The patriarch Abraham’s nephew, Lot, began his life’s journey as a righteous man.  

2 Pet.  2:6,7a  REV

and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, which made them an example of what is about to happen to ungodly people, and rescued righteous Lot,

When we last see him in the Bible, we see a different picture than what we expect of a righteous man.  

Gen. 19:36

Thus both of Lot’s daughters were with child by their father.

What?!!! How do you go from righteous to impregnating your own daughters? Ernest Hemingway once wrote “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.” Let’s study how Lot went spiritually broke — “gradually and then suddenly”. Let’s begin with Abraham and Lot’s background.

Josh. 24.2

And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘In ancient times your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates River—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—and they served other gods.

But I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

Joshua prophesied to Israel some important history.  Their forefathers were idolaters.  God called Abram out of Mesopotamia and its idols to live in Canaan and worship Yahweh, the one true God.   

Acts 7:2-4

And he said, “Men, brothers, and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran, and said to him, Get out of your land, and away from your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And when his father was dead, God removed him from there into this land in which you now live,

Gen. 11:27-32

Now this is the history of the descendants of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran fathered Lot.Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees.Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. The days of Terah were 205 years. Terah died in Haran.

Lot’s father died in Ur.  He was then either “adopted†by Terah, his grandfather, or Abraham and Sarah, his uncle and aunt.  Either way, all four of them traveled north to Haran where Terah died.  

Gen 12:1-9

Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Get out of your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse the one who curses you, and all of the clans of the earth will be blessed in you.â€Abram went, as Yahweh had told him to. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran.Abram took his wife Sarai, and his brother’s son Lot, along with all their possessions that they had accumulated and the souls whom they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go into the land of Canaan. When they came into the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. (And the Canaanite was already in the land).Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your seed.†So he built an altar there to Yahweh, who appeared to him.From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and called on the name of Yahweh. Abram traveled, going on by stages toward the Negev.

Abram was a wealthy man when he left Haran.  By trade he was an animal husbander, or perhaps it could be said, a rancher – minus the ranch.  After Haran he lived the traditional Bedouin lifestyle in nomad tents, moving from location to location according to the seasons and feeding needs of the herds.  

It’s also important to realize that by this time God appeared to Abram numerous times.  He appeared at least once in Mesopotamia, spoke to him in Haran, and appeared again in Shechem.   Abram was no longer an idolator.  He had a vital relationship with the living God.  He obeyed God and in turn God gave him tremendous promises.  Lot was exposed to this.  Abraham, as the head of his family in a patriarchal society, decided what gods were worshipped and what culture thrived in his household.  As a younger man under his authority, Lot obeyed his uncle and saw God’s blessings.  He was a believer of the true God and His promises to Abram.  Lot saw God back his promises.  At that time there was a famine in Canaan, so they went to Egypt where the Nile River provided water consistently, making food plentiful.  

Gen. 12:11-19

And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a woman who is beautiful in appearance. It will happen when the Egyptians see you that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” And when Abram had come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. The officials of Pharaoh saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.He treated Abram well for her sake, and he acquired sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male slaves, female slaves, female donkeys, and camels. But Yahweh plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, here is your wife! Take her, and go your way.â€

It is hard for those of us having grown up in a Christian dominant culture to image the legitimate fear of traveling and having your wife stolen and then being killed to cover it up.  This was a real concern because it came up at least twice in Abram’s travels.  This was also king David’s sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.  The culture of the world then was so evil that this possibility was normal.  There was no “rule of law†that we are used to, just the king’s whims and the violent might to back it up.  Tyrants had “talent scouts†looking for potential harem additions because of their lust.  Abram was understandably concerned about being a victim of his wife’s beauty and Pharaoh’s lust.  Regrettably, he either forgot or didn’t completely understand God’s promise, one of the greatest ever given to any man at any time.  

Gen 12:3a

And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse the one who curses you.

Pharaoh found out the hard way the truth of that promise from the immediate results of grabbing Sarah.  Pharaoh was cursed for taking Abram’s wife and blessed with a lifted curse when he returned Sarah and blessed Abram with abundance. Lot saw God do exactly as promised to Abram and Pharaoh.   Imagine the impression that made on Lot.  He saw a life and death situation and God came through as promised.  

Gen. 13:1-11

Abram went up out of Egypt, he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. He went on his journeys from Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,to the place of the altar that he had made there at the first. Abram called on the name of Yahweh there. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. The land was not able to bear them when they lived together; for their possessions were so great that they could not live together. And there were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock, and the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in the land at that time. Abram said to Lot, “Please, do not let there be any quarrels between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives.Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.â€Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. (This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah).So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself and Lot traveled east. So they separated themselves from each other.

We discussed this scripture last installment.  Both Abram and Lot had so many “sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels†that the land couldn’t support them together.   So, Lot chose the seemingly smarter area from a ranching perspective, but not necessarily from a spiritual perspective.  Why?  

Gen. 13:12

Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain and moved his tent near Sodom.

Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.

When there was a famine before they went to Egypt, Abram could have saved himself a lot of travel and effort by coming down from the Canaan highlands to the nearby fertile Jordan river valley.  See the map below.  He traveled much further to Egypt (200 miles vs. 20 miles to Sodom).  Abram had heard of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah and wanted no part of it.  Think about it.  He’d rather go to Egypt where his wife could be kidnapped and himself killed than deal with what was happening in Sodom.  

Lot, on the other hand, was beginning to start out on his own and make his own decisions.  We know what it’s like to begin to sit in the driver’s seat after sitting in the passenger seat all your life.  Suddenly, you’re driving and making decisions, not just “going along for the rideâ€.  Lot “saw†the lush Jordan river valley and figured that it would be much easier to feed the cattle there than in the sparse highlands.  Perhaps he was also tired of the nomad lifestyle, moving regularly with the weather and seasons.  Owning nothing except animals.  No close friends. No single ladies except for wild Canaanites.  Just God and work with rare distractions.  Except…

Prov. 16:25 

There is a road that seems upright to a person, but its end is roads leading to death.

Did Lot ask advice from Uncle Abram?  Doesn’t say he did but he knew his example was to avoid Sodom and travel 10 times further.  Did he ask God?  It’s doubtful.  We know what the guidance would have been.  Perhaps Lot knew so he didn’t ask because he had made his mind up already.  (We’ve all done this.)  Lot chose the “attractive easy wayâ€.  This was the first of many bad decisions for Lot.  The lesson is, ask advice from God and those experienced in the area you’re considering and take the godly advice, despite what it might look like or your feelings.  

Gen. 13:14-18

Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land; through its length and its width, for I will give it to you.†Abram moved his tent and went and lived by the oaks of Mamre that are in Hebron, and built an altar to Yahweh there.

Abram rejected wickedness, choosing the harder, godly life and was rewarded with more promises and future rewards that are unspeakable.  Lot, on the other hand, “moved his tent toward Sodomâ€.  Yuck!  

In the ancient world, wars were as common as the seasons.  At that time 4 kings took on 5 kings that included the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Sodom & Gomorrah side lost.  

Gen. 14:11,12

They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Notice that by that time Lot no longer lives near Sodom in a tent.  He lives in Sodom.  Another bad decision.   And he loses all his goods (which was much) to the conquering 4 kings armies.  

Gen. 14:13-20

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and these were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, 318, and pursued as far as Dan.He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, and the women also and the other people. Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley) Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was priest of God Most High.He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has given your enemies into your hand.†Abram gave him a tenth of all.

Perhaps some think of Abram as a weak, awkward soul, hiding in tents from the world.  This record ends that idea.  He gathered his 318 trained men and local allies, going on a night 220-mile running battle on at least two fronts – and wins!  He recovers the spoil and returns the captives.  How can he do this?  

Gen 12:3a

And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse the one who curses you.

God helped him.  Abram considered Lot almost like a son and God honored that.  The 4 kings that defeated Sodom found themselves on the wrong side of God’s promise and paid the price.  Sodom and the rest of the rescued cities’ inhabitants should have been grateful to the God of Abram whom he publicly celebrated as the cause of his success. It seems they learned little from this experience.  This experience probably reinforced Lot’s devotion to Yahweh, although that devotion was selective at times.  He saw the impotence of the gods of Sodom and the inability of their adherents.  Yet instead of abandoning the “losing team†and returning to a close relationship with Abram, he remained in Sodom, trying to adhere to Yahweh but surrounded by insanity.    

Gen 14:21

The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, and take the goods to yourself.â€

Image the narcissism of the king of Sodom!  His kingdom had just been defeated by the army of 4 kings, then abducted over 200 miles with all his surviving subjects and possessions, rescued by a smaller heroic force and returned to the Jerusalem area.   He knew that pretty much every conqueror would slay the former king publicly (him), move into the defeated kingdom, rebuild it, and take it over.  And the king of Sodom still assumes he will go back to ruling Sodom and wants his subjects back, but “Abram, you can keep the stuff!† What amazing arrogance!  This clueless hubris shows the disconnect from reality in which the king and people of this area operated.  And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

‘What any logical descent leader would do in the position of the king of Sodom would be:  #1. Beg for his life.  #2. Thank Abram and his crew for rescuing Sodom.  (Then if he is allowed to live and return to his previous position,) #3. Fix the situation that allowed Sodom to get defeated and pillaged, like a good leader would.  Is this on his mind and in his mouth?  No.  â€œTell you what I’ll do for you, Abram.  I’ll give you all the captured stuff if you give me the prisoners you rescued.† Can you believe the unhinged audacity?  Abram already had all the people and stuff.  What did the king of Sodom have to negotiate?  Nothing.  Look at another aspect of the record. 

            Gen. 14:18

Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

“The king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shavehâ€.  Wait a minute!  Wasn’t Sodom’s people and stuff captured by the 5 kings and returned by Abram?  Sodom’s king couldn’t “come out to meet Abram†if he was with Abram, right?  So, the king was not captured and returned to that area.  He had escaped the war, hid, and then traveled the 40 or so miles to the Jerusalem area.  Where did he hide?   Probably in some cave because there are so many in the Dead Sea area.  He escaped during the defeat.  What a guy!  And he shows up after the dust settles and “went out to meet†Abram at Jerusalem trying to negotiate a deal.  

There’s another revealing phrase in the record that sheds light on what happened.  

Gen. 14:14

When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, 318, and pursued as far as Dan.

How did Abram’s crew beat the 4 kings army that beat the 5 kings army?  It says that his crew was “trainedâ€.  Trained in what?  The context indicates trained in conflict.  Why was that?  We read:

Gen 12:6

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. (And the Canaanite was already in the land).

Canaanites were not genteel welcoming people.  They were tough folks, descended from Noah’s son Ham, of which Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, for his egregious sin of incest with his mother.  (See REV commentary on Gen. 9:22.)  Sodom and the other defeated kingdoms were Canaanites, serious sinners. 

Gen 10:9

The territory of the Canaanites was from Sidon going in the direction of Gerar to Gaza; then going in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, to Lasha.

The Canaanites worshiped multiple gods, practice child sacrifice and were usually amoral.  Raiding and stealing camels, sheep, and slaves was just another day for these folks.  You must remember that at that time there were no police to call as we’re accustomed to when robbed.  You either protected and fought for your stuff or you lost it.  Abram knew this and trained his employees to fight Canaanite raiders.  His crew was trained in hand-to-hand combat, small group tactics and chasing down marauders.  That’s why Abram was rich.  He trained his servants to protect his stuff.  It’s one of the things that Abram’s servants did as they tended their herds.  They trained with swords, knives, slings, Jew-Jitsu (Sorry – couldn’t help it!) and other forms of fighting.  Did scripture mention that the “armies†of Sodom and Gomorrah were trained?  No.  What did they do instead of train?  Probably practice forced entry with rear admirals!  (OK, I’ll stop!).  They were too busy with fleshly pursuits to break a sweat training to protect themselves. After all, they had the big walls of Sodom protecting them.  Until they didn’t.  And the king didn’t stay to lead the “rainbow armyâ€.  He bugged out.  Easy pickings for the 4 kings.  

So, what was Abram’s response to the “deal†the cocky and cowardly king of Sodom offered? 

Gen 14:22-24

Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand and sworn to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’I will accept nothing from you except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the spoil of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.â€

Does Abram want to take over the Jordan river valley with its rich farm and grazing land?  Not at all.  Does he want to keep some of the rescued captives for his servants?  No.  His only interest in defeating the army of the 4 kings was freeing Lot.  He could have started an empire.  Remember, he just defeated 4 kingdoms which had defeated 5 kingdoms.  So, that’s 9 kingdoms defeated so far.  If you enlist the armies of those 9 kingdoms and add them to your own army, the size of the force would be impressive and probably irresistible to other nearby kingdoms.  He could have started the Babylonian or Roman empire early.  He wasn’t interested in that because God had promised him the world if he would trust Him.  

Romans 4:13

For the promise to Abraham and to his seed that he would inherit the world did not come through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by trust.

Heb. 11:9,10

By trust he went to live in the Promised Land, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob who were co-heirs of the same promise,

for he was looking forward to the city that has the lasting foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

God had shown Abram that he would inherit the world and the future heavenly Jerusalem that God will build.  Sodom was nothing like that and he wanted no part of it.  What a witness to the freed captives, the defeated kings and Lot. â€œThis world is not our home, we’re just a passing through.†

This is a good time to discuss why Sodom was so wicked?  A verse in Ezekiel gives us a glimpse. 

Ez. 16:49

Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, plenty of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters, nor did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

The verdant Jordan river valley produced much agriculture and food animals.  It generated “plenty of breadâ€.  People didn’t have to work as hard to feed themselves compared to the dry surrounding region.   With an abundance of food, the region swelled in population and the landowners prospered from trade and cheap labor.  This filled them with pride.  And free time… too much free time.  Instead of just enjoying their own wife, they decided to enjoy another wife too.  And then another one. And another.  And another of the opposite sex.  What?!!  That’s what too much free time gets you.  Discipline relaxes, the flesh roams free, the mind opens, and spiritual influences take up residence.  Add some wine (and there’s lots of it in that area) and soon you’re doing stuff you’ve never done before.  In fact, when the 4 kings armies attacked, the population probably barely knew it was under attack.  Of course, they lost.  They werelost.  Drifting in and out of reality made possible by abundant food, drink, and too much “careless easeâ€.   

Soon they were so clueless that Satan weaponized their lust.  Haughtiness became pride and sex became a competition.  Who could get the most and the newest.  This competition spread from Sodom to other nearby cities and threatened to infect the world.  Looking for a new sensation.  A new thrill.  

There were poor and needy folks in Sodom, but why help them when you can get more wine, more sex, more thrills?  These folks had seen Lot’s and Abram’s witness and rejected them.  God chose to reject them also by doing some surgery.  

I know that some will be offended by my comparison of my gardening practices to God’s selective culling of the human race.  The idea is that weeds have no decision-making ability.  They are weeds by nature and have no rights. People, on the other hand, have rights and can change.  â€œA loving God shouldn’t be getting rid of people.â€, some may think.  But, what if people have made up their mind to be wicked and to involve as many others as possible in their wickedness?  Was that the situation in Sodom?  You think?  Masses of homo’s attempting to gang rape visitors.  This evil had achieved critical mass.  

I know of someone who was diagnosed with cancer years ago.  They caught it before it spread throughout their body and the doctor suggested surgery.  Imagine if the sick person thought about the rights of the cancer cells.  Weren’t they living things after all?  â€œIsn’t all life sacred?† What would have happened if the sick person had thought and acted like that?  They would have died soon after.  But what really happened is that they accepted the doctor’s advice and had a surgeon cut out the part of their body infected with cancer.   Then they “rained down fire and brimstone†on the affected area (A.K.A. radiation therapy) to make sure they got every cancer cell, to prevent a repeat performance.  Almost 30 years later, the cured person is doing well because of ignoring the “rights†of cancer cells and killing them.  With cancer, you either kill it or it kills you.   You don’t negotiate with it or engage it in a conversation.  You kill it.  

The cancer survivor killed the cancer because of love – love for their family and their own life.  They had little children then and didn’t want to abandon them or their spouse.  They had nothing against the cancer.  After all, it was their own body attacking them through some bizarre evil mutation.  But the choice was clear, the cancer had to go.  A part of their body had to go.  The situation was difficult but successful, but they lived to see their grandchildren.  The radical action was worth it.  And so was Sodom and Gomorrah’s “surgery†from the earth and the “radiation therapyâ€.