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Genesis 13:8-9

We cannot help but smile when we read these verses, for God works in strange, and sometimes even humorous, ways to accomplish His will. Long before, God had told Abram to leave his homeland and his kindred. At that time, leaving Lot was primarily a matter of principle. Abram needed to leave him because God told him to. Now, years later, reluctantly, he acknowledges that separation is necessary, not as a matter of principle, but as a practical matter. Taking the lottery along caused problems that persist to this day.

My friend, one way or another, God's will shall be done. It could have been in Ur, but it was not. In His providence, God brought discord and competition between Abram and Lot, which forced separation. Sooner or later, God's purposes will be fulfilled. If we see no need for obedience, God will create one. You can count on that.

Apparently, it was obvious that they needed to separate. The only problem was: who should leave, and where to? Abram left the decision to Lot. Whatever his choice, Abram would act accordingly. The offer gave Lot an advantage and left Abram vulnerable.

That is how Lot chose his portion, clearly a shrewd decision and, apparently, an option that gave him a decisive advantage in the competition with Abram. It was a selfish decision — taking the best and leaving Abram with what seemed worthless.

A simpler and fairer separation would have been to use the Jordan River as a border between them. Would not it have been fairer for Lot to live on one side of the Jordan, leaving the other to Abram? However, Lot chose "the whole plain of the Jordan" (v. 11). He did a masterful job thinking only of himself. He could have written a book on the subject.

And so they parted ways. Abram stayed in Canaan, while Lot advanced further and further toward Sodom.