The Blessing of Association – A Little About A Lot

Lot’s prosperity was actually because of his association with Abraham, and Abraham’s prosperity was because of the blessing of the Lord upon his life. This story of Lot and Abraham highlights the importance of seeking God’s favour and blessings in our lives. I wonder if Lot discerned the source of his blessing. His prosperity and protection were both attached to. His prosperity was attached to Abraham. When he moved away from Abraham he lost his protection and prosperity and at the end he’s reduced to zero. Sodom and Gomorrah were two legendary Biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God’s anger provoked by man’s sin (see Genesis 19:1–28).

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Genesis 19:25-29

Due to the wickedness of the city, Lot’s prosperity was destroyed along with the city, leaving him with nothing. He was saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of his relationship with Abraham, who interceded on his behalf. This emphasises the power of prayer and the importance of having righteous people in our lives who can help us in times of need. Lot was rescued by Abraham again at an earlier time.

Then the victors took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and provisions and left. And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom. Then a survivor who had escaped [from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan] came and told Abram the ^[b]Hebrew. Now he was living by the terebinths (oaks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner—they were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

Genesis 14:11-16

Abram’s bravery and reliance on God allowed him to rescue Lot and his possessions, as well as the other captives. This event demonstrated Abram’s loyalty to his family and his faith in God’s protection. Lot, his family and the other captives would have become slaves to the captors as that was the case in those times. But because of his association with Abraham, he was rescued together with all his possessions to continue to live his life. Abraham’s intervention ultimately saved Lot and his family from a life of slavery. There are many examples in the Bible of people who were blessed because of association.

Laban was blessed because of Jacob and he attested to that when he said, “If I have found favour in your sight, stay with me; for I have learned [from the omens in divination and by experience] that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” This resulted in an increase in Laban’s flocks and wealth.
Egypt was blessed because of Joseph – Egypt was blessed because of Joseph’s wisdom and ability to interpret dreams, which helped him prepare for the famine and save the people from starvation.
Portiphar was blessed because of Joseph – his wisdom and faithfulness to God brought blessings not only to Egypt but also to Portiphar, who recognised Joseph’s talents and put him in charge of his household. As a result, Portiphar’s household prospered under Joseph’s management.
Ruth was blessed because her association with Naomi, and she later became the great-grandmother of King David.
King Cyrus was blessed because of the Israelites. He was the Persian king who allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple, fulfilling God’s prophecy. He was considered a “messiah” figure in Jewish history.
Ahiphothel was blessed with wisdom because of David – Many Jews believed that the messiah would be a descendant of David, so Ahiphothel’s connection to David made him an important figure in Jewish history as well. This wisdom was seen as a sign of divine favour and helped establish Ahiphothel’s authority among the people.

When we fail to understand why we have been blessed then at times we can choose to disassociate ourselves from the source of this blessing. Overtime we begin to experience the consequences of the separation. This is true with individuals, but it is also true with nations. When a nation begins with God, then God prospers the nation. When a nation fears the Lord, then the hand of blessing of God is upon that nation. There are many examples of nations that began with God and at one point they decided to do things their own way. Israel as a nation fell into this traps so many times God would bless them, prosper them and then they would turn away from God and begin to follow other idols or other gods. At this point, the consequences of disobedience and separation from God would begin to take a toll upon the nation. The book of judges is such a good example of how this happened time and time again. In the same way we currently have nations in the world whose foundations or their history was founded on God. If their fore fathers were God fearing men who steered the nation in the direction that the Lord wanted them to go and as a result, the nation was blessed. However, subsequent generations disregard the way of the Lord and have turned from following His path. And as a result, when you critically look at these nations, you begin to see the consequences of disobedience to God. They have a depraved value system. Their moral compass is lost, and they lack a sense of purpose and direction in life, leading to social decay and chaos.