Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Genesis 13-15
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 52
Key Verse
Genesis 14:14 — “And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.”
Devotional Thought
What do you do when someone you love chooses the worse path? That question sits at the heart of Genesis 13, where Abram and Lot stand on a ridge with the whole land spread before them. Their herdsmen had quarreled, the land could not bear them both, and Abram—the elder, the one with the promise—gave the younger first pick. Lot lifted up his eyes and chose the well-watered plain of Jordan, pitching his tent toward Sodom, a city whose men were wicked exceedingly. Abram did not fight him for the best pasture. He let Lot go, and then God spoke: Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward. What Lot grasped at, Abram received as a gift.
Then trouble came, as it does. When the four kings raided the vale of Siddim and carried Lot away captive, Abram armed three hundred and eighteen trained servants and pursued by night, smote the enemy, and brought his nephew home. He refused so much as a shoelatchet from the king of Sodom, lest anyone say, I have made Abram rich. And on the road home, Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine and blessed him, and Abram gave tithes of all. After these things—after the battle, the refusal, the blessing—the word of the LORD came in a vision: Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Abram’s reply is startlingly honest. LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless? God did not rebuke the question. He took Abram outside and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars. And Abram believed in the LORD, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Then, as the sun went down, a deep sleep fell upon him, and a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the divided pieces—God alone walking the covenant path, binding Himself to a promise Abram could not keep for himself.
Psalm 52 draws the contrast sharp: the mighty man boasts in mischief and trusts in the abundance of his riches, but the righteous is like a green olive tree in the house of God. This May, when gardens are greening and graduation season stirs our hopes for the young, we feel the pull of both roads. Lot’s choice looked reasonable; Sodom’s grass was green. But the promise never rested on what Abram could see or seize. It rested on the God who passes between the pieces.
Reflection
- Lot lifted up his eyes and chose by sight; Abram lifted up his eyes only when God told him to. Where in your life are you choosing by sight what God has asked you to receive by faith?
- Abram rescued the nephew who had walked away from him, and refused the spoils of Sodom. What would it look like for you to pursue someone in love without taking anything in return?
Prayer
LORD God, possessor of heaven and earth, we confess that we often choose like Lot—lifting our eyes to what looks well watered and pitching our tents toward trouble. Teach us to wait on Thy promise rather than grasp at the plain. When those we love walk away, make us rescuers and not scorekeepers, ready to pursue by night and refuse reward by day. Be our shield and our exceeding great reward. Take us outside beneath the stars, and help our unbelief. We thank Thee that the covenant rests not on our hold of Thee but on Thy hold of us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 52:1 — “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.”