Abraham Returns to Canaan
Abraham returns to Canaan after embarrassing himself in Egypt by lying about his wife, Sarah. Now he returns to Bethel to worship God.
Abraham Returns to Canaan
In the previous post in this series, entitled “Abraham in Egypt,” we learned of some poor decisions made by Abraham. Despite having shown great faith in leaving his homeland in Mesopotamia, in response to God’s call, Abraham traveled to Egypt during a famine, unable to believe that God could sustain him in Canaan. While in Egypt, Abraham deceived the Pharaoh into believing that Sarah, his wife, was in fact his sister. Pharaoh, believing Sarah to be single, invited her into his palace. This put Sarah in a compromising position. God inflicted a plague on Pharaoh’s household and Sarah was released back to her husband.
Abraham must have felt embarrassed and guilty over his faithless and deceitful actions which damaged any opportunity he might have had to testify about the Creator God, Yahweh.
The Way Back
Nevertheless, when we have wandered from God, there is a way back. Our God is a loving and forgiving God. He is also fully committed to keeping His promises to His children – despite their failings.
We can imagine Abraham shamefacedly beating a retreat from Egypt, but in doing so, he retraces his steps.
I wonder what the return journey was like. Was there conversation between Abraham and Sarah, or a sullen silence? Did they have a heated argument?
We cannot know and we can only make guesses based on how we would feel in our current times. I would hazard a guess that if a husband treated his wife this way today, the marriage would be almost irretrievable. Whatever the atmosphere was like, we do see the couple now retracing their steps back to Canaan.
Perhaps if we stray from God we can be at a loss as to how to get back. Abraham sets us a fine example. He retraced his footsteps until once again, he found himself at the House of God.
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 13:1-4
When he retraces his steps, he returns to he place from which he had left, Bethel, The House of God. There he begins to “call on the name of the Lord. Abraham has come full circle and his fellowship with God is restored.
Abraham Calls on the Name of the Lord
The phrase “calls on the name of the Lord” is an interesting one. It implies that Abraham wishes to connect with God. He wishes to have a relationship with Him.
This desire to call on God can be traced back to the earliest days of the human race. In Genesis chapter 4 we read,
To Seth also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:26
Seth, one of the sons of Adam and Eve, and along with other early human beings, recognized his need for God. We are left with precious few clues about this time, but it is obvious that even in those early days, there were those who called on God, and others who did not. This pattern continues today.
We live in an unbelieving world. However, when we call on God we too are recognizing like Abraham and Seth before Him that there is a Supreme Being with whom we have a need to interact. In fact, our very salvation depends on this interaction of faith.
Both Peter, and later, the Apostle Paul recognize calling on God to be necessary for our salvation. Peter preached to a large crowd gathered in Jerusalem with these words,
And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Acts 2:21
While Paul wrote to the Roman believers,
..for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:13
Calling on God should be a desire of every believer’s heart. In the same way that I choose to converse with my wife and my family because I love them, I should wish to talk to God. Obviously, when we don’t talk to our partners and families, our relationships with them become weaker. It is the same with our relationship with God. Abraham called on God because He wished to enjoy a relationship with Him. We should follow his example, even after failing Him, just as Abraham did.
God Keeps His Promises
Although Abraham’s actions in Egypt might surprise us, God knows what Abraham is like. God knows what we are like. He sees clearly into our hearts, yet chooses us for His purposes.
He is God, and He will not deny what He has said He is going to do. In Abraham’s case, God had a purpose for him; and even though Abraham was unfaithful at this point, God remained faithful and brought Abraham back to Himself.
T.H. Epp “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”
I am amazed that God continues to use us despite our weaknesses and our failures. If you have fallen, let God pick you up and get back on track. He has plans for you.
This is His grace and mercy. God does not cast Abraham aside, nor does He cast us aside.
Back in Canaan
Abraham is back where he should be – Bethel, the House of God. In fact he probably should never have left.
As F.B.Meyer said:
“How much better would it have been for Abraham to have thrown the responsibility back on God, and to have said, “Thou has brought me here; and Thou must now bear the whole weight of providing for me and mine: here I will stay till I clearly know what Thou wilt have me do.”
F.B. Meyer, Abraham; or, The Obedience of Faith
But with the return to Canaan, the first few verses of Psalm 23 come to mind:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,
Psalm 23:1-3
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
Despite his failures in Egypt, the Lord was about to restore Abraham’s soul.
Abraham and Lot’s Separation
Shortly after Abraham has he returned to Canaan he faces another dilemma, this time involving his nephew, Lot.
Abraham has been blessed by God despite his failure in Egypt. He has become very wealthy with livestock, silver and gold during his time in Egypt. This brings rise to a problem as his nephew, Lot, also has large herds..
In fact, they now have so many livestock that the land simply will not sustain them. The herdsmen begin to have disagreements. To complicate matters, the Perizzites and Canaanites are also making use of this region.
Abraham and Lot decide to part ways. Abraham, perhaps having learned a lesson from his recent troubles in Egypt, decides to let Lot choose the best land, the well watered plains of the valley of Jordan, that bumps against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham graciously accepts the less productive land in Canaan but there is an important point to be noted about Lot’s decision. The passage says:
Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
Genesis 13:3
Lot may have chosen the better land, but he has also decided to place himself next door to two of the most wicked cities in ancient history. He remembers how good things were in the cities of Egypt and and chooses the plains near the city of Sodom. But in choosing to live here, he is placing himself in a position of possible danger and temptation – an unwise thing to do.
Downward Steps in Canaan
Psalm 1 tells us:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
Psalm 1
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
Later, in chapter 14 verse 12, we find that Lot has chosen to walk in step with, stand in the way with, and sit in the company of wicked sinners and mockers. We find that he is no longer tending flocks in the well watered valley. He is living in, and participating in the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Much sorrow will later come from this decision.
In contrast, Abraham appears to have learned the lessons of his Egyptian escapade. He is delighting in calling on the name of the Lord at Bethel, and he is rewarded for this decision by the Lord.
The Lord’s Promise Reiterated and Enlarged
Once again the Lord speaks to Abraham, and His words are recorded for us in Genesis 13.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:14-18
Perhaps Abraham was wondering whether God’s former promise to make him a great nation still held. After all, he had demonstrated a lack of faith and wandered away from the land that God had promised him.
But, as we have learned, God is faithful to those who follow Him, even when they stumble.
He not only repeats His promise, but He also expands on it.
As we saw earlier, the first promise was made when Abraham separated from his country, his people, and his father’s household.
The second promise follows hard on the heels of Abraham’s separation from Lot and the lures of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot may think he has chosen wisely, but Abraham is the one who has made the better choice. The Lord defines the boundaries of the land that is to belong to Abraham’s descendants forever!
God was rewarding Abraham for his faithfulness with a profound statement of His intention to bless, not only Abraham, but His descendants for generations to come!
Have you ever had to find your way back to God? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Ray Marshall
Ray Marshall was born in Scotland but emigrated to Canada in 1977 where he met his wife Kelly.
In the 1990’s, Ray and Kelly served as missionaries in both Ireland and Ecuador, and after returning to Canada, they served as church planters in Belleville, Ontario. Later, Ray provided leadership to the Spirit Borne Christian Performing Arts Team in Quinte West.
Between 2009 and 2014, Ray and Kelly spent several years teaching ESL in China. After returning from China, Ray served with the Navigators of Canada as a community mentor.
These days, Ray serves with MSC Canada as a Global Outreach Worker, reaching out to international students; visiting scholars and professors; and immigrants.
He has also been providing digital media and SEO support for FBHInternational, and HopeStreamRadio since 2011.
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