In the Daily Light we read, “Call upon me in the day of trouble…” God loves us to call out to him. Jacob also said, “Let us arise and got unto the altar of God...” Bethel was a place full of meaning to the family of Abraham. Before I went to Argentina, spoke of Abraham and his reaction under financial stress. He went to Egypt when there was a famine in the land. I told you of how it went for him in Egypt. He left where God had placed him. There was no grass or food for the sheep; without food they would die. He did the best he could but did not trust in God. He was sent back to the desert in disgrace, but he was thrust into God’s land again. He went back to the desert and trusting God.
In Gen 13:3, we find he returned to the last place he knew God was with him. Sometimes we have to ask, where was the last place I knew God. We stray away from the place God has placed us. The last time Abraham knew he was in the right place was Bethel. “And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.“
At first, Abraham trusted in his own instincts, but he was forced back to Bethel, There he called upon God’s name. God loves us to call to Him. He wants the circumstances to make you come closer to Him. When Abraham returned to Bethel, he knew there would be a problem. He had come through Bethel, and knew about the conditions there. His sheep had eaten up the grass and pulled up the roots and destroyed the land. It takes years for the grass to come back, but there was a famine there. He knew there would not be much grass there. But this was the land where God had called him. He might have less sheep but more of God and more of what really matters in life.
In 2 Cor. 6:10 we read, “… as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” This was Abraham -- he had nothing but possessed all things. Think of Jesus words in Math 6:25,
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?? Look who said this….Jesus. He said not to worry about what he am going to do. He told Abraham he was the place where He had been put him.What do you do in Bethel in a famine when there is no grass.? You make an altar and worship God and have some lamb. But if he ate all his sheep, he would have nothing left. If he killed them for himself and his servants, they would have enough until they died. Knowing this, Abraham stayed in Bethel and called upon the Lord. He was where God wanted him but had no idea what to do. He waited for the day when his sheep were gone. In Prov. 3:5, we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” Abraham almost lost his wife and sons when he followed his own understanding. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[
a] your paths.7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.it will be health to your body and marrow to your bones.”
God delivered Abraham in Bethel. In Genesis 13 we see that as they were counting off the days, there were slim pickings . In verse 5 we read,
“Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.”
All the people were fighting for the land and there was strife. There was just a little bit of grass and all the shepherds were fighting for what grass was left. What did Abraham do? We have to realize that God dose not deliver us from trials and problems but in trials and in problems. Strife arose. All were fighting for the grass. How did God deliver Abraham? He could have said to Lot that he was the big Daddy and Lot was the little boy. He have the authority so Lot had to get out. But Abraham told Lot to chose the grass or the desert, and he would let God chose for him. In verse 8 we read, So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
Abraham gave Lot two options: the desert or the grass. Lot chose the patch of grass. How smart Lot was! How dumb Abraham was! In verse 10 we read, “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.” There it was grass and the river Jordan and desert. Abraham said, “Okay is this what the Lord has for me“ So Lot chose the grass, water, and prospering under the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was safe and secure. He had a 401K that would last till eternity. He had it planned out. He would be protected by the kings. But Abraham went back to the desert and to his God. Lot leaned on his own understanding. Abraham trusted in God with all his heart.
Lets go to Genesis 14 and see that Lot’s peace did not last long. For twelve years the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had been giving tribute to the king of Chedorlaomer, but then they rebelled and would not send any more tribute. They tried to shake off the yolk of this evil king and retrieve their ancient liberties. A whole twelve months went by but back in Elam Cherdorlaomer went to kings of the area (Persians and Medes), then they went to get the tribute in the fourteenth year. When they went for the tribute, Abraham was not there. He was safe in the desert as the armies went to Sodom and Gomorrah. .
In verse 8 we read, “And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim.” There was war. “10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They took prisoners and they took Lot. There he was in chains going behind the Kings’ armies. His sheep and all he had were gone. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre[
c] the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother (his nephew) was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”Now, think about this, 4 kings and all their armies conquered the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their armies. Abraham and his men pursued after them. He would go help him in spite of the wrong that had been done. Now look at verse 15, “ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.”
Abraham and his men caught the armies and smote them. In modern times people studied the Bible to see about war. An example of this is when a plane was captured withJews and had landed in Uganda, the Jews studied this this story in the Bible. This was the first commando raids occurred at night. The 318 warriors were trained by Abraham. Until this time, wars were fought in the day. It was sword against sword in the day time. And as Abraham had done in the middle of the night, the Israeli planes landed and unloaded a Mercedes and land rovers. Idi Amin use to go about in a black Mercedes. As they went toward the plane., there was only lone soldier that knew that Idi had brought a white Mercedes, so they killed him and went on. In the middle of the night they fought and rescued over Israeli prisoners. The pilots and the crew had stayed with the Jews.
Back to Abraham and we see he rescued the people and the goods. In verse 16, “So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him
.” Now go to verse 12 and see what the King of Sodom said to Abraham. “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” So before Abraham who took the desert and had nothing, the King of Sodom wants him to take it all. Abraham trusted in God and because of this, he met Christ. He was blessed by no other than Jesus. In verse 18 we read, “ Then Melchizedek king of Salem [d] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator [e] of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be [f] God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." So Abraham met Melchizedek and this is considered an appearance of Christ. He came and brings Abraham and wine. He was a priest of the most high God…What did Abraham do…he paid the tithes to God of that which he had. He knew what God could do with him. God had given him the victory. All the kings wanted were the people by, but Abraham said in verse
22, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’”Abraham knew he had supplies for only some many days, but he gave back everything. He knew it was God who blessed him. He did not need the supplies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. He walked with his head high and went back to the desert not one penny richer but one tenth poorer. So Abraham survived in the desert. He survived there for God kept him and gave him the most precious treasure -- a son who would bring forth a nation. In that son, Abraham would bless all nations.
In Jeremiah 32: 41 we read, ” I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 42 This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them….” Trust in the Lord, He knows what he is doing. He knows America. He has thoughts of good and not of evil. He will bring all the goods He has promised In verse 43 we see, “Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.' 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will
restore their fortunes, [
d] declares the LORD."Meanwhile you are to trust in God. Do not trust in your own understanding. He has started the good work and He is faithful to complete it. Paul said, Phil. 3;8
“…I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
This was a good trade off…to go through a little shaking in order to get closer to Christ. The alternative is that we stray from His presence. We stray from his ways. Woe to t hose that run to Egypt. We are safest in the place of God’s has called us. Let us trust in God with all our heart. Let us call upon the Lord. He will never fail you.