Vineri The Bible does not tell us much about Lot and there is no evidence that God had promised him any piece of land anywhere, but I suppose that when Abraham decided to put his house for sale and started to pack his belongings, his relatives in Ur started to ask questions and when Abraham explained that God asked him to go to a place flowing with milk and honey, Lot’s eyes popped up and started to salivate. We do not know how big Lot imagined the piece of land to be because even Abraham had no idea, but when they arrived in Canaan they realized that the “lot” was not as big as Lot thought. There wasn’t a lot of “lot” there for himself let alone to be divided in two “lots.” We do know that Lot was much younger than Abraham and according to ancient customs older people always decided and younger people were expected to comply with such decisions. In spite of his old age, Abraham appears quite stupid because he asked Lot to choose the piece of land which he liked and promised to be satisfied with whatever was left over. Lot’s choice was a no brainer: he chose the most fertile part of Canaan. The reason Abraham accepted this arrangement was be cause he wanted “peace,” and peace he did have because nothing much happened to him later on. Instead, we learn that the place which Lot chose was attacked by a coalition of kings and why they chose to attack the area where Lot lived and not the one which Abraham lived is another no brainer: those who plunder go where there is plenty of booty. Then Abraham did another thing that makes no sense: When he learned that his nephew Lot had been taken captive with everything he had, instead of praising God that life is fair after all, he gathered all his men to pursue the attackers, defeated them by risking his life, and brought Lot and the other inhabitants of the conquered cities back home. As if this was not enough, when Abraham was offered a reward: “Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself,’” he replied: “I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich’” (Genesis 14:21-23). Have you ever heard of someone who does not want good land and does not want to be rich? If someone decided to make a show “Who DOES NOT Want to Be a Millionaire?” I am afraid that Abraham would be the only participant and no spectator would show up, not even Regis Philbin. As fi this is not enough, we learn something even more amazing: When the priest of the city came to greet Abraham as a rescuer, Abraham paid him tithes (Genesis 14:20). I do not know what kind of theology Lot learned at the city temple, but if I had been Abraham I would have had a hard time to put any money in the collection plate. The one who wins in a battle not only does not accept any booty, but even offers to give money to those whom he rescues.
Why would anyone do what Abraham did and what was he thinking? When greed started to develop between the two families, it was because Abraham wanted peace he offered Lot the option to choose where to live. As his choice made clear, Lot’s thinking was based on greed rather than peace. According to the religion of Lot, the “lot” of someone consisted in land, wealth, and money. This is an universal religion which I would call “
lot-ism regardless whether it is popularly known under names such as: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamism, Judaism, Orthodoxism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and so on. It is the belief that the land belongs to you and all the others belong to the underground. Lot-ism teaches that you should claim as much land as possible to be happy, only to discover that when you die to claim the land in reality it is the land that claims you. Lot-ism creates the illusion that we can own the land, when the land will always own us. The only right we can claim upon the land is the right to be buried in it, a right which no one can take away from us because it was instituted by God: “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Lot-ism teaches us that we can never have enough land when just 6' x 3' is enough to accommodate us. It was because Abraham understood this reality about “lots” of land that he was interested in a different kind of “lot” which had nothing to do with land because it had to do with future and eternity. His paying tithes had nothing to do with the religion of Sodom; it had to do with his own religion and belief. The name of the priest to whom Abraham paid tithes was Melchizedek, a name which means “My king is righteousnes,” who blessed Abraham for bringing peace to the city. He believe that our “lot” is not a piece of land, but a piece of heaven. He believed that our future is not in the ground, but high above it. Therefore he did not believe in Lot-ism, but in Jesus-ism.
Aurel Ionica - Majesty.ro
