Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight

Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight

And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. – Genesis 14:8-12

We are still considering the personality of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. If there is any indication that all we had earlier shared about him was true, particularly his immaturity as well as lack of wisdom and foresight, that was validated in the scenario that played out in our reference passage today.

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Lot thought he was being smart by choosing the prime land for himself and leaving his uncle, Abraham, with the not-so-attractive second best. He could have allowed his uncle to choose first, but he took that privilege onto himself. He impetuously chose where he wanted to settle, leaving Abraham to contend with the seemingly lesser option.

However, the incidents that ensued afterwards only revealed how unwise he was, as what he considered a land of peace and abundance was only a troubled land. Despite the lush green that he saw, which made him decide to settle in that part of town, the settlement was only a time bomb waiting for the right time to blow off, and blow off it did not long after Lot settled there. A more grounded person would have known better.

For Lot, however, he only went to camp with trouble because not long after settling, a long-brewing war broke out among the kings in that region, and even though he was not part of the skirmish, Lot and all his assets were taken captive by the rampaging kings.

No doubt, when he was choosing that place to stay, he must have thought that he had hit a jackpot. But that turned out to be a calamity. He must have thought he would become abundant and prosperous in his new location, but he only became a captive instead. All because he lacked foresight. We should not be like him.

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Selah!