Weekly Devotional 1-31-22 Abram a.k.a., Abraham or Lot
From Genesis chapter 12:1-4 we read “1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.”
And from Genesis 13:1-18 we read “1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. 14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are–northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
From these two chapters we gain an insight into the character of Lot, he was a man of selfish desires. There is no mention of him being called of God as was Abram, yet he was so enamored by Abram that he blindly followed Abram to an unknown destination. Then, when in the territory of which they had been led, when given a choice of land by Abram, he choose that which could be more easily taken care of. It was well watered and was populated with cities. Instead of honoring Abram by giving him the choice of the better land he selfishly chose what appeared to be the more beneficial to him. He pitched his tent toward Sodom even though he knew of its wickedness. He may not have known about that wickedness when he first pitched his tent there but after 12 years he certainly knew (see 14:4). But rather then relocate away form that wicked city he remained until removed by the invasion by the king of Elam, Chedorlaomer and three allied kings. Eventually he was recused by Abram but after he was rescued, he returned to Sodom even though he knew of their wicked lifestyle and practices. He evidently did not participate with them in their sin, but he tolerated it as he made no effort to relocate (You can draw your own conclusions about that wickedness by reading chapter 19). From Lot sprang two idolatrous peoples, the Ammonites and the Moabites. After his escape from Sodom and Gomorrah he is not mentioned in the Old Testament again. However, the apostle Peter alluded to him as being a “righteous man” (2nd Peter 2:7-8). It can be concluded that Lot was righteous, but carnal.
The staff of GotQuestions.Org writes “Much of Lot’s life is a picture of the consequences of greed and the negative influence of a sinful environment. Lot knew God, but he chose to live among people who would lead his family into sin and complacency. But Lot’s story is also an illustration of God’s great mercy—in spite of Lot’s poor choices, God saved him and his daughters from a violent end in Sodom and preserved his line throughout the ages”.
Abram, on the other hand, believed God and lived out his days serving Him. Through him God brought forth the Hebrew nation, God’s covenanted people. He, like all persons, was not a perfect man but lived his life in such a way that it is said of him that he was the friend of God (2nd Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23). The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote of him “8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). Abram a.k.a. Abraham became a man of faith and worshiper of God).
These questions follow, Are you / am I a person like Abram or are you / am I a person like Lot? Are you / am I, a person who is so enamored by the things of this world that we tolerate or may even compromise with those things? As Christians we do have a choice.
Steve
Stevelampman.com
Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of Man