The man called LOT.

The interesting point about the man Lot is that for a very long period of his life he was in close contact to Abram and so exposed to the man who was under the guidance and control of God. He was continually seeking to please God, Abram (exalted father), later called Abraham (father of many nations), who lived an out-and-out life for God. Yet, this man Lot still tried to live in both the world of God and the world of Mankind.
Lot understood the laws and power of God but found the world much more attractive. In the eyes of the world Lot became very successful, but, as we shall see, Lot ended up losing everything.

We initially find reference to the man called "Lot" in Genesis 11:27.

"Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. "

Lot was the nephew of Abram who was later to be called Abraham, this man Abram was very close in fellowship with God and was given the title "friend of GOD."

Following instruction from GOD, Abram, with His father and Lot, sets out for the Promised Land. See the full story of Abraham.

"31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. "

Abram and Lot remained at Haran for five years, half way between Ur where Abram was called by GOD to go to the Promised Land. Abram remained in this halfway place until his father died.

When Abram and Lot arrived in the "Promised Land" they found that it was already occupied by the Canaanites. Later famine drove Abram and Lot down into Egypt where Abram and Lot were very successful and returned very rich men.
On their return their herds and possessions had become very large and so there were disagreements between the herdsmen looking after their very large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. The two men found that they could not live together because of the problems with food and water for such large herds. Abram said unto Lot,
Genesis 13:9.

"9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. "

Lot looks at the well watered plans of Jordan, unfortunately Lot was very covetous, all he could see was that there will be much riches if he went to the Jordan valley, even though it was an evil place, he felt that he will be safe, and without asking GOD, he made his decision.
Genesis 11:10-12.

"10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. "

Lot would have lived initially in his tents, well away from the towns, because he knew how evil Sodom was, but over the following years we find Lot and his family had moved into Sodom, though he seems to have kept some link with God, his life was centered upon the ways of the city, he became very successful, possibly becoming one of the town leaders.

Abraham rescues Lot.

However, it was not safe for the people of Sodom and Gommorah, For full details go to Abraham rescues Lot.

Sodom, Gomorrah and some other local kingdoms were attacked by a number of other kingdoms who had joined together. this resulted in destruction of the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities were cleared of all the valuables, riches and food, and the people taken as slaves. They also took Lot, presumably they considered him to have some value.
When Abraham heard of this he took all his servants and routed the armies, releasing Lot and all they had taken from Sodom and Gomorrah. see the full story

Sodom and Gomorrah are examined.

Genesis 18:16-33.

Many years have now passed, possibly twenty years. The plans of God concerning Abraham are being fulfilled. Lot did not learn anything from being captured during the war and is very much living and involved in the city of Sodom instead of returning to his home in the safety of the tent. Lot unfortunately was determined to get all he could from the world still but the time is up for the evil towns of Sodom and Gomorrah, God is about to act against them and tells Abraham the future of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tries to protect the cities by stopping God destroying the righteous as well as the evil people, he may have thought that Lot’s presence had influence the righteousness of the people, but God cannot find even ten, there does not seem to be any righteous people there except for Lot, the nephew of Abraham.

Sodom and Gomorrah are punished.

God sends two angels to the city of Sodom where Lot lives, to examine the towns status. We know that Lot has become well respected by the towns people, as he was sitting at the gate, a sign that he held the position of respect, possibly a "town judge," yet he does not seem to have had any influence on their behaviour. When the two angels of God arrived Lot shows great respect for them, did he recognize them as angelic beings? Lot invites them to spend the night in his home. At first they refused but, "they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat."

The people of the city now show how evil they are, they surround the house of Lot and demand to have the two visitors for their evil desires. " And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. "
Lot was prepared to give his daughters in place of the angels, but the evil people want the two visitors, the men angels instead. At this point the angels take over, pull Lot into the house and sends blindness to all those outside.

It appears that Lot had other daughters whose husbands came from the men of Sodom. The angels told Lot to warn his daughters and husbands of the coming destruction, but they just laughed at Lot and his warnings, Lot’s family were all corrupt, not one of them put any faith in the messages of Lot and the coming destruction. This shows how the people should have realized that something different and dangerous could be about to happen, following their actions the previous night and many of them had become blind by the action of the angels.
It is still happening today, God has provided, as predicted in His Word, the many warning physical signs of His coming judgement, the worldwide preaching of His Word by His servants, yet the world is getting worse, rejecting God. It shows how people can so easily choose to ignore any danger signs.

At dawn the angels instructed Lot to take his wife and two other daughters immediately out of the area, to go as far away from Sodom and Gomorrah as possible. God, in His mercy made the angels physically force Lot’s wife and two daughters out of the city, it was apparent that Lot and the family were still very reluctant to leave, possibly because the rest of his family had rejecting the warning of the coming destruction and he did not want to leave them. Had he thought that a Holy God would not destroy the cities while he and his wife remained there?

Genesis 19:15-17.

"15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. "

Lot, still seems to have some reluctance to go to the mountains, and asks for them to flee to the small town of Zoar. He was disobedient to the commands of God, did he still hope that Sodom and Gomorrah would not be destroyed by God and so he could go back?
God holds up the destruction until Lot arrives in the town. They were warned not to look back, if they did it would show they regretted leaving in the eye’s of God. It seems that the wife of Lot still did not want to leave and looked back, she was turned into a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:24-26.

"24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. "

Archaeological Information.

The final acts recorded in the life of Lot.

From a very rich and respected man to a nobody.
After God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah we are told that Lot and his two remaining daughters left the town of Zoar and travelled into the mountains and lived in a cave on their own. While there we are told that through the evil action of Lot’s daughters Lot was made to commit incest with his daughters. The babies they had became the tribes of Moabites and Ammonites. Both cause many problems and wars with the tribe of Israel.
Genesis 19:30-38.

"30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yester night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day."