The journey from Egypt was long and sunbaked, but Abram pressed onward, leading his caravan into the dry lands of the Negev. His wife Sarai rode quietly beside him, and with them trailed a river of wealth—flocks, herds, servants, and the glint of silver and gold. Lot, his nephew, followed close behind with his own growing company.
They wandered from camp to camp, retracing old paths until they reached the familiar place between Bethel and Ai. It was there that Abram had first built an altar, and beneath the open sky, he bowed once more to the Lord who had called him from the East.
But peace is fragile when possessions swell. Lot too had flocks and herds and tents, and soon, the land between them grew too narrow. Their shepherds clashed—shouting across wells, pushing over pastures. The land was already tight with the presence of the Canaanites and Perizzites, and tension stirred like a brewing storm.
One morning, Abram approached Lot. His voice was calm, but his eyes heavy with wisdom.
"Let there be no strife between us," he said. "We are family, you and I. Is not the whole land before us? Let us part peacefully. If you choose the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will turn to the left."
Lot lifted his eyes and saw a lush dream spread out before him. The valley of the Jordan gleamed under the sun, watered like Eden itself. It reminded him of Egypt—green, alive, and promising. Without hesitation, he chose it.
So they parted.
Lot journeyed eastward toward the cities of the plain, settling his tents close to the city of Sodom. But the whispers of that place were dark—its people were wicked, their sins heavy in the eyes of the Lord.
After Lot was gone, Abram stood alone beneath the wide heavens. Then the voice of the Lord came to him, quiet and powerful.
"Lift up your eyes, Abram. Look north and south, east and west. All the land you see—I give it to you and your descendants forever. I will make them as countless as the dust of the earth. Walk the land, every length and breadth of it. It is yours."
And so Abram moved once more, settling near the great oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There, beneath the trees, he built another altar. And there, he worshiped.