“Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan.” Gen. xiii. 10, 11.
The lesson to be gained from the history of Abraham and Lot is obviously this,—that nothing but a clear apprehension of things unseen, a simple trust in God’s promises, and the greatness of mind thence arising, can make us act above the world—indifferent, or almost so, to its comforts, enjoyments, and friendships; or in other words, that its goods corrupt the common run even of religious men who possess them. Lot, as well as Abraham, left his own country “by faith,” in obedience to God’s command; yet on a further trial, in which the will of God was not so clearly signified, the one was found “without spot and blameless,” the other “was saved so as by fire.” Abraham became the “father of all them that believe;” Lot obscured the especial hope of his calling,—impaired the privileges of his election,—for a time allowed himself to resemble the multitude of men, as now seen in a Christian country, who are religious to a certain point, and inconsistent in their lives, not aiming at perfection.
His history may be divided into three parts:—first, from the time of his setting out with Abraham from Haran, to their separation; then, from his settlement in the cities of the plain (as they are called), of which Sodom was one, till his captivity and rescue; and lastly, from his return to Sodom, to his escape thence to the mountain, under the Angel’s guidance, when the Scripture history loses sight of him. Let us review these in order.
1. When Abraham and Lot first came into the land of Canaan, they had received, as it seems, no Divine direction where they were to settle. They first came to Sichem; thence they went on to the neighbourhood of Bethel; at length a famine drove them down to Egypt; and after this the history of their temptation (for so it must be called) begins.
Abraham and Lot had given up this world at the word of God; but a more difficult trial remained. Though never easy, yet it is easier to set our hearts on religion, when we have nothing else to engage them,—or to take some one decided step, which throws us out of our line of life, and in a manner forces upon us what we should naturally shrink from; than to possess in good measure the goods of this world, and yet love God supremely. Many a man might make a sacrifice of his worldly interests from impulse; and then having little to unsettle him, he is enabled to hold fast his religion, and serve God consistently and acceptably. Of course men who make such sacrifices, often evidence much strength of character in making them, which doubtless was Lot’s case when he left his country. But it is even a greater thing, it requires a clearer, steadier, nobler faith, to be surrounded with worldly goods, yet to be self-denying; to consider ourselves but stewards of God’s bounty, and to be “faithful in all things” committed to us. In this, then, lay the next temptation which befel the two patriarchs. God gave them riches and importance. When they went down to Egypt, Abraham was honourably received by the king of the country. Soon after, it is said that Abraham had “sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels:” again, that “Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold;” and presently, that “Lot also … had flocks, and herds, and tents.” [Gen. xii. 16; xiii. 2, 5.] The consequence was, that, on their return to Canaan, their households and cattle had become too numerous for one place: “The land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.” [Gen. xiii. 6.] Their servants quarrelled in consequence; each party, for instance, endeavouring to secure the richest pastures, and the best supplied wells. This discordance in the chosen family was, of course, very unseemly, as witnessed by idolaters, the Canaanites and Perizzites, who lived in the neighbourhood. Abraham accordingly proposed a friendly separation, and left it to Lot to choose what part of the country he would settle in. Here was the trial of Lot’s faith; let us see how he met it. It so happened, that the most fruitful region, the plain of Jordan, was in the hands of an abandoned people, the inhabitants of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the neighbouring cities. Now, the wealth which Lot had hitherto enjoyed had been given him as a pledge of God’s favour, and had its chief value as coming from Him. But surely he forgot this, and esteemed it for its own sake, when he allowed himself to be attracted by the richness and beauty of a guilty and devoted country. The prosperity of a wicked people could not be accounted a mark of God’s love; but to look toward Sodom was to go the way of the world, and to make wealth the measure of all things, and the end of life. In the words of the text, “Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where … even as the garden of Eden … And Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan … and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.” I do not see how we can deny that this was a false step in the holy patriarch, blameable in itself, and leading to most serious consequences. “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,” says the Psalmist, “than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” [Psalm lxxxiv. 10.] But those who have accustomed their minds to look on worldly prosperity as highly desirable in itself, take it wherever they meet with it; now as given by God, and now, again, when not given by Him. It is not to them a point of first importance by whom it is given, at least not in their secret hearts: though they might, perhaps, be surprised did any one so tell them. If all this does not in its fulness apply to Lot, his history at least reminds us of what takes place daily in instances which resemble it externally. Men still consider themselves, and promise themselves to be, consistent worshippers of the One True God, while they are falling into that sin which the Apostle calls “idolatry,“—the love and worship of the creature for the Creator.