The book of Genesis gives us the accounts of various people's lives, all of which are able to give us lessons and insights as to how we should live our lives as God's people.
One such person we can learn valuable lessons from is the man named Lot. Who is Lot and what can we learn from him?
Although this article is not an exhaustive view of Lot's life, we will try to take a look at what we can glean from his life.
The nephew of Abraham
Lot, according to Genesis 11:27, is Abraham's brother's son. He is the son of Haran, the son of Terah. He is literally Abraham's blood relative.
After Abraham (then named Abram) received God's call for him to leave his family and his father's house and go into the promised land (see Genesis 12:1), he went out taking with him his nephew Lot and his wife Sarah (then named Sarai) (see Genesis 12:4-5).
Lot was both family and companion to Abraham. As to why would Abraham take Lot with him remains unclear, but one thing is sure: he was going to enjoy what God promised to Abraham.
Only that he actually didn't.
Parting of ways
Genesis 13 tells us that Abraham and Lot's possessions grew in number, so much that the land was unable to support their herds. Their herdsmen even fought against each other.
Because of this, Abraham decided to part ways with Lot. This is where Lot's problems started.
- First, their herds grew to the point that they had to part ways. (see Genesis 13:1-12)
- Second, he chose the place he thought would be good for his herds, but he didn't know that it wasn't good for him. (see Genesis 13:10-13)
- Third, he and his family became spoils of war and needed Abraham to rescue them. (see Genesis 14:1-16)
- Fourth, the influence of the wicked people in the place he chose eventually affected him and eroded what moral uprightness he might have had. (see Genesis 19:1-8)
- Fifth, he lost his wife because she disobeyed God when He rescued them. (see Genesis 19:12-26)
- Lastly, his own daughters had no sense of morality, in that they would cause him to get drunk and cause him to impregnate them -- and give him sons. (see Genesis 19:30-38)
Lessons from Lot
Lot's experiences give us important lessons regarding our walk with the Lord. Here are a few personal reflections on his life that I want to share with you.
1) Don't let riches separate you from family
Possessions and herds separated Lot from his beloved uncle Abraham. We must never allow that to happen to us. Money and riches must never be over and beyond family.
2) Don't dwell on and meditate on wickedness and don't allow wicked people to influence you
Lot "pitched his tent even as far as Sodom," which was a place where the people lived "exceedingly wicked and sinful" lives "against the Lord." (see Genesis 13:12-13)
Lot constantly exposed himself to wickedness and sinfulness. We are warned not to do that. The Lord Jesus Himself warns us in Matthew 6:22-23,
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
3) Value God's mercy and run away from what He wants you to run away from
Genesis 19 details for us how God rescued Lot and his family from a place that He was about to destroy.
God didn't want Lot to stay in Sodom, and thus sent His angels to rescue them and destroy the city. Lot and his family, however, seemed not to care.
Genesis 19:15-16 gives us one very precious thing to remember about God:
"When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city."
God was being merciful to Lot. Apparently, even he and his family didn't really valued it. Lot's wife probably didn't want to leave and looked back, only to become a pillar of salt.
Friends, we've got to value the rescue that God has done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ gave His own life for us, because He was the only one who could free us from the grip of sin and death.
We must learn to value that and never look back.
