And Lot, who was traveling with Abram also had flocks, herds, and tents. But the land could not support them living together, for their possessions were too great. And herdsmen of Abram and Lot began to quarrel. Abram said to Lot: Let’s not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours since we are family. Is not the entire land before you? Please, separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left. Genesis 13:5-9
He noticed two fishing boats at the water’s edge, with the fishermen nearby, rinsing their nets. Jesus climbed into the boat belonging to Simon Peter and said to him, “Let me use your boat. Push it off a short distance away from the shore so I can speak to the crowd.” Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished, he said to Peter, “Now row out to deep water to cast your nets and you will have a great catch.” “Master,” Peter replied, “we’ve just come back from fishing all night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you insist, we’ll go out again and let down our nets because of your word.” When they pulled up their nets, they were shocked to see a huge catch of fish, and their nets were ready to burst! They waved to their business partners in the other boat for help. They ended up completely filling both boats with fish until they began to sink! [It has been estimated that this was a catch of nearly one ton of fish, what was typically caught in two weeks’ time. The miracle is even greater when we consider that fishing was normally only done at night.] When Simon Peter saw this astonishing miracle, he knelt at Jesus’ feet and begged him, “Go away from me, Master, for I am a sinful man!” Simon Peter and the other fishermen—including his fishing partners, Jacob [Or “James.” Both Greek and Aramaic leave the Hebrew name as it is, Jacob. This translation will use Jacob throughout] and John, the sons of Zebedee—were awestruck over the miracle catch of fish. Jesus answered, “Do not yield to your fear, Simon Peter. From now on, you will catch men for salvation!” Translated from the Aramaic text. The Greek word zoogreo is a compound word of zoos (meaning “life”) and agreuo (meaning “to catch”). Fishermen catch fish that die and are consumed, but Peter was to catch men and give them life and freedom] After pulling their boats to the shore, they left everything behind and followed Jesus. Luke 5:2-11 (TPT)
When Abram’s brother Haran had passed away back in the land of Ur, Abram took Lot, Haran’s son, into his own household. Lot therefore travelled with him—first to the land of Haran, and then to Canaan, down to Egypt, and back again. In these excursions, Lot walked hundreds of miles alongside his uncle—hundreds of miles through all kinds of terrain, facing all the perils of nomadic life together.
Coming up out of Egypt, Scripture says, “Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2). His possessions had grown in his travels. The word rich in Hebrew (kabad or kabed) literally translates to weight or burden. Lot “had flocks and herds and tents” as well (Genesis 13:5), so Abram and Lot were both burdened with many worldly possessions.
As you can imagine, there would have been a massive physical weight to their abundant precious metals. Likewise, the provisions needed to sustain such large flocks and such a large household would have also weighed a significant amount. But this weight of possessions goes beyond this simple meaning—there was a relational weight as well.
The text reads, “the land could not support both of them dwelling together” (Genesis 13:6). Literally, the land could not bear them (Hebrew lo nasa/nasah eth erets). It is implied that there were not enough resources to uphold such massive flocks in the same location, which would include access to water, food, and space. The abundance of riches, therefore, strained their access to natural resources.
This prosperity, instead of bringing peace or helping them thrive, caused discord among the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Their possessions became something that caused tension and frustration, rather than something that brought them together as a family. The burden of riches impacted the relationships between the herdsmen, Lot and Abram’s ability to dwell in the land together, and likely frustrated the animals as they could not thrive in that location all together.
Realizing the problems among their people, Abram offered Lot the ability to separate from him—to become a leader of his own household and depart in whatever direction he would choose. Matthew Henry aptly writes, “Poverty and labour, wants and wanderings, could not separate Abram and Lot; but riches did so.”
Our Response
How often have we let the desires and cares of this world get in the way of our relationships? For instance, a family may divide over an inheritance, fighting for a share in money or items that are presumed to be deserved by them. Or perhaps a family struggles to spend time together because parents are too busy working so they can buy newer and nicer things. There are countless ways we can turn our gaze from the people in our lives to the things in our lives, exchanging meaningful and strengthened relationships for personal gain.
Have we allowed physical gain—money, possessions, riches of any kind—to cause tension or discord among our family, friends, or church community? Surely this is a temptation for all of us, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
The weight of riches caused the land to be unsuitable for Lot and Abram to dwell together. It impacted their ability, and all those who were with them, to be content in the location God had called them to dwell in. Sewing seeds of discontentment, the burden of earthly possessions impacted Abram, Lot, and all who were with them.
**Culled from Revelation Media
Contrast this with the case of the miracle wrought for Peter and the others as in our Luke text! As businessmen what they caught was enough reason to pre-occupy them with preserving the catch from spoiling and maximizing the profit from this unprecedented weight of fish. For the first time I fully noticed—After pulling their boats to the shore, they left everything behind and followed Jesus.
Wow! The saw enough to understand that the focus was not to be on the catch, but on Him who made the catch possible. This is the essence of discipleship, the kind of faithfulness described in Hebrews 3:1-6. Are you a true disciple? Where is your focus? On the outcome of promises or the one who made the promise!
Selah
Pastor Afolabi Oladele
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