Lot Looked at the Plain

Lot Got First Pick

Why did Lot choose Sodom? In Genesis 13, Abram and Lot had so many flocks and herds that the land couldn’t hold them both. So Abram let his nephew Lot choose first, and Lot chose with his eyes:

"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, 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 (KJV)

It looked like the garden of the LORD, so he took it.

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Lot Pitched His Tent Toward Sodom

"Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." — Genesis 13:12–13 (KJV)

Lot moved toward the best-looking land, and it sat right next to the most wicked city around. Notice that verse 10 already tells us how the story ends: “before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” What looked like a garden was headed for judgment.

And Lot didn’t stay at a distance. By Genesis 19, he isn’t pitching a tent toward Sodom anymore. He “sat in the gate of Sodom” (Genesis 19:1). The gate was where a city’s important men sat. Lot had built a life there.

Our Plain of Jordan

We do the same thing when we choose by how something looks, without asking what it will do to our walk with God. It might be:

• the new movie everyone is watching
• the job with the better paycheck
• the friend group that looks fun
• the neighborhood with the nicer houses

Here is the question to ask before choosing: will this pull my tent toward Sodom, or keep me close to God?

Lot Escaped, but He Lost Everything

When God sent His angels to destroy Sodom, they told Lot to gather everyone he had and get out. Lot ran to warn his daughters’ husbands:

"And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law." — Genesis 19:14 (KJV)

Lot had lived in that city for years, and nobody took his warning seriously. Not one neighbor came out with him. Not even his own sons-in-law.

Even Lot lingered, and the angels had to take him by the hand, “the LORD being merciful unto him” (Genesis 19:16). Then, as they fled, his wife was lost too:

"But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." — Genesis 19:26 (KJV)

Jesus told us not to forget her. He said it right after warning people not to go back for their stuff:

"In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife." — Luke 17:31–32 (KJV)

She loved what was behind her more than the salvation in front of her.

Everything Lot had built was gone: the flocks, the herds, the house, his seat in the gate. The man who once picked the best land in sight ended up with almost nothing. “He dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters” (Genesis 19:30).

Saved, Yet So As by Fire

Paul warns believers about this same danger. Christ is the only foundation, but we have to be careful what we build on it:

"But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." — 1 Corinthians 3:10–11 (KJV)

"Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." — 1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (KJV)

Lot is a living picture of that verse. Peter calls him “just Lot” (2 Peter 2:7), so he was saved. But everything he built went up in smoke. He was saved, yet so as by fire.

We can be saved and still watch our life’s work burn.

This Is True for Ministry Too

It’s easy to think this only happens to people chasing money. But it can happen to a ministry of God.

We can build something godly that still sits right next to our love for worldly desires:

• a church program that runs on entertainment more than the Word
• a ministry measured by its size, its building, or its income
• a Christian channel that chases views over truth

We ask that last one of ourselves as a channel too. It all looks promising, like the well-watered plain. But the end could be a loved one who learns to love the world so much that they would rather have it than salvation in a small, insignificant place.

What Zoar Means

The angels told Lot to escape to the mountain. Lot asked for a nearby town instead:

"Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." — Genesis 19:20 (KJV)

God allowed it, and “the name of the city was called Zoar” (Genesis 19:22). Zoar means “little,” or “insignificance” (Strong’s H6820).

That is where safety was offered: in a little, insignificant place. Lot’s wife never got there. She looked back toward the big, beautiful plain.

God’s way of escape often looks small. It might be a small church, a small apartment, a quiet life, or a smaller paycheck that leaves time for God and family. The question is whether we will take the little place with God, or look back at the plain.

How to Build Carefully

• Before you move or take a job,ask what it puts you next to, not just what it pays.
• Watch what your family sees you love.They notice what you look back at.
• Don’t linger.When God’s Word shows you something to leave, leave it now.
• Measure ministry by faithfulness,not by how big or impressive it looks.
• Be willing to take the little place.Zoar is better than Sodom.

God Still Delivered Lot

Even after all that, God didn’t forget Lot. Peter says God “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (2 Peter 2:7). Genesis says “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow” (Genesis 19:29). The Lord knows how to bring His people out. But it’s far better never to pitch your tent toward Sodom in the first place. Remember, Lot didn’t leave with anything but his two daughters.

This Week’s Verse

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." — 1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV)

Keep reading: Elisha’s servant made a choice with his eyes too. Gehazi Ran After the Silver