Lot’s search for fulfillment Genesis 13:2-17

When God called Abram to Canaan, Abram’s nephew Lot joined him.  In the course of time, the flocks of both men grew and they were forced to separate.  Abram then broke social convention and granted Lot, the younger man, the first choice of the land.  The heart of Lot was then exposed.  Lot perceived that the best place to increase his wealth was in the Jordan Valley near Zoar which was outside of Canaan.  Thus, Lot placed his ambition for personal gain above the call of God. 

Furthermore, the Jordan Valley appeared to Lot as ‘the garden of the LORD.’  It appeared to be the place of bounty, pleasure, satisfaction, and fulfillment.  It’s ironic that Lot sought satisfaction in the garden of the LORD while rejecting the LORD himself.

Like Lot, each of us pursues our own ‘garden of the LORD.’  In our own way we say, “If I achieved that goal, if I had that relationship, if I possessed that object, then I would be satisfied.”  Sadly, to seek joy and fulfillment in the Lord’s gifts and not in the Lord himself is a fruitless search.

In contrast to Lot, Abram follows the call of God rather than live for ambition and personal gain.  His joy and hope are in the Lord.  In this way, Abram foreshadows Jesus.  Christ came not to seek his own will but “to do the will of Him who sent me.”[1]  The gave up the ‘garden of the LORD’ and lived in poverty and died in disgrace.  Yet, he gladly did this so that you could enjoy ‘the garden of the LORD’ in this life and for eternity.  Jesus lived, died, and resurrection to bring you to God, the fountain of true blessedness.

[1] John 6:38