Who is Lot? -- An Account of Abraham's Sidekick

Chapter 12 of Genesis wastes no time!

It has no time for things like "origin stories" or "background" or "context". The Bible reader receives no real introduction to Abraham - who he is, what his relationship with God is. Nevertheless, God, out of the blue it would seem, picks Abraham for one of the most important missions of all-time - to begin a clan called the Israelites; they would create a religion (Judaism) that would eventually influence 4 billion people (the "Abrahamic faiths" of Christianity and Islam).

God commands Abraham to depart for a foreign land, leaving behind friends and family. How did Abraham respond to this sudden request?

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him
(Genesis 12:4)

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Lot? Who is this interestingly named individual? Genesis 12:4 is the first we hear his name. It turns out Lot is Abraham's nephew (Genesis 12:5) and apparently his trusted sidekick. As we'll see, over their journey, both Abraham and the Angels must go to great lengths to protect Lot from one calamity after another.

(Note: In Genesis 12:4, Abraham is referred to as Abram. This was before God changes his name to Abraham in Genesis 18.)

Here are 5 incidents in the Bible that relate to Lot:

1. Abraham tells Lot to scram




Besides his wife, Lot is the only one named of the people Abraham brings on his critical journey directed by the Lord. On that basis alone, Lot would seem to be Abraham's trusted buddy. But.......it doesn't take Abraham long to give his friend Lot the boot. The very next chapter (13) after they set out, Abraham says to Lot:

Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.
(Genesis 13:9)

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And off Lot goes. Verse 8 indicates Lot and Abraham had been quarreling (as were their animal 'herders'). Poor Lot, he wanders off into Sodom and Gomorrah of all places.


2. Lot becomes the 'possession' of Four Kings

Lot's luck gets no better.

Genesis 14:11-12 says,

The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

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To clarify, there was a massive battle of four kingdoms versus five kingdoms (including Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot resides). Because Sodom and Gomorrah are defeated, Lot is taken away as loot by the victors.

Not for long if Abraham can help it though. The Bible tells us in Genesis 14:16 that Abraham rescues his nephew and traveling companion Lot:

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit....During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them.....He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot.

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3. Lot offers his daughters to a gang of men trying to rape his visitors

Genesis Chapter 19 is one of the most unusual chapters I've read in the Bible. The summary is this: God receives word of sin in Sodom and Gomorrah and so sends angels in human form to check it out. While the angels are visiting there with Lot, the town's residents actually try to break in and rape the angels. According to Genesis 19:5

They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

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Lot's equally stunning response is to offer them his two virgin daughters instead. Lot tells them:

“No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
(Genesis 19:7-8)

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The angels, with their powers, prevent this attempted assault so this isn't necessary.

4. Lot is Almost Nuked



The angel's near-assault only confirmed their impression that Sodom and Gomorrah need to be nuked.

In Genesis 19:13, the angels tell Lot to get out of town "because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

Just as Lot earlier got seized by the four kings because of Sodom and Gomorrah's defeat, here too his fate appears to be intertwined with the cities' downfall. Fortunately for Lot, he has an uncle in Abraham who has some very powerful friends. According to Genesis 19:29,

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

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The angels allowed Lot to escape Sodom and Gomorrah on foot to a nearby town.
(Note: The "cities of the plain" in the verse above refers to Sodom and Gomorrah)

For its sin, Sodom and Gomorrah are annihilated. God "rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah.....destroying all those living in the cities". (Genesis 19:24-25). But not Lot.




5. Lot's Attempt to Warn People of their Imminent Demise is Met with Laughter

On being told by the angels that Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed by God, Lot urgently tries to get his family members to leave too. Unfortunately he seems to be able to persuade few.

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. (Genesis 19:14)

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As for Lot's wife, she didn't take the order urgently either; the Bible says, "But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:26) It's likely Lot's son-in-laws met the same fate.


Conclusion

This list on Lot is not comprehensive (Lot is also famous for his daughters getting him drunk and having his children (Genesis 19:30-38) ).

Suffice to say Lot is the sort of individual where you wonder why he is in the Bible at all. It's said that the Old Testament highlights the ability of God to rescue flawed individuals in-need, and perhaps there is no better example than Lot. Lot's "nine lives" are made possible by God's grace and the assistance of God's people.