There’s a reason Lot lost his family

Last week we took a peek into the life of Lot through the intercessions of Abraham in Genesis 18. Today, we again turn our attention to Lot and consider his family; specifically, why he lost them in the destruction of Sodom and the cities of the vale. Before we answer this directly, for indeed we can, let me ask this: Is this story mere history, or is there a lesson that we need to learn here?

I believe the Apostle Paul answers this when he says in First Corinthians 10, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition.” And again, in Second Timothy 3, he says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.” What he is trying to tell us is that the answers to life’s problems are to be found in the Bible. And if we cannot learn from Lot — indeed, if we cannot learn from history — we just may be doomed to his same fate.

Christian friend, are you losing your family? It is apparent that many families are experiencing troubles with their young people, but why so many who call themselves Christians? Perhaps we need to listen to Lot.

Now, just how great was Lot’s loss? While the Bible does not tell us exactly how many children Lot had, in Genesis 13 we find that Lot was a man of wealth. It says, “And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 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.”

Notice that while it was wealth that would cause separation between Abram and Lot, it was not what caused him to lose his family. Abram was also a very wealthy man, and when he would have the son of promise, Isaac, he raised him to follow God. While wealth can be an inhibition to following God, it doesn’t have to be.

Yet, while wealth in and of itself is not evil, the love of money is the root of all evil, and thus we find Paul warning Timothy in First Timothy 6. There is good indication that Lot loved money, for when he and Abram parted company, the direction he chose was based on prosperity: He chose the well-watered plain of Jordan and even pitched his tent toward Sodom. But for all his time management and advance planning, Lot lost all of this. Truly, this was a great economic loss.

But along with this material loss, Lot lost all of his children. Again, though we cannot say how many he had, in Genesis 19 we find these words: “Lot, hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters … bring them out of this place.” I might add that if he had sons-in-law that he probably also had daughters-in-law and grandchildren as well. Perhaps Abraham was correct in requesting God’s mercy for 50 people.

All these Lot lost, I believe, because he failed to do just one thing. In Genesis 18, God says of Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.”

Notice what God says about Abraham he does not say about Lot.

The implication here is that Lot lost his family because he did not command them to keep the way of the Lord. He certainly could have, but he did not. And he certainly knew better, for he was a righteous man, but he did not. While there is no doubt that Lot gave his family many things, even the best that money could buy, what he did not give them was what they needed most.

Though Lot was righteous, his children were not. God, and God alone, is the judge of souls. And as Abraham asked God to spare for as little as 10 righteous souls, the fact that God did not spare testifies that Lot lost his children to the society of Sodom in which they lived. Thus, they are in hell today.

Friend, the choice is yours. God gives Christian parents great opportunity to influence their children for Christ, but not forever. You wait until they are teens or young adults and you just may be too late. Let them have wrong friends and it may be to their demise.

The choice is yours. You can choose to be a Lot and lose a lot, or you can choose to be an Abraham.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.

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