“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well-watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.” – Genesis 13:10
In Gen 13 vs 1, Leaving Egypt with Abraham was not Lot’s intention but because they were forced out, he had no option. For Lot Pharoah’s gifts to Abraham and the commerce in Egypt caught his gaze and silently he longed he could settle down there.
We could draw all of these as we read further into the above bible text, after the strife between Lot and Abraham’s herdsmen. We saw in this chapter that when Lot lifted his eyes, he saw that the plain of Jordan and the cities around it were like Egypt. Now he has seen an opportunity to regain the Egypt that was lost.
It’s suggestive that as far as Lot was concerned, Sarah’s abduction and the restoration of his uncle’s home were not a priority in his heart. He was preoccupied with the business and gains he accrued in Egypt.
Even when God showed up for the deliverance of Sarah and others from the stronghold of Pharaoh by allowing them to be sent away, he never regarded it as a divine intervention but an obstruction to his material blessing. He probably was pleased with the way of life in Egypt which was why he migrated to the plain of Jordan and later inside Sodom. Lot’s dazzling choice was eventually destroyed when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
When a person is moved by material gifts, the spiritual sight will be blinded, and wrong choices will be made. They can’t see the treasure they are missing (Sarah- mother of nations, even of our faith in whose seed all nations are being blessed) and they don’t learn from elder brethren’s mistakes- Abraham lost his wife in Egypt but God intervened, Lot lost his wife in Zoar (a place like Egypt) but there was no intervention.
The glory of this world dazzles but it surely will fade away. The devil also tried to present the world and the pleasure in it as a gift to Jesus – if only He could bow to him, but Jesus refused. At last Jesus after His death and resurrection had power over all things in heaven, on earth and underneath the earth. He waited to the very end for the Father to glorify Him and gave Him an incorruptible inheritance.
Prayer points
Heavenly Father, please shield my heart so that it will not lust after the glory of the earth. Help my sight to always be lifted to You alone. Amen
