ICS Daily Devotions
Live A Purposeful Life
Genesis 12:4 (NKJV) So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Genesis 13:10-13 (NKJV) And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
Lot chose what was obvious in the natural. He saw and chose the land that was well watered. The garden of the Lord is a place of abundance. Temptation and sin can enter into our lives through our eyes.
It was the beginning of covetousness in the life of Lot until it became an idol in his life. Lot represents someone who trusts the world, he believes in what he sees with his natural eyes and he does not have a relationship with God though he knows about God. It is easier to believe in what can be seen than to step into the unseen. Lot was very dependent on Abram and the blessings that came through Abram because of God’s faithfulness.
Luke 12:15 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Colossians 3:5 (NKJV) Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Genesis 14:12 (NKJV) They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Lot is described as a type of world-bordering, carnally minded, professing Christian. He pitched his tent towards Sodom where the people living there were known for their sins and wickedness. Sodom was a corrupt and godless city. Any association with the city was bound to compromising one’s faith.
When Lot eventually dwelt in Sodom, he married and raised a family in Sodom. Unfortunately, he lost everything that he had during the war among the kingdoms. Everything he had lost was gone in an instant. If Abram didn’t rescue Lot, he would have been left without God and without hope.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows
Lot was already greatly blessed by God and it wasn’t enough for him. Money is not the root of all evil but it is the love of money. The constant desire to obtain wealth will bring about discontentment and will subtly become a snare in a person’s life.
Genesis 19:26 (NKJV) But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot lost his wife to Sodom because the world was too much in her that she couldn’t bear to see it being destroyed. Lot had entered Sodom and then Sodom had entered Lot; he and his loved ones found it difficult to leave.
Lot was on a spiritual decline or drifting away from God. He was pitching his tent near and towards Sodom until he became one of them when he dwelt in it. He was more interested in the potential of the land that was before his eyes than the covenant that God had with Abram!
We cannot exist without a purpose as a Christian or else we will be a consumer of Christianity! It will just be the “bless me only attitude.”
Sermon Series: Jehovah Jireh (Part 3)
