Abraham and Lot: It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know

Connections are powerful things in this world. Connections bring jobs, internships, and other opportunities. Connections introduce us to new groups of friends, new career paths, new ideas, and new experiences. The power of connections is why networking is such an emphasis in the professional world, why certain fraternities remain popular in college, and why alumni networks are maintained. Connections help improve our lives.

In the spiritual world, too, “connections” have certain value. When God answers prayers of intercession, it’s almost like a “connection” has resulted in God’s blessing. For example, before his conversion, St. Augustine’s debauched lifestyle pained his mother Monica. After decades of Monica’s prayers, God answered, and through Augustine’s “connection,” God miraculously saved Augustine and called him to his service. God delights in answering the prayers of his children. Sometimes those prayers are for other people; so God delights to bless people for the sake of other people.

When reading through Genesis, Lot’s relevance to the story is primarily due to this sort of “connection.” His connection to the story is really Abraham! While Genesis 11:27–25:11 are the “Generations of Terah,” it becomes immediately apparent in Genesis 12 that the protagonist of this story of Terah’s family is Abram, and the blessing and continuance of the family depends on Yahweh’s faithfulness to his covenant with Abram. Lot had a close relationship with Abram. After the death of his father, Abram’s relationship with Lot likely bore more resemblance to a father-son relationship than the typical uncle-nephew relationship; Abram took Lot with him when they left for Canaan.

While there was likely nothing wrong with Abram taking Lot with him when they left Haran, their close relationship did pose one potential problem. Abram could have named Lot his heir, but God intended Abram’s inheritance and blessing to pass on to the seed of promise. God effects this in a very gracious way: he makes Abram and Lot both so rich they can’t keep living together (Gen 13:6). When Abram offers Lot a choice, he moves toward Sodom. Now Abram didn’t have a potential heir living with him.

However, Lot’s decision to move to Sodom precipitated two close shaves in his life because of his close association with the Sodomites. First, he was taken prisoner in one of their wars (Genesis 14). Later, he had to flee the city as God destroyed it as judgment for the sins of the city (Genesis 19). Connections are powerful things: Lot’s connections to the Sodomites nearly destroyed him. On the other hand, God’s salvation of Lot in both cases was through Lot’s connection to Abraham.

In Genesis 14, Abram led a guerrilla campaign of his own personal mini-army against an alliance of four kings and freed Lot (Genesis 14:13–16). Melchizedek’s subsequent blessing indicates the agency of the sovereignty of God in this success (Genesis 14:20). Unlike Lot, Abram refused to build close relationships with Sodom (Genesis 14:22–24), demonstrating his dependence on God for his riches and his success. Abram’s military success in delivering Lot accords with God’s promises to him in Genesis 12:1–3. In defeating those who took Lot captive, God cursed those who cursed someone close to Abram. Through Abram, Terah’s family was blessed.

In Genesis 18:22–33, Abraham pleads with God as the righteous judge of all the earth not to slay the righteous with the wicked in Sodom. In answer to this prayer, the angels visited Lot and delivered him from Sodom. As Genesis 19:29 says, “So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” God’s deliverance of Lot was based on his faithfulness to Abraham. Terah’s family was blessed through God’s covenant relationship with Abraham.

What does this mean for us today? One lesson in the text concerns prayer. Abraham’s relationship with Lot is an illustration of the truth taught in James 5 that the prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. Practically speaking, prayer is important. It is important both to pray ourselves and to have others in the church pray for us.

More closely related to the intention of the text is the truth that God is completely faithful to his covenant people. The God we worship is a covenant keeping God. He is the God of Abraham, and therefore watches out over all of Abraham’s best interests, including those of people related to him. While God might not physically bless our relatives every time we want today, what this does illustrate is that God’s blessings of his people have positive effects on those around us. Our God is so good that his goodness extends beyond just believers. This is the God we worship: an abundantly good God.