Unveiling Lot – an Introduction

He’s a man who is often either paid very little attention to or seen in a bad light, but Lot is one of those men in the Bible to whom more attention should be given. In this introduction to a new study I’m undertaking, we’re going to start our travel through the life of Lot by asking the question. Why study Lot’s life? Why should there more attention be given him?

There is one huge reason why: because the days of Lot and his deliverance were used as an example by Christ of what things would be like when He is revealed. It’s significant that Christ left us with the parallel and we would be amiss not to study it to truly understand its implications.

Luk 17:28-30  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 

The following is a parallel of the story.

The days of Lot signify the time that judgement that fell on the cities of the plain. It was at this time in Genesis 18 that we find Abraham speaking with a theophany of the LORD. It appears that in the judgement of Sodom, there was a literal visitation. The day of the Son of man signifies the judgement that will fall on the world, and when Christ appears in the skies as mentioned a few verses before in Luke 17:24 it will be a literal visitation.

The surrounding conditions right before judgement in Lot’s day was of the status quo. The same then will be when Christ returns.

When Lot was pulled out of Sodom, judgement will fall. When the church is pulled out of the world, judgement will fall.

It’s a powerful parallel which I will look at in more detail with the preceding parallel of Noah’s day when I have the chance.

Suffice to say, the days of Lot should be something closely studied and understood so that we are not caught sleeping when Jesus returns, for by that stage, it will be too late.

There is one more key text that will form the backbone for the coming investigation into Lot as well as provide a second reason to examine Lot: 2 Peter 2:6-8
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 

For all the maligning Lot has received by commentators over the years, the Bible calls him righteous! And as a righteous man, particularly one who lived in days that will be on par with the days of the Son of Man, it is worthwhile that we look at his character for our own learning and perhaps, even to emulate that which led to him being called righteous.

As we bring the introduction to a close, let’s have a quick look at Lot’s beginnings. Lot was the nephew of Abraham, the son of Haran, the grandson of Terah (Gen11:27). When Terah moved from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, Lot would be part of the migration. If you take the time to look at a map, it’s quite a long distance:

Finally, when Abram was called by God to continue the journey to Canaan, Lot would accompany him as well with all that he had. (Gen 12) At this time, Abram was 75 years old. While we have no age for Lot, it would be safe to assume he was not exactly a young man, but was probably significantly younger than Abram. In the genealogy in Gen 11:27, Haran (Lot’s father) comes last in the lineage of the three boys, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Very often in Scripture, the children are listed in birth order. If that, then Lot is probably what we would consider middle-aged. Lot would accompany Abram down into Canaan, then on into Egypt. While in Egypt, it appears that is where they really expanded their wealth which leads us to the first major story involving Lot: his separation from Abram. That will be the topic of the next in this series.

For now, I hope this perhaps has sparked some interest in the man Lot. He is significant for living in a place and time that Jesus referred to as an example of the days of His second coming, and he is even more significant because the Scripture refers to him as a righteous man, though many fail to speak much of his righteousness. In the coming posts, I hope to illustrate somewhat firstly that what he often gets maligned for is misunderstood. And finally, he really was an admirable example of a righteous man who we should seek to emulate.

Lot means ‘covering’ or ‘veiled’. Hence the title. 😉