Lot's Mistakes and the Mercy of God

Jun 8, 20235 min read

Updated: Jan 10

The story of Lot in the book of Genesis is so like the stories of many of us today. We love God, we serve God and yet we make bad decisions. Our decisions have consequences, sometimes disastrous ones and yet God offers us His mercy and grace over and over.

Lot Leaves For Sodom

Lot's first mistake was to separate from Abram and take his flocks to dwell in the cities of the plain near Sodom, even though Sodom was already known for its wickedness. (Genesis 13: 12-13) Perhaps Lot thought he and his family wouldn't be influenced by their wickedness or perhaps he thought he could be a good influence on them. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:33

"Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

Lot would pay a heavy price for placing himself in the company of evil. Notice that Paul says not to be deceived. It's easy to justify being around evil company because we deceive ourselves when we say that "they won't influence me" or "I will show them how you should act".

Notice too that one of the first things Abram did when he and Lot separated was to build an altar to the Lord. You don't read that Lot did anything similar. Abram had his priorities straight, Lot did not. Who are we like - Abram or Lot? Are our priorities on God or the world?

The Angels Visit Lot

Then, as time passed, the city became more evil until God decided to pass judgment on it and others on the plain. Mercifully, angels were sent to warn Lot of the impending doom. Genesis 19:1 informs us that Lot was sitting at the city gate when the angels arrived. The gate was where respected elders of the city came to discuss events, do business or make public announcements. Apparently, Lot had become someone of some significance in the city of Sodom.

Lot takes the angels into his home but when the men of the city surround his house and told him to send them out so they can have sex with them (Genesis 19: 4-5), Lot makes another bad decision. This time he offered his own virgin daughters to the wicked men instead! Why did Lot feel this was an acceptable thing to do? The angels, thankfully, kept this from happening by blinding the men at his door (Genesis 19:11). Even flawed people can receive God's mercy.

Lot Lingered

The angels told Lot to gather his family and leave, so Lot tried to warn his married daughters and their husbands. Thinking he was joking, they stayed, only to be destroyed. The moment came to leave but "Lot lingered" (Genesis 19: 16) and the angels had to take him by the hand with his wife and two daughters and basically drag them out of the town.

Did Lot linger because he wanted to wait and see if his other children would come? Did he linger fearing that he would lose all his possessions and influence? We don't know. We do know that he hesitated to obey the warning of God and nothing good comes from that. This moment of hesitation highlights a recurring theme in Lot’s story: the struggle to fully trust and obey God.

Lot Says No

After they were safely away from the town the angels told Lot not to look back and to flee to the mountains. Lot, even after having been shown such great mercy, said no, he was afraid to go to the mountains. He begged to be allowed to go to the small town of Zoar (Genesis 18-22). God, again, mercifully granted his desire. Have you and I not also been disobedient out of fear? Have you and I not done what God would have us to do out of fear, but beg to do something else. Hasn't God been merciful to us time after time? Who knows best for us? Who should we trust, ourselves or God?

Lot's Wife Looks Back

As the destruction of the cities ensued Lot's wife looked back at the home she must have once loved and for this disobedience was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Have we looked back on sin, sometimes longingly? Have we thought of returning to the company of evil? We don't know for sure if she looked back because she longed for that way of life but we do know that she was disobedient to the command of God. Jesus even tells us to remember her in Luke 17:32-33. when he says that those who save their lives will lose it but those who lose their lives will preserve it.

Abraham Prays For Lot

As Lot's cousin, Abraham, looked at the burning city from far off, Genesis 19: 29 says, "that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow,". Are there times that we are, quite literally, saved from destruction because of the prayers of those who love us? Yes, just as Abraham's prayers saved Lot (Genesis 18). Abraham’s intercession reflects the power of prayer, but God’s sovereignty is the ultimate cause.

Lot's Daughters Plot Sin

So now, Lot has lost his married daughters and his wife. A lonely man, with two unmarried daughters, he left Zoar, because he had become afraid of the very place he wanted to flee to, and goes to the mountains. There, in a cave, Lot's daughters plotted evil and committed incest with their father so they could have children. They plied him with wine until he was in a drunken stupor so they could lay with him (Genesis 19: 31-36) .

Lot willingly drank, probably happy to forget the loss of the rest of his family and fortune. Where was Lot's prayer of thanks for his life being saved and his girls? Where was Lot's prayer of repentance? Have we forgotten to do these things as Lot did? Do we try to find comfort in things other than God?

Where did Lot's children learn such evil? Was it from living in Sodom, from seeing the disobedience of their father to God? There was no acknowledgement of God, that God is greater than their circumstances, that God, if He so desired could bless them with children. They didn't realize that they should wait on the Lord. They should have relied on God. We really aren't told the exact reason that they chose to do this.

Tribes Born Of Incest

The children of this unholy act become the tribes of the Ammonites and the Moabites, tribes that were in opposition to the Israelites. These tribes worshiped foreign gods, not the God of Abraham. A sad ending to the story of Lot. But eventually from the Moabites would come a woman who would be in the lineage of Jesus, Ruth, the great grandmother of the great King David.

Peter Calls Lot Righteous

In 2 Peter 2: 6-9 Peter tells us that Lot was a righteous man and that he was tormented by seeing the evil in Sodom and Gomorrah. How could Peter possibly call Lot "righteous"? After all of his failings, poor choices, and sin how could that be? No one in themselves is righteous, the only righteousness we can have is from God. Just so, Lot, like many of us, failed and sinned. His righteousness was because of God's grace, not because he was a perfect man. When Peter calls Lot righteous, he is not condoning Lot's decision. Even in our disobedience the Holy Spirit stirs our soul and makes us know that lawlessness has a price. God delivered Lot "out of temptation" as Peter tells us.