Read Genesis 13 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
12:10-13:18 {p} …
We will use the Teaching Tool of the Chiastic Structure to help us find the topic of this paragraph.
The A pair reveals something amazing: The Promised Land could not sustain Abram, one man and his family! YHVH had just promised Abram this land in Gen 12:1. When the first test of famine is resolved, the land could not sustain him because of his great substance.
In both of these tests, Abram yields his right. In the first test, he is Sarai’s husband, but she was taken into Pharaoh’s house. God intervened and his wife was restored to him. In the second test, he was the elder to whom the promise of land was made, but he yielded his right and allowed Lot first choice.
His faith in the promise was tested, and he maintained his faith. In response, God reaffirmed His previous promise to Abram …
And YHVH said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, ‘Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for to you will I give it.’ Gen 13:14-17
… and then added to it. Can you see what was added? Hint: use the teaching tool of Comparison and Contrast, comparing Gen 12:1-3 to Gen 13:14-17.
The topic:
Gen 12:10-13:18 {p} Abram’s faith in the promise tested, and the promise reaffirmed
Why This Matters: We Learn from the Narrative that faith will be tested by trials. But, God is a promise keeper, and He reaffirms His promise when we pass the test of faith, with faithfulness.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Egypt and the Bible – Associates for Biblical Research
Caveat: I disagree with them on their identity of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, since the Bible identifies him; stay tuned for more on that when we get there.
The Wealth and Power of the Biblical Patriarchs – Associates for Biblical Research
Genesis in Chiastic Structure – Christine Miller
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