Lot's Prayer Was Almost Too Late

Genesis 13:1–8 KJV 1900

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And 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. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

God called Abram to forsake all and follow Him. At Bethel, God made great promises that would eventually bring enormous blessings. Meanwhile, a famine drove Abraham down to Egypt temporarily. When he returned to Canaan, he sought out the place where God met him in the beginning. There, he called on the Lord, attempting to restore his original contact with God. Smart move! Always go back to God.

Then Lot made his decision to pitch his tent towards Sodom. There is a lot to be said for how you pitch your tent. Our predispositions forecast our destiny. Lot set his tent into a direction that would bring hell on earth to his family. Our attitudes presage our behavior. If we have an eye for the world, we will eventually follow it. If Abraham had kept his mind on his past, he might have gone back to Ur of the Chaldees. Lot was already in trouble by the time he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Be careful which way you face. Shun the very appearance of evil.

I can think of nothing more tragic than spiritual blindness. Isaiah spoke of evil men whom God “hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.”

Isaiah 44:18 KJV 1900

18 They have not known nor understood: For he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; And their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Why would Lot not see that Sodom was a terrible place to move to? Why does this generation move closer & closer to Sodom, when all of history testifies to its debauchery & damnation? We must be prayerful & diligent to not become spiritually blind.

* Let us be careful before we begin condemning Lot for being wordly, ungodly, or sinful.

- speaks of Lot as being a righteous man that was vexed by the unlawful deeds that was going on in Sodom & Gomorrah.

-Lot, the nephew of arguably the Old Testament’s most notable leader, was named righteous. He was put in the same company as Noah, Job, & even Joseph of the New Testament.

-Lot was a rich man. Verses 5, 6, & 7 tell us that Lot had much wealth and that they “could not dwell together”.

-A lot of people would love to be in Lot’s shoes. A righteous man, a righteous family, wealthy, & undoubtedly lived comfortably.

Bro. Lane Creech from Louisiana posted this on Facebook:

A man told me Friday, muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He then said cult's usually worship together every day.

Why is it people go to extremes for false doctrines and false god's but Christians do the bare minimum for the one true God?

We have an issue today, Christians.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.

All of that is swell and good until Lot had to make a decision.

Perhaps Lot didn’t understand the scope or the enormity of his decision, but he was soon to find out.

2 Peter 2:6–9 KJV 1900

6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

"He vexed his righteous soul" could easily mean that at a certain point he was righteous but he jeopardized that and lost it by his decisions and actions. -Ron Wofford

* Could it be that Lot was a righteous man but never led his family to righteousness?

-What an indictment on if we get righteous, but never lead our families to righteousness.

* It says that Abram went to the altar and called on the Name of the Lord.

-It doesn’t mention Lot going to the altar. I find it strange that the writer here would have not mentioned Lot, if he was present praying. It’s assumed that Lot didn’t pray at all here.

-If Lot would have prayed it could have possibly saved his relationship with his uncle and prevented the move to Sodom & Gomorrah.

-When we don’t pray, there will be decisions that we make that are outside of God’s purpose and will for our life.

* Prayer is what keeps our Spiritual Compass calibrated.

-When we aren’t Spiritual we’ll get carnal.

* When we aren’t Spiritual we’ll get carnal. And once we set up camp in Sodom & Gomorrah, we’ll lose something even if we try to leave. Don’t let it be your family.

-And once we set up camp in Sodom & Gomorrah, we’ll lose something even if we try to leave. Don’t let it be your family.

-We’ll always be a direct result in the direction that we set our house.

-Every family decision we make needs to be put on the scales that has “Spiritual” on one side & “Carnal” on the other. Whichever way that it tips your scale should be the direction of your decision.

* It was Abraham that called the meeting with Lot and tried to save their relationship. Even calling Lot his brother (v.8)

-After Lot chose the well water plains of Jordan; presumably easy living in the natural and in the Spirit...God made a covenant with Abraham.

-When you sacrifice in the natural for Spiritual health, it will attract God every time. That’s why we see God making a covenant with Abraham and not Lot.

* When someone leaves your life, family, Church or any other area; that is felt every time.

-Whenever someone walks out on your life, It’s usually so there’s room made for God.

-So many times we curse the moment that someone we love leaves, but it’s those moments that God steps in and communes with us.

* It matters where you set up camp.

-Abraham went to Hebron. Lot went to Sodom & Gomorrah.

-Hebron means: “The Hebrew Place or the Place of the Hebrew” Sodom means: “to burn or flaming” (both sensually & literally after judgement)

-Lot could have chosen the “The Hebrew Place” but rather he chose the place that means “to burn”.

-Every single decision you make about the direction of you future needs to be sought desperately from the Lord. Lot’s prayer was almost too late.

Prayer seems convenient when you’re facing death.

-Don’t allow life to steal your relationship with God.

-Pray without ceasing.

A Little One... Lot's life was defined by little compromise.

Pitched his tent toward Sodom. What started as a direction became a destination. His inability to obey God and insist on little compromise, in the end, defined his damning end.

A Little Became a Lot

The accumulation of compromise became a definition and summation of his name. -Scott Phillips

Ron Wofford

From Hebron you find Abraham being mentioned being there several times after that. It’s where many of the patriarchs & matriarchs are buries as well. (Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, & Jacob)

{Most sources refer to an unused verb shadam meaning to burn. The city's name is rendered by Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names as Flaming, and by NOBSE Study Bible Name List as Burnt. The only Hebrew word that comes close to this name is the noun סד (sad), which is a loan-word itself, and which denotes penal constrictions around the ankles ().

Because the letters samekh (ס) and sin (שׂ) are somewhat similar in sound, they have been known to interchange. Hence BDB Theological Dictionary suggests relations with the name שׂדים, Siddim. The name Siddim is also very difficult to interpret but it may have to do with the word שד, meaning demon} (source: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Sodom.html#.W2Y_Hv5KiCc)

From Hebron you find Abraham being mentioned being there several times after that. It’s where man of the patriarchs & matriarchs are buries as well. (Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, & Jacob)

* David was anointed king at Hebron & that City was his capital for the first 7 1/2 years of his reign over Judah.

-When you read the very end of this chapter, you find Abraham building another altar. It’s his 3rd one so far ins scripture.

-Outside of Abraham’s door was an altar. Outside of Lot’s was ungodliness.

(FSB): Hebron was located about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Hebron factors in the biblical narratives from the patriarchal period and the monarchy. Abram was often in the region of Hebron, and many of the patriarchs and matriarchs were buried there, including Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob. David was anointed king at Hebron (), and the city was his capital for the first seven and a half years of his reign over Judah (). Perhaps attempting to follow David’s example, Absalom declared himself king in Hebron, starting a revolt against his father David ().

he built an altar to Yahweh The altar and its sacred space are new and devoted entirely to Yahweh.

Don’t wait until God’s judgement is about to rain down on you before you make a move towards God. Anyone can do that. Lot’s prayer was almost too late.

While Lot was enjoying the well watered plains of Jordan, Abraham was building altars.

Etymology and meaning of the name Sodom

{Most sources refer to an unused verb shadam meaning to burn. The city's name is rendered by Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names as Flaming, and by NOBSE Study Bible Name List as Burnt. The only Hebrew word that comes close to this name is the noun סד (sad), which is a loan-word itself, and which denotes penal constrictions around the ankles ().

Because the letters samekh (ס) and sin (שׂ) are somewhat similar in sound, they have been known to interchange. Hence BDB Theological Dictionary suggests relations with the name שׂדים, Siddim. The name Siddim is also very difficult to interpret but it may have to do with the word שד, meaning demon} (source: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Sodom.html#.W2Y_Hv5KiCc)