Abram and his nephew Lot were both very wealthy. They were so wealthy that as they traveled their herdsmen argued with each other. It was Abram’s suggestion that they part company so there would be no strife. He offered Lot the first choice as to where he would travel. It was at this point how our lesson begins.
Lot looked to his options. He chose the plain of Jordan that was well watered and more attractive to him. He traveled east as his first step toward the charm of evil. It was there that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah lived. This is the same kind of temptations that we can experience. He saw what was appealing to him just like Eve did when she was convinced to take of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. He saw no harm in going this direction. In fact, he saw it as a great benefit because to him it was a harmless decision.
Keeping to his promise, Abram went in the opposite direction. By that time, in retrospect Sodom and Gomorrah had already been declared by God as exceedingly wicked. If Lot would have only resided in the plains of Jordan, he would not have suffered such great loss as he later did. While Lot was toying with temptation, Abram received a great blessing of God that wherever he walked in the length and breadth of the land God would give it to him. Already there is a distinction between these two men and their relationship with God.
Lot found himself in the turmoil of the first recorded war in the Bible. Just because he was near Sodom and Gomorrah, he was kidnapped by the enemy with all his goods and property. The kings of those two cities were no solace to the Lot. They were sadly losing the war and tried to escape when they were confronted by slime pits in the vail. When we associate with the ungodly, we will also experience their downfall and losses. There is no benefit being friends with the world. (James 4:4 ) If only we would seal this lesson in our minds, it would be of great help to resist temptation.
A man escaped from the war to inform Abram of the problem Lot encountered by being aligned with the charms of evil. Abram had 318 trained servants that he armed for the specific purpose a freeing Lot. Their battle was struck during the night allowing them to gain a quick victory. When the king of Sodom offered a reward to Abram, he refused noting that he did not want it to be said sometime in the future that the king made him rich. This is not the end of the story for a lot.
When God promised Abram that he would have a son in his old age, part of that promise was to change his name to Abraham because he would be the father of many nations. He was also referred to as the friend of God. Such an honor is beyond human comprehension. While God was in the process of making a covenant with Abraham that he would naturally bear a son, God also told him that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had gotten to the place of being very grievous. We can learn another lesson that God is willing to hear our intervention for other people. Abraham tried to negotiate with God that if a certain number of people were found righteous, he would not destroy the city.
His last intercession with God was if he found just 10 righteous people, God would not destroy the city. Notice that 10 is the number in Lot’s family. Abraham was counting on Lot and his family to have lived righteously in the den of iniquity. This is where Lot appears again in the recall. Two angels came to Lot where he sat at the gate of the city. Already he had progressed from merely living in the plain to sitting at the gate of the city. Temptation and backsliding has no limits. We must not fool ourselves that we can enjoy the benefits of evil and not be sucked into it.
Lot persuaded the angels to come into his house so that they might spend the night. He made a great feast and offered unleavened bread to them. This is the third step of backsliding. Not only had Lot sat at the gate of the city, he also had a home inside the city. He resided with evildoers. Abraham counted on him and his family to be the ones to save the city, but they were no different than their neighbors. No wonder that God tells us that we must come out from among them and be separate. (2 Corinthians 6:17) There absolutely must be a difference in how we live and where are spiritual life abides. This recollection is an admonition for any and all of us to be rigid in Scripture and our relationship with the Lord.
