A City Set On a Hill Cannot Be Hidden
Submitted By Pam Burton
Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Genesis 13:5-8 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock.
Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
Then Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
Previously, in Genesis 12:1-2 the Lord had said to Abram go from your country and from your relatives and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing.
The Lord had given Abram a generous heart and the desire to take the high road, so to speak, as we see in Genesis 13:9-12.
The ungodly Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. (Genesis 13:7b) This particular verse spoke to me because the world (here the Canaanites and the Perizzites) is looking at our actions and how we handle our stresses and disagreements. Abram was the one to suggest and encourage that there be no more quarreling - not just for the sake of himself and Lot - but for the sake of the name of the Lord who had spoken to him.
Like Abram, haven’t we, as Christians, also been given precious promises and aren’t we also to be a blessing for the sake of the name of the Lord? We are that “city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.”
The Perizzites did not live in walled cities but instead in villages in easy view of Abram. The Canaanites were the wicked and idolatrous people descended from Noah’s grandson Canaan, son of Ham.
Like Abram of his day, we need to let our light shine since, as believers, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world.