When God first commanded Abram to leave his home, he specifically said that he should leave his people and his father’s household behind, but Abram did not completely follow this instruction. Instead, he took his nephew, Lot, with him.

Why did Abram do this? It is likely that childless Abram viewed Lot as his potential heir. God had promised to make Abram into a great nation, and perhaps Abram assumed that this would happen through Lot, since he and Sarai were unable to have children. Long before Abram had a child with Sarai’s servant, Hagar, he was already working out for himself how he thought God’s promise would be fulfilled.

God did not plan to fulfil his promise to Abram through Lot. In fact, there was literally no room for Lot in the land as both families increased in size and wealth. Abram offered to effectively split the land with Lot, and Lot chose the fertile region of the Jordan on the eastern edge of the Promised Land.

The lush pastures of the land were apparently not the only reason Lot chose that location. We are told he settled among the cities, pitching his tents next to Sodom. Apparently, Lot wanted to make connections and maybe even alliances with the people who lived there; people who, we are told, were extremely wicked.

Lot could have gone anywhere, but he chose this place. His eye saw the richness of the land, and he did not seem to care that he would be living among wicked people if he went there. As we will read later, the consequences of this choice were devastating.

Lot’s story demonstrates what happens when we compromise our integrity in order to grasp material wealth. God takes this opportunity to remind Abram of the blessings he has promised him. Abram may not get the most fertile bit of land, but it is he who will receive God’s blessing.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH