Genesis 13 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Genesis 13

WHEN:

• Abram was born in approximately 1996 B.C. and died in 1821 B.C. at 175 years old (Gen 25:7).

• The events recorded in Genesis 13 happened sometime between 1921-1886 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Abram – A man from Ur of the Chaldeans who moved to Canaan at God’s instruction.

• Sarai – Abram’s wife.

• Lot – Abram’s nephew.

WHERE:

• At the opening of the chapter, Abram left Egypt and moved his family back to the area east of Bethel where he built an altar in Genesis 12.

• Abram settled in Canaan.

• Lot settled in the Jordan River Valley.

• At the end of the chapter Abram moved to the oaks of Mamre which were in Hebron.

OUTLINE:

• ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE AFTER RETURNING TO CANAAN (13:1-13):

  • After lying to Pharaoh (Genesis 12), Abram, Lot, and Sarai left Egypt, travelled through the Negeb (southern Canaan), and returned to Bethel.

  • Abram is described as being very rich with an abundance of livestock. His nephew Lot also had sizable herds.

  • Between the two of them, they had so many animals there wasn’t enough pastureland to support them all.

  • Abram and Lot agreed to split up, and Abram gave Lot his choice of the land.

  • Lot decided to go east and live in the fertile Jordan River Valley near the city of Sodom.

  • The men of Sodom are described as “wicked, great sinners before the Lord.”

  • Abram settled in Canaan in the west.  

• GOD REAFFIRMS HIS PROMISE TO ABRAM (13:14-18):

  • God told Abram He would give his offspring all the land he could see to the north, south, east, and west.

  • He promised to make Abram’s descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth.

  • Abram moved to Hebron and built an altar to worship the Lord.

APPLICATION:

• Do not put your soul in danger for the sake of prosperity.

• Lot chose to live near a wicked town (Sodom) because the Jordan River Valley looked like an ideal place for someone in the livestock business.

• Sodom was not a spiritually healthy place, but apparently its wickedness wasn’t enough to dissuade him from living there. 

• In the upcoming chapters, we’ll find out how dearly Lot paid for that decision.

• We should never allow the allure of prosperity to lead us places where our soul or the souls of our family members are endangered.

• “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals’” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

• If we make our decisions based on prosperity and don’t consider the “company” we surround ourselves with, we’ll grow to regret those decisions when we discover we and our families are farther from God than we ever intended to be.