This lesson is compatible with the "Abraham & Isaac" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.
Scripture References: Genesis 14: 1-24
“Lot, I was looking around the house today, and thinking about all of our sheep, cows, donkeys, and camels at the farm-tent just outside the city. Do you know what I noticed? We are RICH!!!”
“We sure are, wife! I never dreamed we would be so rich when we left Ur, but here we are!”
I imagine this is a conversation Lot and his wife had several times. They just couldn’t believe how rich they had become. And important, too! Lot had begun to go to the town meetings, and more and more people were getting to know him.
He was getting exactly what he had wanted when his uncle Abram asked him to choose the land he wanted to live on. He had looked at all the grass and water for his herds, and his herds had grown even bigger with so much food to eat. He had looked at the big cities and the great promise of money they would bring him. Now it was coming true!
And yet, Lot just could not find happiness. All the money he got just made him want more money. He would be happy for a few minutes when people recognized him as someone important, but the happiness would vanish just moments later when he wondered why the other people around didn’t seem to know who he was. He was trying to find his happiness in all the wrong places. There is not true happiness apart from God. The longer Lot lived in Sodom, the more he forgot about God.
But God hadn’t forgotten about Lot. Lot had put his faith in God long ago. Even though Lot didn’t act like he belonged to God, God remembered the faith Lot had that someone would one day come to die for his sins. And God wanted to remind Lot that a relationship with Him was far more important than money.
In those days, there was peace in Sodom, the next city over, called Gomorrah, and three other cities. They had peace because they paid a king far away for protection. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them were full of food. That is because there was so much green grass and rivers/lakes. It was a great place to grow food and raise animals. And kings from far away were always trying to control their cities so they could steal the food and the herds. So, they kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities made a deal with a King called Chedorlaomer, who was a powerful king. They would send food, animals, and money every year if he would protect them. King Chedorlaomer had a condition though. “If you don’t send me money each year, I will come and take your food, animals, and money by force! You will pay me one way or another!”
For 12 years they enjoyed peace because they paid King Chedorlaomer. But the kings got tired of paying him. They decided to have a meeting. I imagine their conversation went something like this: “We are losing a lot of money every year! This has got to stop!” said the king of Gomorrah. “I agree! If we all stand up to him together, he will back off. What is he going to do against all 5 of us and our armies!” said the king of Sodom. “That’s right! We aren’t paying any more, and that’s that! If he wants to steal our food and money, just let him try! We’ll beat him in any battle!” said another king.
So, the 5 kings of the 5 rich cities agreed. No more payments to Chedorlaomer.
And they were feeling very good about it. They didn’t send the payment like they had for the other 12 years. And nothing happened. They thought Chedorlaomer was too scared to come and take their money by force. The kings went back to their cities and enjoyed their riches. Then, a year later, each king began to hear rumors. “I just got back from my business trip up north, and I passed this HUGE army on the way! I wonder where they are going.” The kings began to ask around if anyone knew anything about it. They probably sent messages to the other kings asking what army was on the way, and where they were going.
They began to hear many stories. “The army attacked the people of Ashteroth!” I heard they killed everyone in the city called Ham.” “They are attacking every city they pass!”
The five kings finally figured it out. It was Chedorlaomer! But not just him. He had gathered 3 more kings together and promised great riches if they would help him attack Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other 3 cities. So now an army of 4 kings was on the way to attack them! They called their armies together to go out to battle against Chedorlaomer’s group. They fought hard, but Chedorlaomer had too many soldiers with him. They were losing the battle! The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah saw that they couldn’t win the battle, so they ran away and tried to hide!
Chedorlaomer had won! “Army, you did a great job in battle! We have won! Now we will go to the 5 cities and take ALL their riches! Go and get the animals, food, and money! Find anything valuable and take it! And gather the people together! They will be our slaves!”
The army went through each city taking everything. At Sodom, they took everything Lot had. All his money, all his herds, and all the good food he had stored up. Lot had nothing left. Everything he worked for was gone. All his dreams vanished in a day.
And now he, his family, and his servants were all slaves! The army took them captive and forced them to go with them back to the north. They marched alongside the army, and had to serve them, and do whatever they said. They were prisoners and slaves.
I believe God was reminding Lot that money doesn’t last. All the things we work for don’t last. Herds, food, servants, power…they all go away. Cars, cell phones, games, friends…they all go away. But God’s promises last forever. God’s love lasts forever. It’s much better to serve God than to serve money and power. God was showing His love to Lot by disciplining him. Is it fun to be disciplined? Of course not! But the Bible says those that love us discipline us. Hebrews 12:11 says: “ Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” When we put our faith in Jesus, we become God’s children. And God disciplines us sometimes. That’s because He loves us and wants the best for us. Sometimes God needs to remind us that He is in control, and that we need to follow Him, and obey Him. When God disciplines us, it doesn’t mean we are no longer his children. Just like with our parents. When they punish us for a bad behavior, it doesn’t stop us from being their children. Our parents are trying to teach us what is best. God does the same! He shows us what is best. And He keeps His promises to us, discipline or no discipline. His promise to us is that when we put our faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and we are His forever! What a BEAUTIFUL promise!
I often wonder if Lot was thinking about God’s promise as he was marching along as a slave. I hope he was.
Back in Sodom, one of Lot’s servant had escaped capture. He probably hid when the army came. He saw them take Lot and his family. He knew he had to tell Abram, Lot’s uncle. So, he ran as fast as he could. He ran and ran until he found Abram’s tents. Abram was all the way on the other side of the valley. When Abram heard what happened, he could have said “Well, Lot chose to live there. He deserves what he got!” But Abram didn’t say this. He loved Lot very much. He loved Lot’s family. So, Abram, an old man, said “Gather my servants as quick as you can! I will go to my neighbors to ask for help, too. We are going after them and will bring them home.” Abram gathered 318 servants and neighbors. They went after the large army. When they got close, Abram told his army of servants his plan. “After the sun goes down, I will take half of our group, and go around to the right side. The other half will go around to the left side. We well them charge together and fight them!” Chedorlaomer’s army was no small army. They fought the armies of 5 cities and won, even though they were only 4 cities worth of army. Abram had 318 in his army. That is a lot of people…but that was nothing compared to the other army!!! And Abram’s army was not really an army. [Visual D] They weren’t used to fighting. They took care of animals. They probably didn’t have shields and swords like the other army. You have to come back next week to hear what happens!
Let’s pray now and thank God for keeping His promises. Let’s ask God to help us obey Him, and let’s thank God for disciplining us sometimes. God is good to love us enough to discipline us! Even though it is not fun or comfortable to be disciplines, it is for our good. Let’s ask God to help us obey His word, so that He doesn’t need to discipline us.