I started to read the Bible (though not going very well right now) from beginning to end. I’m trying to really focus and get what I can from it. I feel like I’ve read Genesis so many times without finishing the whole Bible and without paying close attention to some details. In my attempt to see God’s plan from beginning to end as he intended it, I first started to understand Abraham and Lot’s life a little more.

I do want to mention a few things along the way in Genesis that I saw before getting to Abraham and Lot.

• The responsibility of man in marriage: Adam was present when Eve took the apple from the serpent. It was his responsibility to protect Eve from making a bad decision. It’s almost as if he coward back and hid behind Eve so the serpent couldn’t see him. It’s sad that that is how most men are in today’s society.
• Cain and Abel: Cain blamed God for a lot of things. He blamed God for favoring Abel and for the burden he had to bear after killing Abel. However, it was Cain’s attitude that prevented him from being pleasing to God. His desire was not for God, but for his own purposes. He had a bad attitude in giving the offerings and he thought God hated him for killing Abel, but he was just unrepentant.
• God commanded Noah: All of what Noah did was only because God commanded him. Noah was obedient, which is probably why he was considered righteous and blameless. Not because he did, but because he obeyed. He was probably obedient in the small things, which led God to choose him to build the big thing.

Now to Abraham and Lot. First with Abraham. In the beginning of Abraham’s life, while he was traveling with Sarah, though only recorded twice, he pretended that Sarah was his sister to save his life. Each time was after Abraham had a blessing experience with God. Even in Genesis 20:13 it says that wherever they go, that Sarah would call him her brother, which might mean they have done this more than two times.

Lot is also very interesting. Early, when there was a great battle of kings, Lot was captured by the kings that defeated the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, and others. I’m sure being captured isn’t the best situation to be in. So when God came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he asked God if he could stay close in Zoar, which is one of the lands that was conquered by the king that captured him. I found this amusing because if you are offered the chance to escape from the people that captured you, wouldn’t you take the opportunity to do so and run away as far as you can? Not so with Lot.

The overall lesson between Abraham and Lot from these two musings is that we are sinful people. We love our sin so much that we will do it over and over again and stay close to it. It seems like it never leaves us. However, God is still with us. Even though we sin, God will correct us so that he can still use us (I think i need to find a better God-centered application).