remain in tune he knew that he needed to remove the contention between them. The contention was not between Lot and Abram but it was between their respective herdsmen. ] I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? [ Look at all of the land that is available out there. ] separate thyself, [ Abraham came to Lot and released him to choose where he wanted to go. This was a test. Lot should have humbled himself and stayed with Abraham. Instead, Lot ‘lifted his eyes’ and got his own vision of granduer. He saw the land of Sodom and Gomorrah which looked attractive. This vision caused him to distance himself from Abraham. He went towards Sodom, got into Sodom, and got defeated there. Eventually, Lot loses his wife and everything he got from his vision and ends up in a cave, sleeping with his own daughters while being drunk. ] 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. [ Abraham is really the leader; as such he is the one that by right should get to make the first choice. This again shows us something of the character of Abraham - he gives Lot first pick and I suspect that he knows that the Lord will bless him as well no matter which one he picks. ]
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, [ This once fertile plain was chnaged with the destruction of sodom and Gomorrah. Once it was a well watered valley now it is called the Dead Sea. ] that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed sodom and Gomorrah, [ Which were thriving centers of wickedness at this time see Gen 19: 24-25 for the destruction. ] even as the garden of the LORD, [ Looked like what the Garden of Eden looked like. ] like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; [ Lot picks the well watered jordan river valley. It is compared to the garden of eden. vs 10. ] and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, [ Areas noted for their wickedness. So lot choose what he considered the best land and built on the edge of town where he could enjoy some of the pleasures of the nearby town. ] and pitched his tent toward sodom. [ What do we know about the direction in which we pitch our tents? We can pitch them toward unrighteousiness, toward that which is forbidden and not good suggesting that we are looking toward that; Or we can pitch them toward the temple as the poeople in the Book Of Mormon did as they pitched their tents toward the Temple. Mosiah 2:6 ]
13 But the men of sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. [ Moses who is writing at the time wants to point out that Lot is being influenced by where he has choosen to live. Why he may be a bystander he sees the filthy acts of those around him (Homosexuality) Gen 19:5 While Lot may not be participating in it directlt he is enjoying the satisfaction of watching it. ]
14 ¶ And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, [ Or after Lot is gone. The name Lot, in the original language, means a veil. As long as Lot was in Abraham’s life, you don’t see God telling Abraham to look. God gave Abraham a promise and told him to leave where he was but it was after Lot left. ] and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[ The JST adds an additional verse here "13: And remember the covenant which I make with thee; for it shall be an everlasting covenant; and thou shalt remember the days of Enoch thy father;" We see that this was not a new covenant with Abraham but a covenant that was previously made with Enoch, Noah Adam and Eve. Moses 6:51-52;64-68. ]
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. [ See D&C 130:9-11 the earth will become the celestial kingdom on which the faithful will dwell - hence they will be able to live on this ground forever. ]
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: [ Eternal increase, for no man's seed can out number the dust particles of the earth. ] so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.