Abraham and Lot

“And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.” Genesis 12:5

Abraham was one of Terah’s three sons. Two of his sons, Nahor and Abram (as he was then named) got married. Sarai, Abraham’s wife, was unable to have children. The Bible says “she was barren; she had no child.” Haran, Abraham’s brother, died before his father Terah, and left his son an orphan. Seeing this, Abraham took Lot in, and raised him as if he was his own son.  When God called Abraham to come out of, and leave Ur of the Chaldees, he took Lot with him, and that is how this story of uncle and nephew begins.

As Abraham prospered so did his livestock and all those around him. Lot began to have a huge herd of his own. The quarrels between Abraham’s and Lot’s servants over space and water for the animals began to intensify. One day, Abraham said to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 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.” Genesis 13:8–9. Here we see what a good man Abraham was. Instead of choosing a piece of land immediately for himself, he let his nephew have the first choice. What did Lot do? Did he choose the better, more fertile land? Or did he choose to stay put?

“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. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” Genesis 13:10–12

Lot could have let Abraham have the better land, but instead he was selfish and took it for his own gain. This decision of moving towards Sodom would be the start of Lot’s troubles, as he would suffer the greatest loss of his life.

King Chedarlaomer of the Elamites rode into Canaan to conquer and force the kings there to once again be under his submission. One of the cities he plundered was Sodom, where Lot lived. He took Lot, his family and all the inhabitants of the two cities captive. What did Abraham do then? “Seeking, first of all, divine counsel, Abraham prepared for war. . . . The patriarch divided his force so as to approach from different directions, and came by the encampment by night. His attack, so vigorous and unexpected, resulted in speedy victory. . . . Lot and his family, with all the prisoners and their goods, were recovered, and a rich booty fell into the hands of the victors. . . . The worshiper of Jehovah [Abraham] had not only rendered a great service to the country, but had proved himself a man of valour.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 134–135

When the King of Sodom offered Abraham to keep all the spoil that they had collected, Abraham kindly refused. Thus he saved his nephew and set an example for the people of Sodom.

The day came when Lot’s bad decision caught up with him again. Sodom and Gomorrah were to be destroyed because of all the wickedness that was going on in the two cities. The angels came and warned Lot to leave at once. Lot tried to save his family and neighbors but they all laughed at him, started a riot and thought he was crazy. Finally, Lot left with only his two daughters and his wife. As the fire and brimstone destroyed the city, Lot’s wife turned to catch one last glimpse of home, something the angels told them not to do. She immediately turned into a pillar of salt.

Lot lost everything that very day: his belongings, his wife, his other children and his home. All this he lost because of one selfish decision.

It is my wish and prayer that we can be generous and caring like Abraham was to Lot, and that we may learn to not be selfish, as it will destroy us. Amen.

Cyrus Newby

 

Laban’s family

Jacob’s mother’s brother was Laban, so Laban was Jacob’s uncle. Jacob came to meet Laban by fleeing from his home; from his brother’s wrath. “And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away.” Genesis 27:42–44

Jacob was told to live with Laban until Esau’s wrath was no more. When Jacob arrived in Haran, the land of his mother, he saw three shepherds tending their flocks in the fields. He asked them if they knew who Laban was. They said, yes. Then Jacob saw a beautiful woman coming with a flock of sheep to the well. Jacob took off the stone from the well so that the sheep could drink. “And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.” Genesis 29:10

The Bible says that, after that Jacob kissed her and wept and said that he was Rebekah’s son. Rachel ran and told her father, Laban; Laban came out and said, “Surely thou art my bone and my flesh.” Genesis 29:14

Jacob spent a month inside the house of Laban. Laban asked Jacob if he could stay longer and perhaps work for him and he asked Jacob what wages he would want. Jacob answered that he wanted Rachel. He just wanted Rachel. Laban agreed and Jacob worked for Laban seven years for Rachel. As the end of the seven years came to a close and it was time for the wedding. Now, Laban loved money so much that he tricked Jacob by giving him Leah, whom he disliked. Jacob was furious. Laban later worked another deal with Jacob saying that if he worked another seven years, he would get Rachel also. So Jacob worked another hard seven years, so he could to marry Rachel, thus earning more money for Laban.

This clearly reveals Laban’s character. He loved money. It was his idol. Soon after the end of the second seven years, Jacob decided it was time to leave, however, Laban begged him to stay. Jacob agreed to stay, but he asked for wages. After the agreed amount of wages, over the course of time, Jacob had more flocks of sheep and cattle than Laban. This caused Laban to keep changing Jacobs’s wages. “And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.”  Genesis 31:7

After another six years Jacob decided it was finally time to leave. He packed up his possessions, and,  along with his children and his wives, left without telling Laban.  On the third day that Jacob was gone, someone told Laban that Jacob had left. Laban ran after Jacob, hoping to make him come back. They met at the top of Mount Gilead after seven days. Laban was angry but God came to him in a dream and told him some important things.

“And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” Genesis 31:24. Laban could not touch Jacob or hurt him. So when Laban arrived at mount Gilead, he saw Jacobs’s tents set. Laban asked why he stole something from him; Jacob swore he didn’t. He even told Laban to check the tents to see for himself. Laban went into Leah’s tent and Jacob’s maidens tents but did not see anything. He went into Rachel’s tent, but did not see his idols there, for Rachel had sat upon them. “Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.” Genesis 31:34

From the history of this family we see that they were all deceiving one another. Rebekah, Laban’s sister, tricked Isaac; Jacob tricked Isaac; Laban tricked Jacob; Rachel tricked Laban; and, later, Jacob’s sons tricked Jacob. Deceiving is breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Satan deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. We must be careful that we do not deceive one another and that we do not fall into the deceits of Satan. Amen.

Stephen Newby