Genesis 13-19

Few characters in the Bible show forth so obviously the lessons of choice from start to finish like Lot. The wrong choices he made and the consequences he suffered offer us a timeless example of the incredible power of choice.

Unlike some characters in the Bible who made a wrong choice, God tells us not only Lot’s bad choices, but also his reasons for making them: God lays out for us the basis of Lot’s choice. The Bible plainly records: “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the land of Egypt, as thou comest to Zoar.” (Gen. 13:10) Several phrases in the verse reveal the basis of Lot’s decision. First of all, Lot looked toward the plain of Jordan. Lot had large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle (Gen. 13:5-6), and there is no place for livestock like the plain. No treacherous cliffs threaten the young cattle and sheep, and any danger can be spotted a long way off. Having animals is simply easier on the plain. Second of all, the plain was well watered. Cattle and sheep need water, and water in that land was hard to come by, unless a person stayed near the rivers. Near the rivers, however, there was a plentiful supply of water the year round. Once again, it would be easier to raise livestock in the well-watered plain of Jordan. Third of all, there was something else about this plain that Lot used as the basis for his choice: it was like the land of Egypt. Lot had gone with Abraham into Egypt in disobedience to God’s command. Abraham and Lot both had come up out of Egypt back into Canaan, the place of God’s blessing, but evidently Lot had seen some things in Egypt that he really liked. Although Lot had gotten out of Egypt, Egypt had not gotten out of Lot. What it was about Egypt that Lot loved so much, the Bible does not say, but it does say that one of Lot’s reasons for choosing the well watered plain was that it was like the land of Egypt. Egypt, particularly in the first five books of the Bible is a type of the world. All of the vile wickedness that is in modern America was very common in Egypt at that time. Egypt stood for all that was against God. Maybe Lot remembered the fun that he had enjoyed in Egypt; maybe it was the sights and the sounds; maybe it was the bustle of people everywhere. The Bible does not say what it was that Lot loved about Egypt, but it does indicate that Lot did like what he had seen. When Lot, who was no longer in Egypt, saw a place that reminded him of Egypt, he said, “That’s where I want to go.” It might be said that Lot chose the plain for pleasure, prosperity, and party. Lot made his choice without one time considering the spiritual consequences of his decision. A person might read the Bible and say, “What was wrong with Lot’s decision? Why not choose the place that is best to raise cattle and sheep?

If that is your business, why not make it easy on yourself?” The Bible answers these questions in Gen. 13:13: “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Lot’s choice had no spiritual basis.

By choosing the plain, Lot chose a path that took him, and everyone around him, down spiritually. The chapters that follow in Genesis show the descent of Lot’s choices. Whether or not he intended to one day be in Sodom, Lot didn’t live out in the plain for long. Initially, he “pitched his tent toward Sodom.” (Gen. 13:12) By the very next chapter in Genesis, Lot no longer dwells in the plain, but now in the wicked city of Sodom. (Gen. 14:12) The next time we see Lot, he is in sitting in the gate of Sodom. (Gen. 19:1) Lot’s thinking may have gone something like this: “I won’t live in the wicked city, I will just outside it. Then we can visit it from time to time, but we won’t have to see all of the wicked things it has to offer on a daily basis.” After a while, his thinking changed: “We have so much to do in Sodom, that it is really difficult to do all that we want to do and still live out on the plain. We will keep our flocks and herds, but we will move into town. That way it will be easier for the family to do all the things they want to do here.” Finally, Lot and his family got so used to Sodom that they rarely thought of the country any more. Lot decided to be involved in the city government of Sodom. (Sitting at the gate in Old Testament usually means that a person was in a place of local government, something like city council. In Lot’s case, see also Gen. 19:9.) The longer Lot lived near the wickedness, the closer he got to it. We would never know it by reading the Genesis account, but Lot was a saved man who hated the sin around him. (2 Pet. 2:6-8) Yet because he made his choice based upon temporal things instead of on spiritual things, he found himself surrounded by sin on every side.

Finally, God plainly reveals to us the outcome of Lot’s choices (Gen. 19). The outcome can be summed up in two simple words: Lot lost. God tells of two angels that came to Sodom to warn Lot to get out before God judged the wickedness of the city. The events that followed reveal how great were Lot’s losses. First, Lot lost his influence. (Gen. 19:4-14) Not only could Lot not influence the men of the city, remember he was a government official, but also he could not even influence his family (v. 14).

Second, Lot lost his urgency. The angels plainly told Lot to get out of the city because they would destroy it. It seems obvious that anyone would want to get out right away before it is too late. Lot had a different attitude, however. He waited all night until the morning before he even tried to get out (v. 15). That morning the angels warned him again: “Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” The next verse proves that Lot didn’t give much heed to the warnings: “And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”

The next verse proves that Lot didn’t give much heed to the warnings: “And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” The angels told him twice that they would destroy the city and the third time, they literally had to drag him out. When a man’s eyes are focused on God, he has a sense of urgency about spiritual things. He places a priority upon the things of God while the things of world take second place. Lot was just the opposite. He was so blinded by Sodom, whether it was the comforts, the pleasures, the employment, or whatever, that he was blinded to the spiritual truth that God was about to judge Sodom. Nor did Lot understand the severity of the judgment. The angels plainly told him, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” The angel was saying, “Get out or get burned.” The angel’s message had physical elements, but it was primarily a spiritual message. Lot was so blinded that he began to argue with the angel: “Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die: 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.” (vv. 18-20) The angel said, “Get to the mountain or you’ll die.” Lot said, “I can’t go to the mountain; I might die.” He was so blinded to spiritual things that he failed to see the severity of God’s judgment. He reasoned, “Sodom is a big city and God will judge it because it is really bad. Zoar is a small city, and though it is wicked, it is not as bad as Sodom. Therefore, God’s judgment will probably be over soon enough and I might be able to go back to Sodom.” Reality finally hit Lot as the Lord began to rain down fire and brimstone on the cities of the plain. All of sudden, the angel’s advice seemed best: “And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain.” (v. 30) Suddenly, the dangers of the mountain paled in comparison to the judgment of God upon sin, and Lot headed to the mountain rather than risk facing the judgment of God.

Third and finally, Lot lost his family. His wife looked longingly back in direct disobedience to God’s command. (vv. 17, 26) Lot did escape to the mountain with his two virgin daughters. It was there in a mountain cave that Lot’s two daughters committed incest with their father and lost their purity.

God says that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is given to us for an example (Jude 7). Lot also, is a wonderful example of what happens when we make a wrong choice. Satan is deceitful: he never tells the whole truth about the outcome of a person’s choice. God, however, tells us the outcome of the choice before we make it. He may not reveal all the details, but He does tell us what the consequences of our choices will be before we make them. The tragic story of Lot could have been a happy one, had he only looked to God and made the right choice.