These last several weeks, we’ve been taking an in depth-look at the characters of the Bible and seeing what they have to teach us. The things they went through in their lives can be lessons for us to learn and has been left for us as instructions in the Bible. So far, we’ve looked at Eve, Adam, Abel, Cain, Noah, and Abraham. Today, we’ll be taking a look at Lot.
Lot is Abraham’s nephew, the son of Abraham’s brother. Lot went with Abraham, still known as Abram at this time, along with all their flocks, herds, and family. But in Genesis chapter 13, verse 6, it says “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.” This, naturally led to a lot of fighting. Verse 7 through 9 goes on to say, “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. 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. 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.’”
So, Lot decided to separate from Abram because of the conflict. It was his decision and it probably did help to stop the conflict, but in the end, he decided to travel to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot saw that the land was well watered “like the garden of the Lord.”
That eventually led to Lot and his family being kidnapped by kings of the lands nearby. So, Abram came to rescue Lot and his family and saved them from captivity. It was after this that Lot decided to stay in Sodom. He chose to stay—that seemed like a bad decision, but whether it really was, we’ll never know.
After Abram pleads with God to save any righteous men in Sodom. God sends two angels to save Lot and his family. Lot and his family take the angels into their home and then the people of Sodom, including men, want to rape the angels. Lot’s alternate solution was a foolish one, but the angels save Lot and his family.
Lot’s decision to stay in Sodom, in a place that was known to be utterly wicked before the Lord resulted in his family’s near escape from the city. In fact, as they escaped, the angels told Lot and his wife not to look back, but his wife disobeyed and was turned into a pillar of salt. If Lot hadn’t gone to Sodom, his wife might have been alive. So, when we know something is evil, we should stay away from it. For example, if we know that going to a bar is going to tempt us to drink, then we should probably stay away from the bar. Or if you’re tempted with lust and you know watching shows with nudity in it will lead you to sin, then don’t watch them. Those are just examples, but the point is to not put yourself in situations where you’ll end up sinning. If you know or think something’s bad, chances are, it probably is.
But the other lesson to learn is that when we confess our sins to Jesus Christ, we need to forsake them and not look back. Lot and his daughter’s obeyed—they didn’t look back. But his wife looked back at the city. Maybe she was curious or didn’t want to leave her home. Sometimes, it can be difficult for us to leave our old natures behind—maybe the sin feels too good or is too exciting and we don’t want to give up our old, nasty habits. So, we look back and end up getting ourselves into trouble. When we confess our sins, we need to run from our sins and run to God—
Don’t look back.
