A Miserable Lot
In the Bible and in life there are great men, and there are persons growing up in the shadow of those great men – children, wards or disciples. And there are numerous instances of the latter failing to measure up to the standards of the former, for whatever reason.
We are going to look at one such character in the Bible, first mentioned in the 27th verse of Genesis chapter 11:Lot. Haran’s son who is orphaned when his father dies early. Grandfather Terah sets out from Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of Canaan. Who are all in the party? Terah, Abram (one of Haran’s two brothers), Abram’s wife Sarai and Lot. Lot could have stayed back with his sister Milcah who is married to his other paternal uncle Nahor, but Grandpa drags him along.
Well, Terah doesn’t quite make the whole journey, stopping at Haran where he eventually dies. And Lot comes under the care of his uncle Abram.
The tense in the opening words of Verse 1 of Chapter 12 makes it clear that the move from Ur was the result of a divine communication to Abram. Though clearly Abram had influence over his father’s household, Terah’s patriarchal hegemony ruled the roost and they dwelt in Haran, a kind of a half way house enroute to Canaan.
If Abram had to journey on, in complete obedience to the call of God, his father Terah had to die, his connections with his father’s household severed, as declared in the call of the Lord recorded in the beginning of the chapter: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.
This marks the beginning of Abram’s faith walk, and whom do you see tagging along, beside his beloved wife? Nephew Lot.
We can imagine that young Lot was impressed with his uncle’s allegiance to a God he did not know back in the Chaldees. A God who seemed to be directing his steps, talking to him and telling him where to go. Cool.
But then, things begin to go wrong. Abram takes one step too many, goes a wandering in the South and eventually gets booted out of Egypt (see Judah’s Jottings: A Fourth Page from the Bible) Lot is befuddled. Where was the heroism of his uncle? Why did he behave in such a pusillanimous fashion that compromised him, oh so openly in the eyes of Egyptians?
Not the best of lessons, morally or spiritually.
But in the meanwhile the guy is growing materially. Therein lurks a big danger. Wealth without values. Money minus morals. Look at verses 5 & 6 of Genesis 13.
While Uncle Abram redeems himself by returning to Bethel – to the place where he first built an altar – and calls on the name of the Lord, Lot in his entourage somehow misses out on the process of coming back to the point of faith, where, in a sense it all began. Indeed one wonders if he at all caught something of Abram’s original vision or was merely a fellow traveler.
I guess some of us are like that. We belong to a great Christian family. We can name our ancestors going back seven generations (check me out!). We can sing of their exploits and wax eloquent in narrating their acts of heroism.
Legacy of faith, yes. But a glimpse of God, no. The right heritage, yes. Inner changes, no. External conformance, yes. Internal conviction, no. Simply moving along in life, part of a caravan, with no clear objective or divine guidance at a personal, individual level. Depending entirely on second hand experiences. The narrative can go on but I guess the point has been made.
Such a sheltered life comes apart at the seams when put to the test individually. When there is trouble, when there is a question of choice, when there are decisions to be made.
(credit: oneyearbibleblog.com)
We see Lot’s total lack of judgment when Abram asks him to move on in life. With no personal ballast of beliefs, Lot decides as he sees (verse 10, chapter 13). In doing so, he loses sight of the fact that what looks good is not necessarily good. Ask Eve. Why the verse does say, the place was so well watered and verdant, it looked like the garden of the Lord! (verse 10)
All that glitters is not gold
Oh, my God! He is heading for Sodom. David comes along much later to write Psalm 1 where he decries the unblessed state of the man who “standeth in the way of sinners and sitteth in the seat of the scornful” . Lot, poor soul, with all his flocks and herds and tents – in short great substance (verse 6) – no doubt thought himself blessed but he is surely in the wrong place. Sadly he fails to carry out a due diligence before stepping out. He is actually pitching his tent towards (verse 12) that wicked city.
Wrong choice Baby!
You may be living in the edges of sin city, thinking to yourself that you are really not a citizen but watch out. It won’t be long before the place envelops you. “The sin that does so easily beset us”warns the writer to the Hebrews (12:1). Back to Genesis: check out verse 12 of chapter 14; the King of Elam with an unpronounceable name and his cohorts “took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom”. Starting at the suburbs, brother Lot is now found in the centre of the city.
Tch…tch.
It took a while (about 12 years, going by verse 4) but it happened, apparently quite effortlessly, at least on the part of Lot. It is a little like boarding a crowded Metro train. You position yourself at the entrance. The throng thrusts you in!
As the narrative unfolds, Abram takes on Sodom’s adversaries and rescues Lot. But we won’t dwell on that, which is quite another story.
Cut to chapter 19 when we encounter Lot again. And where do we find him? At the gates of Sodom. And what is he doing? Sitting, meaning he is now quite comfortably entrenched in that wretched place. A righteous man (see verses 23 – 32 of chapter 18) in an unrighteous place.
But there is something to be said for Lot’s early training in the household of faith. Lot could still recognize messengers of God. And his reflexes were good. He rose up and bowed himself when he saw the two men. Almost a repeat of Abram’s act in Chapter 18:2. Like Uncle, like Nephew.
It is good to send your children to Sunday School.
But don’t neglect to follow up. It is all too easy to wander, be wayward. Keep an eye of their predilections and preferences when they grow up.
Abram failed in this respect and not surprisingly Lot was in trouble. It is only up to a point that you can imitate your godly forefather. Read the closing verses of Chapter 18 and catch something of the increasing despair of Abram as he wonders if Lot has been able to turn at least some to righteousness among the residents of ill fated Sodom. Sadly, far from shining as a beacon of light and hope in a dark place, Lot faces the misery of dealing with the demons at the door. He makes an ineffectual appeal that evaporates among inflamed passion, like a snow ball in hell fire!
Big enough to sit at the gate but no moral authority whatsoever! “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof “(2 Timothy 3:5), or at least not experiencing it. Too little, too late, brother Lot. You should have started influencing your neighborhood early in life. Why, even his own sons –in-law think of Lot as something of a joker (19:14). Nothing much to show for 12 plus years of living in the place. Still regarded as an outsider (v 9).
Where exactly do you belong, Lot? What are your moorings?
Right instincts but inadequate training, poor grounding in the Scriptures and lacking utterly a personal relationship with God.
Sorry Lot, you kind of blew it.
But thank God, the angels pulled you in. At least, now when the writing is clearly on the wall, Lot show some dispatch. Hurry, get out of Sodom, run for your life.
But oohum, Lot lingers (v16). How obtuse can one get?
I don’t think I’m being unduly harsh. Look what the guy says in verse 19. He would not go to the mountain – as directed by God’s messengers – lest some evil take him and he die. Now isn’t that rich with irony, when moments ago, the chap was in danger of being consumed lock stock and barrel. Even at that dreadful moment, he bargains with God. Such poor sense of timing. And no sense at all of the deadly enormity of the occasion.
Lot, when will you ever learn?
But God was indulgent. The verse (29) says, “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow”. Thank God for godly relatives, parents, aunts, uncles who pray for you; who wrestle with God for your welfare, safety, healing. It is not your merit Lot but Abram’s petition that is keeping you alive.
Don’t you ever underestimate the role and power of prayer.
OK Lot, you had no impact in the neighbourhood and little influence over your sons in law. But can’t you at least ensure that your wife doesn’t disobey? This is no time to let others follow, Lot (verse 26). This is a time to make sure of others’ safety. Yet you let your wife trail. Not the kind of stuff one expects of leaders, Lot. Any captain worth his salt would be mindful first of the safety of those in his charge. After all the hemming and hawing, you only thought of yourself and abandoned your wife to her own fatal impulses.
Well, God gave you a second chance.
You could have started all over again and led a different kind of life. You could have testified to His goodness and grace in rescuing you from death and destruction. You could have had a positive, godly impact on the residents of Zoar.
It is no good to shun people. The word of God quite clearly says “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
So, why did you get out of Zoar? You are the guy who pleaded with the angels to allow you go there. And yet you decided to go up to the mountain for no reason at all and deprived your daughters of the benefits of living in a society only to end up as grandfather of your own children.
What a sad end, Lot.
If only you’d stayed away from Sodom in the first place!
_________________________________________________________