Abram and Lot

The story of Abram and Lot is a fascinating tale of love and generosity. In a culture where age and familial relationship were paramount, Abram's offer of first choice of land was unprecedented. As the older partner, he had cultural right of first choice. As uncle to Lot - senior relative - he had the right of command. To relinquish this right was an act of incredible generosity.

So, how to begin looking at the relationship between Abram and Lot, to see what might be learned?

It was the age of the Patriarchs. A time when the leadership of the oldest male relative was unchallenged, his rules and decisions unquestioned. A time when families stayed together until they were large enough to be called clans, and clans supported each other until they were tribes and nations. It was a time when a man's value was measured by the scales of knowledge and wisdom (demonstrated in conversation) and possessions (including wives, offspring, and servants/slaves). Visitors were invited in for meals and refreshment, as travel was often difficult and tiring; hospitality was a treasured virtue.

In this age, the story of Abram stands out on several fronts. His character is revealed in details that were well-understood by the original audience of Genesis, but tend to be missed in contemporary Western culture, particularly the self-absorbed, materialistic culture of North America. For example, God promised Abram, "I will make your name great and you will be a blessing." (Gen 12:2b) The first part of the blessing resonates today. Many would love for theirs to be a household name. The judgement and intrusion that come with fame might be inconvenient, but the desire for popularity and recognition is common; we want our 15 minutes of fame. The second part of God's promise is foreign to our way of life, but had great significance in the age of Abram. To be able to do good for others was one of the marks of a successful person, so for Abram to be a blessing to all the world would be a great good indeed.

Perhaps the most startling image in the story of Abram is his relationship with Lot. Abram argues for sparing Sodom, at least in part, to protect his nephew, Lot. Abram and his fighting men chase an army of five kings and their men, and engage them in battle, just so he can rescue Lot. The fact that he rescued the rest of the inhabitants of the area is just happy coincidence; Abram's concern was for Lot.

Perhaps the most remarkable incident in the relationship between Abram and Lot occurs when the two of them become so wealthy in possessions that the land cannot support them together, so they need to separate. As the elder partner, Abram had the right to choose first. By right and custom, he had the right and responsibility to direct Lot in his housing choices. But Abram graciously allowed Lot to choose first.

Lot does not share Abram's generous spirit. Being allowed to choose first, Lot looks over the land, sees which part looks best, and grabs that part for himself. (Gen 13:10-11) We know, from reading further on, that God gives Abram all the land, both the part Lot chose, and the part left for Abram. We know that Lot's decision leads him to leave the nomadic life of a herdsman and settle in Sodom. We know that Lot is only spared the fate of Sodom because of God's favour to Abram. We know, again from reading ahead to the end of the story, that Lot eventually ends up living in a cave with his two daughters, who get him drunk, seduce him, and have sons by him, who become the Moabites and the Ammonites. We know Lot's descendants cause problems for Abram's descendants.

Abram's generosity leads to blessing just as certainly as Lot's selfishness leads to disaster for himself and his descendants. But the point of this writing is that neither Lot nor Abram knew, at the time of Abram's generous decision, what the eventual outcome would be. Neither of them knew that God planned to give both parts of the land, the east where Lot resided and the west where Abram wandered, to Abram and his descendants forever. Abram's decision was made in the expectation that he would have whatever land Lot did not choose, and would face the natural consequences of abiding in that land. If Lot left him with the poorer of the two areas, that Abram would face the struggle of finding pasture and water in an undesirable location.

God blessed Abram for his generosity, but that was not Abram's motive. Abram was not buying a lottery ticket hoping to win. He was not putting a coin in the "magic God" machine, expecting to win material blessing from God. Abram was being generous because he wanted to be a blessing, not because he was looking to be blessed. The question to ask today is, "why is a person generous?" If they are generous so that other people can be blessed, God promises blessing to them. If a person is generous so that they can receive a blessing, no such promise exists.