Genesis 13:10
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. 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.
Abraham gave his younger nephew the first choice of the land to end strife between their herdsmen, though the prior right was his own. The plain of Jordan that Lot then looked upon was well watered everywhere, the most fertile region in all Palestine, beautiful as the garden of the Lord and as the plains of Egypt, holding wealthy cities that promised profitable gain before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot chose selfishly by what he saw, dazzled by its fertility, beauty and promise of worldly gain, without considering its wicked inhabitants or whether it would help him grow in godliness. His choice placed his family amid corrupting influences that weakened his faith, bound his children to Sodom, and ended with him fleeing for his life, entering rich but escaping with nothing as fire consumed his gains. Outward beauty and worldly advantage therefore do not make a place a safe or wise home, and the choice of a home must be guided first by its moral and religious influences lest earthly wealth bring lasting spiritual loss.
The Land Lot Saw
Abraham courteously gave his younger nephew Lot the first choice of the land, though Abraham himself had the prior right to choose, letting Lot select the part that seemed most desirable so that their herdsmen would not quarrel, an offer showing considerate courtesy toward a fellow man. What Lot lifted his eyes and beheld was the plain of Jordan, well watered everywhere, the most fertile region in all Palestine. Its abundant vegetation and rich harvests made it a prosperous plain where ease and abundance supplied people's needs with little effort.
It was beautiful like the garden of the Lord, like Eden and the lost Paradise, and it equaled in beauty and productiveness the Nile-enriched plains of the land of Egypt lately left. Lot judged it by its visible abundance, for it was richly watered and beautiful in natural setting before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. The valley also held wealthy and beautiful cities that invited profitable traffic.
The description belongs to the time before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, when the plain around Sodom looked well-watered and beautiful like the garden of Eden and made Sodom as a second Eden. Its abundance did not lead its people to honor God. When the cities of the plain were destroyed, fire and brimstone turned the lovely region into a desolation, a desolate waste that later formed part of the wilderness of Judea. This shows how completely God can destroy what once appeared prosperous and beautiful, for Sodom's pollution grew as people taught others forbidden practices until its sins reached heaven and the defiled earth could no longer be spared.
Lot's Selfish Choice
Lot's choice was selfish and ungrateful, for though he owed his prosperity to Abraham he refused to yield the choice and instead grasped all its advantages for himself. He chose entirely by what he saw, judging the plain of Jordan by its visible abundance, natural beauty, abundant water, fertility, wealth and attractions, dazzled with visions of worldly gain. What drew him was temporal and material prosperity and the promise of great returns from a well-watered country near wealthy and beautiful cities inviting profitable traffic.
He made that decision without considering whether the place would help him grow in morality and godliness, overlooking the moral and spiritual evils to be encountered there. He gave no proper weight to the wickedness and character of the people near Sodom among whom he would live, and foresaw little of the terrible results of that selfish choice. He simply took what looked most fertile, agreeable and advantageous from a worldly point of view, without weighing its moral influence on himself and his family.
That choice put him and his family in a trying position amid Sodom's wickedness and exposed them to corrupting influences, proving a grievous mistake that brought earthly wealth at the cost of lasting spiritual and family loss. Though he intended to remain free from sin and guide his household, Sodom's influence affected his faith, and his children's ties to its inhabitants bound their interests to the city. His course was further entangled by marriage to a selfish, irreligious woman whose influence separated him from Abraham, and together the home in Sodom and that marriage began a chain of events that brought evil for many generations. Only the early instruction received from Abraham kept him from being led wholly away from God by his wife and the city's wicked associations.
He recognized the sin and folly of his course too late. He entered Sodom rich but left with nothing, for fire consumed his gains when destruction came upon the city. He was rescued and led away by an angel as destruction began, fleeing for his life. That loss cost him everything — possessions, riches, wife, married children and life's work — with death for part of his family and deep moral corruption and ruin among his children, so that he himself escaped only as one saved through fire.
Warning for Choosing Homes
The loveliness Lot saw was not lasting, for the plain had been made beautiful by God yet was afterward left bleak and bare. Its rich watering and abundance did not move its people to honor Him. Fire and brimstone turned that once prosperous and beautiful region into desolation, showing how completely what looks flourishing can be destroyed.
Outward beauty, fertility, pleasing scenery, and apparent worldly advantage do not make a place a safe, good, wise, or godly home. Lot chose his residence by what looked advantageous without weighing the people and influences around him, and though the land was lovely and well watered like the garden of the Lord and like Egypt, its attractive appearance was no sure guide. Constant contact with evil associations there endangered faith, devotion, and godly principles. Beauty can be corrupted by those who dwell in a place, and worldly advantages cannot save anyone. Choosing a home for prosperity without weighing its moral and religious influences can bring lasting spiritual loss, for Lot went in rich but left with nothing, led away as destruction began upon the city.
The choice of a home for a family must therefore be guided first by its moral and religious influences rather than by fertility, prosperity, or worldly advantage. Lot chose the Jordan plain because it looked fertile and advantageous from a worldly point of view, for its natural beauty, abundant water, and earthly riches, without considering the wickedness and character of the people near Sodom. Though he meant to remain free from sin and guide his household, the corrupting influence affected his faith and his children's ties bound their interests to the city. That settling exposed the family to corruption and proved a grievous mistake ending in ruin for his children, lasting spiritual and family loss, and the loss of his life's work. The same warning applies to the work of God, which must not be placed where outward surroundings merely appear well watered and beautiful. Going into Sodom on the strength of outward advantage alone is the example not to follow when choosing a place for God's work.