Separation

When God called on Abram to leave the city of Ur of the Chaldees and told him to go to a land which God would show him, Abram obeyed the call. But Abraham’s nephew did not take the call of separation. After a quarrel with Abraham, Lot decided he would not stay in isolation but went back into civilisation and become an important man. Note the record of the downward path in Genesis 13:

vs 10 ~ he lifted up his eyes
vs 10 ~ he beheld (i.e. he examined carefully)
vs 11 ~ he chose the plain of Jordan
vs 11 ~ he separated himself from Abraham (to whom the promises had been made)
vs 12 ~ he pitched his tent (ie he decided to stay)
Genesis 19:1 ~ he sat at the gate (ie he became a ruler in the land following the affairs of man and not the things of God.

Lot lived in Sodom which has given its name to the most abominable of all the sins of men. Lot turned away from such sins and, later in life, turned back to God thus becoming ‘righteous’ in the eyes of God. Nevertheless, his unwise early choice of returning to live amongst unbelievers is a lesson to all of us. The wickedness of Sodom and its final destruction was taken by the Lord as an example of the wickedness which would characterise the world in the days when his second coming can be expected (Luke 17:28-30).

Answers to Crossword on page 10

Across: 1. Calvary 7. Reach 9. Race 10. Chat 11. This 12. Hosah 16. Tots 18. Esther 20. io 21. Me 22. Brutish 25. Israelite 27. Ante 29. Ham 30. Hr 31. Men Down: 1. Carchemish 2. Locust 3. Ar 4. Re 5. Yacht 6. Chastise 8. Chio 13. Oses 14. Ahban 15. Hereth 17. Soh 19. Ruler 23. Ti 24. Item 26. Ram 28. In

Bro Moses Dhlakama (Chipinge, Zimbabwe)