The Hawaiian Kingdom had just regained its independence from what many considered to be an unjust usurpation of authority by the British Empire. Kamehameha III addressed his people with these words, “Ua Mau ke Ea a ka Aina i ka Pono,” that is, “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” The contemporary political climate probably prevented anyone, including the speaker, from understanding the deeper truth of what had just been spoken. These words apply to the New Heavens and the New Earth.
OT Israel did not live up to the standards of its antitype. The Israelite people had been brought out of Egypt into the Promised Land. They had passed through the times of the Judges and then the heights of the monarchy under David and Solomon. But now the kingdom was divided. Original commands for conquest and cleansing of the land had not been met and now the consequences of this failure were manifesting themselves.
And so we read of that time that the Canaanites and Perizzites were dwelling in the land. It is essential that we tighten our focus. The time is not that of the Divided Kingdom but of its foreshadowing. Moses has just recorded the Exodus of Israel in the life of Abram. He rivets our attention to the fulfillment of promise and then jolts his readers into the realization that the time of types and figures was still very much in play. The promised reality still lay in the future. The land could not support the flocks of both Abram and Lot and so, there was strife. One of them would have to move. Abram gives the choice of locale to Lot.
At this point, the temptation to make the text applicable is overwhelming. Be selfless and generous like Abram. God will reward you with more than you gave up. Others would admonish not to point your tent in the direction of your own personal Sodom. You might end up living there. All such lessons are based on what seems to be obvious: while Abram is promised all the land he sees, Lot is living in a doomed city. These are two entirely different fates. Yet, to see only this fails to take into account not only prophetic intent, but also apostolic interpretation.
Such treatment of the text misinterprets the character of Lot. He is vilified and all are warned to beware. A more sophisticated approach will note the theme of division that runs throughout scripture. This is seen in the differentiation between the lines of Cain and Seth, in the call of Abraham, in the election of Israel, and in the existence of the Church. Its root principle is traced back to the proto-gospel found in Genesis 3:15. How easy then to assume it as a paradigm for interpretation. It is, to be sure, here. The mention of the Canaanites and of the future destruction of the Sodom proves this. In the case of Abram and Lot, however, it will not work.
This particular division is always between two seeds; that of the woman and that of the serpent. Peter’s assessment of Lot places this story in a different category. It is essential to the point he is making in chapter two of his second epistle that Lot was righteous. He does not hesitate to mention this twice. The division spoken of in this chapter must be one that occurs among the elect. Furthermore, there are lessons to be learned from the aforementioned references to the Canaanites and Sodom. Even though he acknowledges the historical reality of the story, the conservative exegete falls into the same trap as the liberal infidel. Whether the events are seen as non-factual or as long ago and far away, both seek the ethical relevance to our times. Remember that the story of Abraham, real though it was, foreshadows greater realities. It flies over ancient Israel only to come to rest in Christ and his Church.
There is, then, a three-fold layering of time. The split between Abram and Lot occurs while the Canaanites are still in the land and before the LORD has destroyed Sodom. Do not fail to note that this judgment takes place in the context of a divine advent. Now, take the narrative to the next level and find yourself living in the Divided Kingdom. [Not that Moses has the Divided Kingdom in mind-he is not making the same kind of literary parallels that exist between the call of Abram and the Exodus, both of which he was able to write about. The point is that, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, both the Divided Kingdom and this episode in the life of the patriarch point to the same ultimate fulfillment.] Your fathers have failed in their task and the Canaanites are still in the land. At the same time, you await your coming Messiah, who will bring the judgment of God down on his enemies. But then, an unexpected twist: the Messiah is judged. However, this is the basis on which he will judge the world. We move on to the next level.
The failure of Israel to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan reenacts an event in the Garden of Eden. Adam failed to drive out the Serpent and then succumbed to its temptation. The ground was subsequently cursed. God would allow it to be a reluctant source of life sustaining produce, yet, at a terrible price. The land would require and then convert to dust the bodies of all those whom it had fed. The life of this land is perpetuated in blood.
We still need to deal with the next time indicator. Moses writes, “This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” Remembering that this is a divine advent, look forward now to the time when Christ will appear in the clouds and destroy his enemies with the brightness of his coming. This, then, is the context of the promise given to Abram at the end of the chapter. It is to be fulfilled after the destruction of Sodom; that is, after the final advent of Christ. Abraham is not promised a larger piece of this present sarcophagus. Instead, he awaits a supernatural land wherein dwells righteousness; one that is to be found only in the regions of heaven.
As seen, the narrative takes place between the first and the last Adam. We are participants therein and it cannot be any more relevant. Still, there are loose ends. Moses has presented us with the ultimate solution, but, what governed his choice of problems? We have to be able to see the relevance of the end, both to the split between Abram and Lot, and to the Divided Kingdom. This will only become apparent upon recognizing that the main theme of the chapter is not division but reconciliation. When reading the promise, it is essential to pay attention not only to its content, but also to its recipients. Not just to Abram, but to his seed.
Recall the problem that precipitates the parting of ways between Abram and Lot- there was not enough land. Already, we are beginning to see the relevance of the solution. Be careful, though. God is not promising Abram better land because Lot snatched the prime real estate. The promise is given to both of them. The seed is Christ and, by extension, all those who are in union with him. Despite the urge to judge Lot according to appearances, we must submit to the apostolic testimony. Lot is a righteous man. Much more than a promise of land, God has sworn to heal the breach.
There remains the matter of the Divided Kingdom. In the 37th chapter of his prophecy, Ezekiel is told to take two sticks, named Judah and Joseph, and hold them together. This is to represent the time when there are no longer two, but one kingdom. God will set up his sanctuary in the midst of this reunited people and both he and they will live forever in the land that he has given them. Here is a story that is both about reconciliation and land. Be sure, however, not to be too easily content with surface issues. There is no call to reduce this to nothing more than a principle of reconciliation. The reconciliation spoken of here is not an abstraction, but a concrete, historical reality.
When the Israelites finally crossed the Jordan into Canaan, the land was divided up as an inheritance among the tribes. That is, for all but one. The tribe of Levi did not receive any land. But, far from being deprived of the blessing, this tribe approached it the closest. The LORD was their inheritance (Deuteronomy 10:9). This was no aberration, but a sign. It pointed all Israelites to the true reality of their inheritance. Not an earthly plot, nor even the heavenly country alone: land, no matter how holy, could, in itself, do nothing to heal the breach between Abram and Lot. They must also inherit the God who sanctifies the land.
Merely comparing Moses with Ezekiel may allow some to think that nothing more is to be considered than future plans for national Israel. Paul will not let this happen. He writes in the second chapter of Ephesians that both Jews and Gentiles have been brought together into one body and are being built up into one edifice. All of this is made possible by the crucified Christ in order that he might reconcile both to God. For God so loved the world…
Abram could think of nothing better than to suggest that he and Lot separate. The divine solution is on a much grander scale. Give all of the land to Abram and his seed. This would entail two results. First, there would be the removal of the serpent’s seed, those who had no claim to this land. Sodom will be destroyed. But then, there is the restoration of the exiles. God says as much in Ezekiel’s account of the two sticks, “Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.”
The promise is not given to physical descendants of Abram, but, “In Isaac shall your seed be called.” It belongs to Christ and is the inheritance of those who have inherited him. The flocks of Abraham will once again find pasture with those of righteous Lot.
Posted by kcourter at agosto 21, 2003 1:37 AM