Lot was born in Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran the son of Terah father of Abram and Sarai (Genesis 11:27-29). After he moved with his grandfather and the rest of the clan to the city of Haran, he traveled along with his uncle Abram to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:4) from where they moved to Egypt (v 10), then, at the request of Pharaoh, back to Canaan, to again settle between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 13:3).

Note: Haran is now located in southeast Asiatic Turkey, 24 miles southeast of Urfa. According to the Mari archives, Haran was the seat of the Assyrian moon god Sin.

Now, both Lot and Abram were wealthy with sheep and cattle. But because the land could not support them all, fights broke between their herdsmen jeopardizing thus the unity of the clan before theCanaanites and Perizzites who were dwelling in the land at that time (13: 5-7). To solve the problem, Abram suggested parting company, giving his nephew the choice of land (vv 8-9); so Lot and his clan moved to the lush and fertile plains of Jordan to settle next to the city of Sodom where the men were great sinners before the Lord (vv 11-13).

Think: Is every thing that glitters, really gold?

When war broke in the land of Jordan, Lot was taken captive by the victors who plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abram and his men succeeded in retrieving him with all his possessions (vv 14-15).

One day, the Lord and two of his angels stopped by Abram's encampment to amongst other things inform him that if the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are as wicked as He had heard, they shall be utterly destroyed (Genesis 18:1, 20-21). Fearing for his nephew, Abram kept wheeling and dealing with the Lord, until he was assured that Lot will be spared (vv 29-33).

Hint: The Lord does not destroy the RIGHTEOUS with the WICKED.

The Lord departed, but at dusk, His two angels arrived to the city of Sodom where Lot who was sitting at the entrance gate urged them to be his guests (Genesis 19:1-3). While they were about to retire for the night, the wicked men of Sodom surrounded Lot's house demanding he brings out his guests so that they may rape them (vv 4-5). Lot went out shutting the door behind him, and told the Sodomites that he is willing to surrender his two virgin daughters instead of his guests, but the men of Sodom refused to bargain, and began breaking down the door (vv 6-9).

Tip: The leaders of homosexual Christianity employ this incident to teach that by putting his daughters on the line, Lot was not preventing the wicked men of Sodom from raping the angels, as much as practicing a Chaldean tradition which calls for the protection of guests within the household.

At this, the angels reached out and pulled Lot into the house, blindening the men of Sodom so that they would not find the door. Once inside, they bolted it and asked Lot to gather his family and get out of the city which was about to be destroyed (vv 10-14).

On the morn of the next day, the angels grabbed Lot who was still hesitant to leave, and allowed him to flee to the little village of Zoar nearby with his wife and two daughters (vv 15-22)."Flee for your lives," the angels told Lot, "and do not look back" (v 17).

As Lot reached the village at sunrise, the Lord rained down fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities and villages, destroying everything and everybody in them (vv 23-25). Lot's wife looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt (v 26).

Meditate: Why of all precious crystals did the Lord turn Lot's wife who disobeyed the warning of His angels into a pillar of salt?

Ponder: The words of the Everlasting Father, Jesus Christ: "Salt is a reminder of God's covenant and, you are the salt of the earth" (Leviticus 2:13; Matthew 5:14).

In fear of the people of Zoar, Lot and his two daughters moved to to live in a mountain cave where in order to continue his legacy, the two girls decided to bear heirs by him (vv 30-35). As a result, the first gave birth to Moab, the father of the Moabites, and the second to Benammi, the ancestor of the Ammonites (vv 36-38).