Walking With Christ

Genesis 13:12
Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Abram had been blessed so much that his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen were beginning to fight over prime grazing spaces. To settle the problem, Abram told Lot that the land was big enough for both of them if they split up. This is where things start to go wrong for Lot.

After Lot moves to Sodom there is a big battle against Sodom and Lot is one of many taken captive. Abram comes to the rescue and saves Lot from captivity. Lot goes back to Sodom. That’s his home. Sodom was a really bad place when Lot moved there but it got worse while he was living there. God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and told Abram, now called Abraham because of the covenant, that it was going to happen. God saved Lot from this destruction. He did this for a few reasons. God’s mercy and justice, Abraham’s intercession, Lot’s relationship with Abraham, Lot’s righteousness, Lot’s relationship with God, but mostly as a demonstration of God’s grace.

Lot’s decision to move to Sodom was based on his perception of the value provided there (Genesis 13:10). He originally moved close to Sodom so that he could benefit from being close to a large city that was in a lush and fertile land. Lot was focused on material prosperity while Abraham was more concerned about his relationship with Lot. Abraham trusted in God to provide no matter what Lot chose.

When Sodom was sacked, Abraham saved him and his possessions. When the angels gently gave Lot the boot they warned him not to look back. Lot left Sodom with nothing but the clothes on his back and his family. He had lost everything he had gained.

This is a theme that is repeated in the bible a few times. We make a bad choice and get rescued. If we go back to that old choice we may get rescued again but the cost of being rescued again is much higher. In the case of Lot, God destroyed the place of temptation so that Lot had no place to go back to. Even at that, Lot’s wife looked back against the warning and was turned into a pillar of salt.

When God rescues us from a place that we never should have been, we really shouldn’t go back. If we do, God is willing to destroy that place so that we can’t go back.

The temple of Solomon is a good example. The children of Israel had spent centuries performing animal sacrifices at the temple. This was just a part of their culture at this point. The sacrifice of Jesus meant that those sacrifices were no longer needed. The children of Israel continued to perform animal sacrifices in the temple until it was destroyed completely. The destruction of the temple prevented them from continuing in their old ways. God is patient, but it seems to me that He doesn’t really like repeating some lessons.

If God has rescued you from a place you shouldn’t have been, don’t look back. Trust in His grace to guide you forward, and leave behind whatever tempts you to return to old ways.