Abraham and Lot. Two men with much in common. They are from the same family (uncle and nephew). Both appear at the beginning of the redemptive story. The law has not yet been given so each of them is under God’s grace. And the Lord calls both Abraham (Genesis 15:6) and Lot
(II Peter 2:7,8) righteous men. That, however, is where the similarities end. The very first place Abraham pitches his tent in Canaan is on a mountain. He is looking for an elevated position. He wants to go to the top. Abraham longs for the high places to dwell. He finds himself at this early stage of his journey between two significant places. From where he sets up his tent, the city of Beth-el, meaning house of God, is to the west. Ai, meaning ruin or destruction, is to the east. Abraham is now standing where all men have stood. Between the presence of God and utter ruin. Which direction will he go in? which way are you headed? We get a clue when we hear that Abraham built an altar to the Lord there. Altars speak of prayer and worship and a desire to seek the Lord. When we first catch up with Lot, we do not find him on a mountain. In fact, he is in a valley. While his uncle sought the high place, he has descended to the low lands. Not only that, but the Scripture tells us that Lot journeyed east. That’s right, he’s walking straight into ruin. Why would a righteous man do that? Because Lot was convinced that was where he could prosper the most. His main concern was financial gain and accumulating worldly wealth. No altars are built on Lot’s rich, fertile ground either. Lot is righteous by faith and the blessings and favor of the Lord is all over him. That does not stop him from making choices that are not beneficial to his life. You can be a righteous man or woman with the favor of God assigned to your life while you walk right into personal ruin. In time, four kings invade the land and take Lot captive until Abraham arrives with his rag-tag army to rescue him. What does Lot do with this second chance in life? He goes back to the wicked, vile city he had just come from. That’s where we find him when the Lord visits Abraham to tell him the He is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But before He does, He is going to lead Lot out of the city. After all, despite his struggles, Lot is a righteous man. When the angels show up to institute God’s eviction plan, Lot lingers. He’s reluctant to leave this evil city. The angels take him by the hand with the intention of leading him out of the low place and to a mountain nearby where righteous men belong. Unfortunately, Lot’s story has no happy ending. While Abraham will go on to be known as the father of faith and fulfill his prophetic destiny, Lot lives his final days in a cave consumed with fear having lost his family and his wealth. Abraham and Lot, a tale of two righteous men. Which one would you rather be? Righteousness is a gift from God which we receive by faith but the decisions we make and the direction we take in life really does matter. Just ask Lot.