Genesis 13

v1-4: “Though there may be occasion to go sometimes into places of temptation, yet we must leave them as soon as possible.”

v5-9: Quarrelling and division harms God’s people. It leaves then vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. It also harms their witness to the world, giving reason “to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” Him.

v10-13: Those who make choices “guided and controlled by the lustful desire of sinful human nature, of the eye, or the pride of life,” and who “do not consider the interests of their souls and their [faith], cannot expect God’s presence with them or his blessing on them.”

v14-18: The LORD assures Abram of “a good land, and numerous offspring to enjoy it.” The “same God who provides the inheritance provides the heirs.” There will be a holy land and in this holy land will live a holy offspring. This promise will be ultimately fulfilled by the great multitude that no-one can count in the new heaven and new earth.

Genesis 14

v1-12: Lot, “though he himself was a righteous man,” he “was still involved with the rest in all this trouble.” By choosing “to dwell in Sodom,” he only has himself to blame that “he has to share in Sodom’s calamities.” There are still consequences in this life for the sinful choices that we make as believers.

v13-16: “Those who venture in a good cause and with a good heart are under the special protection of a good God, and have reason to hope for a good outcome.”

v17-20: Melchizedek, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God Himself, brings “bread and wine, to refresh Abram and his soldiers” after the battle. This points to the “spiritual provisions of strength and comfort which Christ” give to us, “to refresh us when we are weary from our spiritual conflicts.”

v21-24: Abram uses titles for God, which were “the same that Melchizedek had used previously.” We can learn from, and “it is good [for us] to learn from others how to” speak well of God, “and to imitate those who speak well about the things of God.”