Genesis 13
[1] And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
[2] And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
[3] And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
[4] Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
[5] And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
[6] And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
[7] And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
[8] And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
[9] Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
[10] And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
[11] Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[12] Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
[13] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
[14] And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
[16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
[17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
[18] Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
[2] And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
[3] And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
[4] Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
[5] And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
[6] And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
[7] And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
[8] And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
[9] Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
[10] And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
[11] Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[12] Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
[13] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
[14] And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
[16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
[17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
[18] Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
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There are two things I take away from this chapter.
The first is "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." Didn't we go over this concept after the flood? Didn't this God character realize that men will always be wicked, and killing them in large numbers won't do anything to curb the wickedness? I happen to disagree with the idea that all human beings are inherently bad. For every bomber, there are hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people who rush to the aid of survivors and want to help the families of victims. For every natural disaster, there are volunteers who want to help clean up the mess and get survivors to safety. People are not inherently bad, clearly; the evidence we see before our eyes provides a stark contradiction to the claim of the God character in the flood story and in this one.
The second idea that seems contradictory to reality is the gift of the land of Canaan to Abram and his descendants--forever. The occupation of that region by the Israelites has been spotty over the millenia. It seems as though an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent deity would be able to find a way to persuade the people occupying that land to simply move, rather than be slaughtered. Essentially, this claim is wishful thinking, not a true declaration by a deity. If the deity existed, the land would be its gift to give, but since the Genesis was written by a human being, we get claims of what he felt ought to be, put into the mouth of the deity he worshiped.
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