§5. Abraham's Treatment of Lot (Gen. 13)

And Abraham went out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. And Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abraham called on the name of the Lord.

And Lot also, who went with Abraham, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 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. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abraham's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle.

And Abraham said unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we are brethren. 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 take the right hand, then I will go to the left."

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld 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 thou goest unto Zoar. So Lot chose him all the Plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.

And the Lord said unto Abraham, 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: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 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. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it."

And Abraham moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

§6. Abraham's Deliverance of Lot (Gen. 14:10-24)

And there came five kings from the East and made war against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abraham's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

And there came one that had escaped, and told Abraham the Hebrew: now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abraham. And when Abraham heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of the kings. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abraham of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be God Most High, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." And he gave him a tenth of all.

And the king of Sodom said unto Abraham, "Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself."

And Abraham said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a shoelatchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abraham rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me; Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion."

§7. Abraham's Prayer for Sodom (Gen. 18:17-32; 19:29)

And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

And the Lord said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."

And Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

And the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."

And Abraham answered and said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?"

And he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five."

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, "Peradventure there shall be forty found there."

And he said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."

And he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there."

And he said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

And he said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there."

And he said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

And he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there."

And he said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

11 (§5). Follow Abraham's journey back from Egypt along the coast road. He reached the district in Southern Canaan that was called "the South." What wealth did he have? What would he need for his cattle? Notice how this caused him to journey from place to place.

12 (§5). On the western plains of America there have been disputes between the cattle men over the rights of grazing. The big men have driven the little men away. Tell the story of this old dispute in Canaan. What plan of settlement did Abraham suggest? How did Lot behave in the matter? What good result came to Abraham?

13 (§5). Look up the word "magnanimous." Could it be applied to Abraham? Have you ever known an act that was magnanimous?

14 (§6). Kings in old times used to make war on their neighbors just for the purpose of stealing their goods. This is the story of one of those plundering expeditions that was made against the country near the Dead Sea. Who had chosen that country for his residence? What was the result of the invasion? How did Abraham hear of it? How many young men did he have in his service? What does this show of the size of his camp? What did Abraham do?

15 (§6). What did Abraham do with the spoil that he captured? Was this magnanimous?

16 (§6). Compare Abraham's conduct with that of the United States in Cuba.

17 (§6). Abraham gave back the property that he had rescued: what should we do with property that we find?

18 (§7). Men of old loved to think of God appearing to them and talking to them. It is a beautiful picture of the silent message that comes to our hearts. What does Abraham learn is to happen to the wicked city of Sodom?

19 (§7). Is Abraham magnanimous in pleading for Sodom? What do the Lord's replies to Abraham's prayers teach us?

20 (§7). What happened to Sodom? Was Abraham's prayer answered?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Think over and write out the three ways in which Abraham was magnanimous. If you watch carefully the conduct of the best people you know you will be sure to see somebody do a magnanimous act before the next lesson. When you see it write it down in your notebook as your review work.