Intermediate Level, Block 2—Babel and Good Land
Week 17
Abraham Allowing Lot to Choose First (Revised on 2/23/2021)
Point to Emphasize: We can let the younger ones to have the first choice.
Reference Reading: Genesis 13: 5-18
Memory Verse: Let no one seek his own profit, but that of the other. (1 Corinthians 10:24)
Story Sample
Abraham had become very rich in livestock. He had flocks, herds, tents, and herdsmen to look after them. Lot, his nephew, also had flocks, herds, tents, and herdsmen. There was no longer enough pasture, water, and space for all. The herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot began to argue with each other. When Lot’s herdsmen took his sheep to one pasture, Abraham’s sheep were already there. And when Abraham’s herdsmen took his herds to drink at a certain pool, Lot’s herds were already there. These herdsmen were fighting with each other over the pastures and the available water. There was just not enough for all to share. Something had to be done. Someone needed to settle the matter of which herds belonged where.
Now, in a lot of families, when there is a decision to be made, the oldest is the one to make the final decision. And the oldest also gets the first choice. When I was a child, we would have big family gatherings once a year. At that time, our grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins all got together. There were at least forty of us. We usually met at a big park and ate a big meal together. There were always lots of great desserts, too. But the children were not first in line for desserts. It went from oldest to youngest. The oldest always got the first choice. My grandmother’s lemon meringue pies were always gone by the time I went through the line because that was what the older ones liked best. Being one of the youngest, I was lucky if I got any pie at all. [Storyteller, tell you story of the oldest getting the first choice.]
It often is the oldest one who gets the first choice. So, we might expect Abraham to settle the problem by choosing the best land for himself and leaving Lot the land that was less desirable. But Abraham was not like this. Though he was older than Lot, he nevertheless let Lot have the first choice. He let the younger choose first. And so Lot chose what he thought was the better land.
Now, I need to ask you, when you are with younger ones, who gets the first pick from the cookie plate? Who gets to choose first in a game? Probably, it is you, the older one. Sometimes we take advantage of being the oldest and choose the best for ourselves. The younger ones get ignored or are given the last choice. But I hope that the next time you are with younger ones you will remember that Abraham let the younger one go first. And, like Abraham, you will let the younger ones get the first choice or be able to choose first in a game. I am sure that as the older one, you will consider the younger ones’ feelings and allow them to be first.