One has to ask, given that near-eastern names tended to carry symbolic meaning, what did Lot's name really mean? If he had a lot of anything, I would have asked him to cut down and do with less of it ... foolishness that is. He opted to live in a materially desirable, morally bancrupt culture, down in a valley, far below the strategically advantageous highlands where Abram lived. Thus he never saw the trouble coming that he and that wretcheded town should have anticipated in those heady, violent times. Then one day they came for Sodom, plundered it and dragged away the inhabitants, including luckless Lot.
When news reached Abram, he formed a posse and divided his forces into three, surrounding and overwhelming them at the tar-pits of Siddim (oil deposits were already evident). He returned with all the goods and people that had been plundered, but would have nothing to do with the king of Sodom, who wanted to trade the goods for all the souls that Abram had rescued. What Abram did want was to offer tithes and sacrifices to a mystical high priest, Melchizedek, who evidently had no beginning nor end of days ... perhaps Jesus, a priest after the order of Mechizedek (Hebrews 7), was the same person and maybe Abram saw a preincarnation of Jesus ... I don't know. What I do know is that Abram ate a covenant meal of bread and wine with the priest, and he was then blessed by Him.
Not to be outdone, Lot then got into more trouble, not realising that the king of Sodom was a bad leader, a type of Satan, who dealt in souls and corruption. Lot should also have known that Sodom was not where he belonged .... but he was a slow learner. He should have stayed closer to Abram, a truly great, competent man and a living example in a world of contradictions.
When news reached Abram, he formed a posse and divided his forces into three, surrounding and overwhelming them at the tar-pits of Siddim (oil deposits were already evident). He returned with all the goods and people that had been plundered, but would have nothing to do with the king of Sodom, who wanted to trade the goods for all the souls that Abram had rescued. What Abram did want was to offer tithes and sacrifices to a mystical high priest, Melchizedek, who evidently had no beginning nor end of days ... perhaps Jesus, a priest after the order of Mechizedek (Hebrews 7), was the same person and maybe Abram saw a preincarnation of Jesus ... I don't know. What I do know is that Abram ate a covenant meal of bread and wine with the priest, and he was then blessed by Him.
Not to be outdone, Lot then got into more trouble, not realising that the king of Sodom was a bad leader, a type of Satan, who dealt in souls and corruption. Lot should also have known that Sodom was not where he belonged .... but he was a slow learner. He should have stayed closer to Abram, a truly great, competent man and a living example in a world of contradictions.
No comments:
Post a Comment