LESSONS OF LOT’S FAMILY

In the Holy Bible, Lot was first introduced as the son of Haran.

Genesis 11 27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

This passage showed us that Lot was the young nephew of Abram or later as Abraham. Also, Lot lived in close vicinity of Abraham’s dwelling for a period of time.

Genesis 11 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Genesis 13 1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Being close to Abraham should have provided Lot with an opportunity to learn and get influenced from manners and ways of holy living from his uncle. However, Lot and his family chose to lead a life that brought many severe consequences, even fatal in the case of his wife. Studying their lives through the narration of the Bible can help us avoid the same mistakes and be fruitful in our Christian walks.

Shortsightedness and failure to lead a godly family

When Abraham and Lot grew their possessions so large that contention broke out between their herdmen.

Genesis 13

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was so great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

At this point, a separation between Abraham and Lot was needed to prevent heated conflict. In this situation, we can see that Abraham was a wise man that is willing to seek reconciliation.

Genesis 13

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Then Lot decided to abide in the plain which “…was well water everywhere…” (Genesis 13 10).

Genesis 13 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

We see that Lot’s decision was problematic for his family. Even though the land was rich with resources, he should have avoided it because the sins of the land were so much that they had bad influences on his family later.

Genesis 13 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

When the angels led them out of Sodom, this was the instruction

Genesis 19 17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

However, Lot had his own opinion due to the fear.

Genesis 19

18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto to me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

In this passage, we see that Lot did not fully trust in the LORD or the angels of the LORD to guide him to the right destination, but he chose to follow his own logic. The Bible did not show whether the LORD was pleased with this decision or not.

In comparison to Abraham who was dedicated to the LORD and prayer life, Lot seemed not to show such quality. For example, there were occasions in which Abraham prayed to the LORD or raised an altar for the LORD.

Genesis 12 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Lot must have heard Abraham talked about the LORD, must have seen how dedicated Abraham was to the LORD to build the altar, and must have known some Bible doctrines about righteous living. Nonetheless, the lack of close relationship with God might have contributed to Lot’s failure to lead his family.

Genesis 19 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

As Christians, many of us actually fall into this same mistake. Being in a church and doing church activities do not mean that we are sanctified and saved. The lack of knowledge and relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ will make us commit failure after failure. Being in the house of God and being seen by other people as devout Christians do not guarantee a place in heaven. Only Jesus can see the real condition of the heart.

Revelation 3

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Desire for things of the world

Genesis 19 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

This passage is a popular example to show the consequence of looking back to the world. Lot’s wife for a moment of temptation tried to look back to the city to which she was instructed not to look back. All her possessions were there. All the attractions and richness of the city were there. She could not resist. She looked back and turned into a dead “…pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19 26)

We can also extend this passage to our daily activities. Satan will tempt us every day to go back to the old way. The flesh gets used to the pleasure of the old way and wants to look back and go back. So many a time, we want to go back to those old filthy relationships; to those sexual perversions; to that worldly music; to that corrupted Christian music; to those old habits of doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes; to those vile conversations and cursed words; to those bad behaviors of anger, mockery, gossip, and slandering; to lies and thievery; and to indecent dressing. It is easy to fall into those temptations, but we must resist. We must not listen to those lies any more. We must not look back. We must not go back because the blood of Jesus Christ is precious to save us. We must not waste His blood.

Revelation 22 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Whether it is a pleasant or painful reward, it depends on our decision and action today.

Inclination to think and act like the world

Many will question stories in the Bible such as the time when Lot offered his daughters for the vile men of Sodom and incidents of incest between Lot and his daughters.

Genesis 19 8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as I good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

Genesis 19

31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

In defense of the Bible, many a time the Bible is a faithful history book of men. The Bible can present the fact in a neutral voice. Does God approve of such acts? All of the horror stories and abominations demonstrate the sinfulness of men and the level of filthiness that men are capable of committing.

In Genesis 19 8, we see it was Lot’s attempt in his limited understanding to prevent vile men of Sodom from harming the angels by offering his daughters.

However, in Genesis 19 31 and 32, we are baffled at where they got the abominable idea from. We can assume that they have seen and learned it from the city they had just left.

This shows us that bad influence and the sight of evilness can easily infiltrate our thoughts. If we are not guarded and rooted deeply in the doctrine of Christ, we will find ourselves doing things that even the heathens dare not to commit.

The corrupted fruits of Lot’s daughters are two children who are the fathers of two lineages that the Bible repeatedly depicts them in a bad way.

Genesis 19

37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Regardless of the lineages we are born into, children of the earth can now obtain the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ to be saved and sanctified. This chance to receive salvation is only through the blood and mercy of the LORD Jesus Christ. Accept HIM as your SAVIOR today. Tomorrow may be too late.

Illustration: Lot's wife turned to salt.

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Sam Christian

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Acknowledgements

Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.

Some ideas from this writing might be influenced during the attendance at Deeper Life Bible Church.

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