In this issue, we want to look at Abraham’s God-given prosperity and how it differs from our last issue where I described Abraham’s manufactured prosperity. This will be a completely different story than the last.
Abraham and Lot experience such prosperity that they cannot handle it. They get too big for their property. When God blesses us with prosperity, we need to have wisdom on how to handle it in God-honoring ways. We will learn that and more from Abraham’s experience with God-given prosperity.
Too Much God-Given Prosperity (Genesis 13:1-13)
As Abraham and Lot settle in the land, they experience God-given prosperity like no other. Abraham and Sarah went back up to Canaan from Egypt and went through the Negeb. This was a dry wilderness in the south part of Canaan.
The Negeb is the region in the south on this map.
The land of the Negeb
It was a hard place to live in but it was perfect for shepherds and people who kept animals. They could find places for the animals to graze. Abraham and Lot passed through this south part of Canaan. Then they traveled to the place where they began near Bethel.
The Bible says when he reached the place where he settled, he called on the name of the Lord. He was wealthy beyond measure. It is God-given prosperity that did more than sustain him. Like Abraham, we can live in the blessing of the Lord.
As some people know about wealth and prosperity, there came problems for Abraham and Lot. They were both so wealthy, had so many people and tents, and such a large number of flocks and livestock that they were trampling on one another. The land was not big enough for both of them.
Genesis 13:6 twice says they could not dwell together in the land. This was a serious issue and I had to figure out a solution on how to handle their God-given prosperity. The people who took care of their possessions were getting in each other’s way. I hope this problem didn’t make people come to blows with one another.
On top of all this, they were not alone in the land. They had to share it with the Canaanites and Perizzites (Genesis 13:7). I can only imagine what their neighbors thought of them. They had to figure out how to steward and enjoy the bounty of God’s blessings. It’s nice to have family around until everyone needs some space.
Abraham comes up with a solution. They want to stay on each other’s good side. He proposes that they separate from one another and choose their own way and the land before them. We see Abraham’s generosity as he allows Lot to choose first. Of course, Lot looks around, sees the greener grass, and chooses that path.
The problem is that it is riddled with wickedness and evil. We will be diving into life lessons from Lot in another volume, but he chose what he thought was better when it was not. There are times we think we choose the best and most godly path but do not see all the problems with it.
Abraham settles among the Canaanites. This will be his and Israel’s inheritance. It is also riddled with evil people and problems, but that’s a story for another time. Sometimes, no matter where we settle, the Lord’s blessing will make us prosperous.
The Future Promise of God-Given Prosperity (Genesis 13:14-18)
God-given prosperity has a lid until God gives wisdom to lift the lid and allow His prosperity to continue in your life. Abraham experienced this as soon as he and Lot separated. It was only after Abraham had the wisdom to separate that God came and gave him the opportunity for more prosperity.
God gave Abraham a blank check. He gave him a “walking deed” to the land – what was at that time Canaan. Abraham did not own land at the time. But God told him He would give the land Abraham could see from his vantage point and where he could walk.
William Penn was given the same opportunity, as I have mentioned before. He could literally walk the borders that would become Pennsylvania and that was what the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would become, the borders of the Commonwealth.
God told Abraham to look in the cardinal directions in the land he saw. As far as he saw, would be the land of his descendants. Abraham has faith now not only that he will have descendants from the promise God gave him through Sarah but also land for a great nation.
Land changes hands often throughout history. The great empires of the ancient world changed hands based on whatever empire conquered next. But God promises Abraham that the land he sees will belong to his descendants forever. Only an eternal God can make such a promise and guarantee it.
God also promises Abraham that his offspring will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. This is not the only image God will give Abraham to understand how numerous his descendants will be. We’ll talk about these images in later issues also. Try to separate and number the dust of the earth. Take some dirt or dust in your hand and try to separate it into individual particles. It’s practically impossible!
This is before Abraham has one child through Sarah. It has been at least 75 years and they have no children of their own. Abraham had to believe his God-given prosperity would be much more than it was at that moment.
In Genesis 13:17-18, God then gives Abraham the “walking deed” to the land of Canaan. God tells him to walk through the length and breadth of the land. He promises to give it to Abraham and his descendants.
Every step Abraham took was the most purposeful of any man’s walk from before him. He believed that every step he took would become his land as part of God’s promise. He decides to settle his tent, which was essentially a nomads home, by the oaks of Mamre, which Moses clarifies is Hebron.
Abraham shows his gratitude for God-given prosperity by building an altar to the Lord. He worshiped God and most likely offered a sacrifice on that altar. When God blesses us with His prosperity, it is not because of anything we have done or deserved. It is because of what God desires give us. He deserves the worship and praise for His prosperity to us.
Life Lessons from Abraham’s God-Given Prosperity
First, enjoy God-given prosperity. There’s an idea in the Church that prosperity is bad. It is not bad when you do not chase after it instead of God. God blesses His children. That’s also not to say you will not suffer some kind of hardship in your life. This does not prove God does not bless you either. We must have balance in our teaching on prosperity.
Next, we must have wisdom in how we steward the prosperity God gives us. God can bless you with prosperity but you could waste it without wisdom and understanding. If you think God won’t bless you because He knows you won’t be wise with God-given prosperity, this is not necessarily true. He wants us to be wise and steward well everything He entrusts to us.
We must be like Paul, who learned how to be content in every situation (Philippians 4:11-13). Notice that contentment is not something we automatically have. It is something we learn. Wisdom in the best and worst of times will ensure that every situation leads to God-given prosperity.
Another life lesson from Abraham and God-given prosperity is to be generous as the Lord has been generous to us. If we are stingy with God’s blessing in our life, we do not represent well His heart. God made Abraham a blessing to bless others (Genesis 12:2). He does not give us prosperity for our sakes, but to bless others.
Next, God-given prosperity does not run out. He doesn’t stop blessing us. As I stated earlier, we will have different situations and seasons in our life, but that does not mean His blessing has run out. God continues to bless us but the ways in which He blesses us may be different in each season of our life. I assure you God gives you more than sufficient grace to handle every situation in life.
Also, acknowledge and praise God for God-given prosperity. Abraham made an altar to the Lord and sacrificed on it. He knew where his blessing and prosperity came from. He was sure to give God all the glory for the prosperity and blessing in his life. We must do the same.
We worship God in every situation because He blesses us in some way or another. We also need to recognize God’s blessing and prosperity in our life. We will not praise God for something we do not recognize comes from Him. Even if you believe you have the wisdom and ability to be prosperous, God gave you that wisdom and ability. All goodness comes from God (James 1:17)!
A final life lesson we must recognize concerning God-given prosperity is that there is sometimes false teaching about prosperity in the Church. There are Bible teachers who will tell you that if you experience any suffering or hardship, you are not blessed of the Lord.
Show me a saint in the Bible who did not go through suffering and hardship of some sort. How we feel at our current stage of life should have no bearing on our worship of God or our knowledge that God blesses us.
Another false teaching is that Christians should never experience “lowly times” or should not have wealth. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that if you become a Christian you will be wealthy. Once again, Jesus Himself said, “In this world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).
I caution you to pay close attention to what is taught in your church. Make sure it is biblical, that no one looks down on a Christian going through hard times and believes he or she is not in some way blessed by the Lord.
I am a quadriplegic until the moment Jesus heals me, but I consider myself over-abundantly bless by the Lord every day. I have more time to study God’s Word and to disciple others. He has given me a writing ministry, an outlet for the calling He has placed on my life. And that call is not rescinded just because of this momentary hardship. It isn’t for you either.
The Saga Continues…
We have seen in the last issue Abraham’s manufactured prosperity and how that is different from God-given prosperity in this issue. But the story continues in the life lessons from Abraham do not stop here. We’re still just getting started with Abraham’s life story. In the next issue, we will talk about Abraham as the Man God blesses.
