Showing posts with label pasture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pasture. Show all posts

Saturday 5 March 2016

GREEN PASTURES OR GOD’S PRESENCE?


MEMORY VERSE: And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. Genesis 19:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 115-117

BIBLE READING: Genesis 13:9-12

The story of how Lot separated from his uncle and adopted father, Abram, is a popular one. After series of quarrels between the herdsmen of Lot and those of Abram, Abram decided that it was best they both divide the land between themselves. He called Lot and said “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” (Genesis 13:9). Abram, being a senior brother to Lot’s deceased father, gave Lot the opportunity to pick first. One would have expected Lot to turn down the offer to choose first since Abram was like a father to him. Instead he lifted up his eyes to see which portion of the land was most "green". He saw that the plains of Jordan was “well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt” and moved in with his family. At the onset, his decision to move into Sodom and Gomorrah seemed like a masterstroke. In the land he prospered greatly and amassed great wealth. One day, God’s wrath came down on Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot lost all he had. Things were so bad, for him, that he could not afford a house so he began to live inside a cave with his two daughters. Genesis 19:30 says, “And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.”

There are several lessons to learn from this story. Firstly, not all green pastures are actually green. The colour ‘green’ is the colour of life, renewal, nature, and energy, and is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. So when the Psalmist says “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2a), you have an idea of what he was trying to say. The land of Sodom and Gomorrah had green pastures but it was not 'so green' for Lot. Secondly, not all green pastures are green pastures; some are abattoirs in disguise. Lot went into Sodom and Gomorrah with a large family but left with only two of his children; even his wife did not make it out. Thirdly, not all green pastures are peaceful. Fourthly, the fact that a pasture is green does not mean God is there. The plain of Jordan looked like the garden of the Lord but it was not the garden of the Lord. Sixthly, the fact that a pasture is green today does not mean it will be green tomorrow, as such pray before making any decision. The pastures were green when Lot moved into Sodom, several years later it became a sulphur site. As we mentioned yesterday, in Lot’s scale of preference ‘greener pasture’ came before the presence of God. Friend, in your scale of preference which comes first? Is it money? Is it wealth? Is it influence? Is it the presence of God? Is it the will of God? Lot preferred a green pasture to the presence of God? Dear sister, do you prefer a well-to-do man to a God-fearing man? A man who is well-to-do but not God-fearing has no future because he is at the mercy of the enemy. That job may offer more money but is that God’s will for you? Marriage to that brother or sister may help you meet your financial needs or give you influence and connection, but is God in it? Your journey to that foreign country may offer you a lot in terms of financial returns but is God in it?

NOTE: A green pasture where the presence of God is missing is a death trap.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world