13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt,
he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south {ie., the Negev}.
13:2 And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel,
unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
13:4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: {cp. 12:7,8}
and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Abram went up... - to where his tent had been ''at the beginning,''
- and to where his altar had been ''at the first.''
God, in His grace, restored the backslider fully. cp. Psa 51:12,13
13:5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together:
for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
13:7 And there was a strife 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.
13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee,
and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren.
13:9 [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.
13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan,
that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east:
and they separated themselves the one from the other.
13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan,
and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward Sodom.
13:13 But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
there was strife...-
stirred up by their great wealth (v.6), some of which was ill gotten gain from Pharaoh, through Abram's fleshly faithlessness, regarding his wife (12:16).
witnessed by the heathen people around them (v.7).
separate thyself... - Abram gave Lot first choice of territory.
He had no need to protect his interests, for the God who called him, would provide for him in this land of promise. Content with his tent and his altar, he would surrender the outcome of Lot's decision to the Lord. Through his failures in Egypt, Abram had learned to trust the Lord more fully. cp. Psa 16:5,6
Lot lifted up his eyes... - Lot chose according to the flesh, not by faith. cp. 1Joh 2:16
Perhaps he had gotten a taste for the pleasures of Egypt, during Abram's lapse (12:10), or, perhaps Egypt had reminded him of the land from which he had come (Ur of the Chaldees), and to which he would have liked to return.
he 'sat in the gate' of Sodom, 19:1 [GWms] (ie., he occupied a position of political and economic responsibility). Lot sought for himself wealth and power. To that goal, he willingly traded fellowship with the family of God, for close association with men known to be extremely corrupt and obviously under God's condemnation. He attained his goal. But at a very high cost to himself and his family (as will be described in ch. 19).
13:14 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 northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth:
so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered.
13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it;
for I will give it unto thee.
13:18 Then Abram removed [his] tent,
and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
the LORD said unto Abram... after... Lot was separated from him...-
This is the third time that the Lord appears to Abram. There had been no word from the Lord, during his fleshly minded detour into Egypt. But now, he had returned to the place from which he had wandered, and turned his heart to the Lord (v.3,4). With his separation from Lot, he was finally in full obedience to the Lord's first message (in the land of promise, and apart from his kindred, 12:1).
In contrast to Lot, Abram's priority was to walk with the LORD. cp. Mat 6:33
The LORD rewarded Abram's faith, with a triple promise-
a personal land grant to Abram, "for ever" (which also assures his resurrection), v.15a
a permanent endowment to his children (also assures their resurrection), v.15b