Chapter 4: The Man Who Drifted

While the cities sank into wickedness, a man named Lot was about to make a choice that would shape the rest of his life.

Lot traveled with his uncle Abraham. God had called Abraham to leave his homeland and journey to a new land — a land of promise. Lot came along. And God blessed them both. Their herds multiplied. Their wealth increased. Their camps stretched wider each year.

But the land could not support them both. Their herdsmen quarreled over pastures and wells.

ABRAHAM“Let there be no strife between us. The whole land is before you. Choose where you will go, and I will take what remains.”— Genesis 13:8-9

Lot lifted his eyes and looked east. He saw the Jordan Valley — green, watered, rich. He saw opportunity. He chose it for himself.

Abraham settled in the hill country near Hebron. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom.

LOT“I will stay near the city — close enough to trade, far enough to stay separate.”

But nearness became closeness. Closeness became residence. Soon Lot lived inside the walls.

Then war came. Four eastern kings attacked the cities of the plain and carried Lot away as captive. Abraham gathered 318 men, pursued the enemy, and rescued his nephew.

Lot was free. He could have stayed with Abraham in the hills.

Instead, he went back to Sodom.

The pull of comfort was stronger than the warning of danger.