Lot followed his uncle Abraham out of Haran into Canaan. When their herds grew too big to share the land, Abraham gave him first choice. Lot looked at the well-watered plain of the Jordan and chose it, moving his tent as far as Sodom, a city known for its wickedness.
He was captured in a war and rescued by Abraham. Later two angels came to Sodom to destroy it, and Lot hesitated. The angels had to seize his hand and pull him out. His wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Peter still calls him righteous, a man tormented by what he saw. His story warns how slowly a heart can drift.
“
the LORD being merciful to him
Name means
Possibly “covering”
Home
Ur and Haran, then Canaan, then Sodom
Role
Abraham's nephew, father of Moab and Ammon
Read in
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Lot's story
Leaving Sodom
Beginning
Leaving with Abram
He goes with his uncle from Haran into Canaan.
Turning point
He chose the plain
Given first pick, he chooses the well-watered land and moves toward Sodom.
Turning point
Captured and rescued
Taken in war; Abraham rescues him.
Low point
He lingered
Angels pull him out of Sodom by the hand. His wife looks back.
Ending
In a cave
Afraid, he lives in a cave with his daughters, who get him drunk.
Starts as a nephew who went out with Abraham. Ends as a man rescued by mercy, with almost nothing left.
Where Lot lived and went
Only places Scripture records. Softer, dotted pins are traditional or uncertain sites. Tap a pin for the passage.
HomeMinistryKey momentTraditional or uncertainPinch or use + to zoom. Tap a cluster to spread it out.
How Lot is wired
The Loyalist
Enneagram 6, Enthusiast wing
To be secure and settled, somewhere safe and well supplied.
Scripture doesn't give us much here, so treat this as a best guess.
At their best, toward 9 Under stress, toward 3
Why we think so
1
He chooses security. He picks the well-watered plain like the garden of the LORD. ()
2
He is afraid to go. He asks to flee to a little city instead of the hills, lest disaster overtake him. ()
3
Fear again. He was afraid to live in Zoar and moved to a cave. ()
The 7 wing shows in his eye for the good life of the plain. ()
The Peacemaker. At his best he welcomes strangers and protects them. ()
The Achiever. Under stress he freezes and lingers. ()
Why so tentative
Lot's inner life is only glimpsed. This guess rests on his repeated fear and his choices for security.
Other lenses
Big Five. Read from what is recorded in Genesis.
ReservedOutgoing
SteadyReactive
ChallengingAccommodating
SpontaneousDisciplined
TraditionalCurious
DISC style: Hesitant, comfortable, fearful
Strengths & struggles
What's good in Lot
Hospitable to strangers at real risk (). Grieved by the evil around him (). Went with Abraham into the unknown ().
Where Lot struggles
Chose by what looked good (). Drifted closer to Sodom until he lived there (). Offered his own daughters to the mob (). Lingered when told to flee ().
What Lot wanted most
The best land and a settled, prosperous life ().
What Lot feared most
Being caught in the open by disaster. He begged to flee to a small city, not to the hills ().
Lot was pulled out of judgment by the hand. Jesus takes hold of people who would never leave on their own.
Jesus said, Remember Lot's wife (), and warned that the day of the Son of Man would come as suddenly as it did in Lot's day (). Lot was saved not because he hurried but because the LORD was merciful. That is how anyone is rescued.
Questions to sit with
1
Lot moved toward Sodom one step at a time. What are you drifting toward?
2
He was pulled out by the hand. When has God rescued you when you were lingering?
Study Lot with your group
Ready-to-lead group studies with discussion questions and a leader's note are on the way.
