Genesis

Abraham and Lot returned from Egypt to their former location in Bethel. Both families had great wealth gained from their time in Egypt. There is conflict between the two families because of the strain on the resources to maintain their herds. There are other peoples in the area as well. Abraham offers Lot the choice of where to dwell. Abraham will go in the opposite direction so there will be no conflict. Lot chooses the area in the Jordan Valley. Abraham settled in the land of Canaan. As a result of the mode in which the offer was made and the choice of Lot, peace between the families is restored. All of this is brought about by Abraham's humble attitude. Following Abraham's return and the resolution of the conflict between the two families, God renews His promise to Abraham.

Given the eventual message from scripture, we now see from the teachings of our Lord regarding His Kingdom, that the land God promised to His people is symbolic of the spiritual kingdom which God will bless His people with forever. The physical land Abraham received was a desert and mountainous land, not the fertile valleys chosen by Lot. In a similar way, the earth in which we live offers many enticements while faithful service to our Lord has challenges that can draw us away. However, the physical world will someday be destroyed and we will reap the eternal blessings from being part of the spiritual kingdom of God.

Sometimes God allows situations to occur so that we learn more of God's will. Abraham and Lot became wealthy due to Abraham's deception in Egypt. The wealth they gained did not result in peace. The opposite occurred. In an act of wisdom, Abraham resolved the conflict. This allowed him to return his focus more so on God. We cannot clearly state that God brought about these events but certainly He took Abraham from where he now was and redirected him back into the way God wished for Him. The same occurs in our lives today. We stray from God's will, but God takes us from where we are when we return and continues to work in our lives.

The intent of this question is to show that God is faithful to His people once they repent. There are multiple examples that may come out. Look for examples that show the attitude and action that demonstrate true repentance.

This affects us today because we also can see the forgiveness God grants when we repent and return to Him. Some may wish to share from their own lives an example where God forgive them.

Never forget that God takes us back. There are many examples in scripture of God restoring an individual once they repented. Abraham is an example from the Old Testament. God made a promise to Abraham, but Abraham desired to make his own way rather than follow God's way. This resulted in consequences he had not foreseen. To his credit, he repented and followed God's directions. There would still be consequences that had to be dealt with as a result of his poor choices, yet God demonstrated His faithfulness by renewing His promise to Abraham.

In the New Testament, God continues this promise through the teachings of Jesus. An example of this is from Luke 15 in the series of parables about God's forgiveness, culminating in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Here, Jesus teaches us that if we repent and return, no matter the depths of depravity we've turned to, God, our loving Father will take us back and fully restore us. In a wonderful statement related to this, Luke 15:7 and 10 state that there is rejoicing in heaven over the sinner that repents. Later, in the book of I John 1, John teaches us that God will take us back and remove our sin because we are in Christ and repent. This offers tremendous hope.

We can trust God's word. God demonstrated faithfulness to His promise time and again through the examples we see in scripture. This historical proof offers us confident assurance that He will continue to be faithful to those who are His. We must make every effort to maintain our faithfulness, and when we fail, turn quickly and sincerely to the Father in repentance.