Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 8, No. 40
“They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.” (Gen 14:12NIV)
Who was living in Sodom, as we see in our opening text? It was Lot, Abraham’s nephew. And who carried him and his possessions off? The kings that attacked Sodom! But why?Well, as the account goes, the king of Sodom and his ally kings had been subject to Kedorlaomer king of Elam for twelve years. But they rebelled in the thirteenth year. Why? Maybe they felt that they had become strong enough to gain their independence. We would not know for sure. (Cf. Gen 14:1-4)
However, we do know from the account that when Kedorlaomer and his allies attacked them, they fled before them into the hills. So, these kings went into their cities to carry off all their people, goods and food. And that was when Lot and his possessions were carried off, since he too was living in Sodom at the time.It follows, then, that if Lot had not been living in Sodom at the time, he and his possessions would not have been carried off in that manner. But since he was living there, he too suffered the fate of all the people living there.
Thankfully, somebody reported this matter in time to Abraham, Lot’s uncle. Then, out of his concern for the man and because of his faith in God, he gathered his men and attacked those powerful kings. And even though it looked like a suicide attempt, God gave him victory over them. So, he was able to rescue Lot and his possessions. (Cf. Gen 14:13-16)
But was Lot supposed to be in Sodom in the first place? No! As we see in the account of his journey with his uncle, Abraham, it was greed that led him to go and live in Sodom. Truly, at the time, it was no longer convenient for he and Abraham to be living together. That was because they both had great possessions and the land could no longer support them. (Cf. Gen 13:1-7)
Therefore, Abraham, his uncle, told him to choose what part of the land he would move into and occupy. And instead for him to show some respect and tell the man, who actually had been taking care of him since his own father died, to choose where to go and live for him, he saw the situation as an opportunity to outshine him. That was why he chose the part of the land that looked like the garden of the Lord for himself. (Cf. Gen 13:8-13)
But the choice he made that day put him right among the people of Sodom. And these people were sinning greatly against the Lord at the time. So, they were a people marked for destruction. That means destruction was bound to come upon them at some point. It was only a matter of time. And since Lot had chosen to stay with them, he too was bound to experience whatever form of judgment or destruction that came upon them. You can see why he and his possessions were first carried off by those kings that attacked Sodom and why he would also later lose everything he owned, including his wife, when God’s judgment finally came upon that land.
Now what is all this teaching us? It is that where we live, stay, work or school matters a lot. Certain places may look like places of opportunities or advantages to us. But being there may expose us to challenges of life that we have no answers for. And if we are not shown mercy by God while in such places, we may lose more than our lives and possessions there; we may lose our souls as well.
Therefore, don’t choose to be anywhere merely because of what you see, hear or feel about the place. Instead, always pray to God to fill your heart with divine revelations about where to be, from time to time. That way, you can trust Him to lead you all the time to be in the right place at the right time, away from unnecessary challenges and troubles of life.Cheers!
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