Abram and Lot: A Warning About Settling in Sodom
Last week, we reflected on seven modern-day lessons from the Tower of Babel. Today, we pick up around a century later, with the story of Abram and Lot. (God would eventually change Abram’s name to Abraham.) We can learn some applicable lessons from the lives of these two men.
To understand this narrative, we need to recount a bit of the backstory first.
Also, be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you apply the Old Testament to your life today.
The Story of Abram and Lot
Abram grew up in a city called Ur of the Chaldeans, an important city in the ancient world. Abram’s father, Terah, left Ur to settle north in Haran. We don’t know the reason, but the Bible tells us Terah died in Haran.
After his death, Abram led the family south to the land of Canaan. Lot was Abraham’s nephew, the son of Abraham’s brother Haran, and he traveled with the family.
The family settled in Canaan, but a famine struck the land. Abram then led the family to Egypt to escape the famine. Here, fearful that the Egyptians would kill him so that they could marry his wife, Sarai, Abram lied. He told the Egyptians Sarai was his sister.
After Sarai was taken to the king’s palace to be his wife, terrible plagues broke out upon Pharaoh and his household because Sarai was Abram’s wife. Discovering this, Pharaoh sent Abram and his family out of the country.
Among the family was Lot, Abram’s nephew, who had, like Abram, become quite wealthy with livestock. The family traveled north into the Negev, a large, dry region in southern Israel characterized by seasonal rains and grazing areas.
When Abram and Lot realized the land could not support both of their herds, the men decided to separate.
Abram and Lot Separate
Abram gave Lot the choice of where he would settle. Lot chose the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley. The land was well watered and lush. It was also near the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abram moved his herds to Hebron, a cooler elevated terrain that was not as suitable for livestock.
After Lot settled near the cities of the plains, his life began to slowly unravel. At first, Lot only pitched his tents near Sodom. The land was rich and fertile. It seemed like a wise decision.
Lot failed to consider the way proximity can easily lead to permanence.
Before long, Lot was no longer living outside the city; he was living within Sodom. The wickedness around him distressed him, but he stayed.
God Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah
As God prepared to destroy the city, Abram interceded for Lot. God sent angels to rescue Lot. Even then, Lot hesitated, and the angels took him by the hand and drug him out of the city.
Fire and sulfur fell from the sky.
Sodom and Gomorrah were eradicated in a single day.
As the family fled, Lot’s wife looked back, her heart still tied to what she left behind. She died, becoming a pillar of salt.
Lot escaped with his two daughters, ultimately withdrawing to the hill country near the Negev, living in a cave.
In isolation and despair, Lot’s daughters made a tragic decision. They got their father drunk and slept with him, each becoming pregnant. Their ancestors became the Moabites and Ammonites, nations that would become long-term enemies of Israel.
Lot survived, but he lost nearly everything else, a sober reminder of the dangers of settling in the Sodoms of our day and age.
Let’s consider some lessons from the story of Abam and Lot.
Lessons From Abram and Lot
1. Fear distorts faith.
Let’s backtrack to Abram’s decision to lie to Pharaoh by saying Sarai was his sister.
Sarai was Abram’s half-sister (Genesis 20:12), which could have given Abram a case. But God knew the motives in Abram’s heart. Abram was afraid of being killed by the Egyptians. By not directly telling them Sarai was his wife, he was being deceptive.
Abram failed to trust God to protect his personal safety.
Before we criticize him, let’s examine our hearts.
How often do we twist the truth to protect ourselves?
Fear always distorts our faith. We cannot trust God while clinging to our fears.
2. God is faithful to his promises when we are unfaithful.
Despite Abram’s lie, God protected the family and held true to his covenant.
He delivered Abram and the family from Egypt and did not renege on his promise to make Abram the father of his nation.
Abram failed, but he grew through the experience and ultimately trusted God with his family.
This shows that God’s plan does not depend on perfect people. God keeps his promises even when people falter.
Lessons From Lot
Let’s now look at some lessons we can learn from Lot.
3. We need to consider the needs of others above our desires.
Abram gave Lot the choice of which land he wanted to establish as home. Lot chose the best land despite the fact that two wicked cities existed nearby: Sodom and Gomorrah.
Selfishly, he took the best land, assuming he could resist the temptations found in the evil cities.
Lot didn’t consider the way the evil culture would influence his family, corrupting them and leading them into sin.
As a result of his decision, Lot lost his wife, who was too tied to the city and was destroyed by looking back toward it. Lot’s daughters escaped; however, corrupted by the culture, they got their dad drunk and bore children to him. These children became the forefathers of nations that were grave enemies of God’s people.
4. Compromise leaves lasting consequences.
Lot’s story reminds us that our decisions influence more than just us.
They impact the people we love and can lead to destruction if we don’t seek God’s direction.
5. What appears to be the best choice on the surface is not always best.
The land Lot chose appeared to be the best decision for him and for his family.
But Lot failed to consider the possible repercussions of his decision, and his failure to think through these repercussions left him destitute.
6. Distress is not the same as obedience.
Lot was deeply distressed by the wickedness of Sodom (2 Peter 2:7-8). But he did not flee.
Being bothered by the sin surrounding us is not the same as fleeing from it.
God calls us to live in the world without being “of” the world. We are to shine his light in dark and sinful places.
God also calls us to flee temptation. If we don’t obey him, we risk complacency.
Being bothered by the sin surrounding us is not the same as fleeing from it. #obedience #faith #trust Share on X7. God saves people whose faith is imperfect.
God saved Lot by literally dragging him out of Sodom.
Lot was not perfect. His life was messy. He had made compromises by allowing his family to live in Sodom. His daughters were married to men who laughed at Lot and were destroyed when God rained down fire from heaven.
Nevertheless, God spared Lot.
In his mercy, God wants all people to be saved, and he goes to great lengths to pursue his lost children.
8. Sin affects future generations.
Lot’s daughters’ decisions resulted in the Moabite and Ammonite nations.
When Lot settled in Sodom, he most likely wasn’t thinking about the impact his actions might have on future generations. Because of his unwise decision, two nations who were hostile to God were born.
Final Takeaways From the Story of Abram and Lot
The story of Abram and Lot isn’t meant to scare us into retreating from every corrupt world system. Rather, we are called to seek God’s guidance in our decision-making, guided by the voice of wisdom and cognizant of how our decisions impact others.
Read here for eight lessons from the story of Abram and Lot. #Biblestories Share on X~~~
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