Lot Lost Lot Found

“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot” – Genesis 14:14-16

Tribal warfare engulfed the city of Sodom and with it, Lot.  It’s unclear whether Lot had become a soldier for Sodom or whether he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Either way, Lot was taken as a prisoner of war.

It wasn’t long before Abram heard of Lot’s fate and decided to act.  From his entourage, Abram gathered together over 300 fighting men (which implies that Abram led a group of about 2,000 total people).  With his elite force Abram catches up with Lot’s captors, devises a strategy, and in a daring nighttime raid rescues his nephew.

This is a story of how faith saves us.  Abram is faithful to his family, even when some might have written Lot off.  Throughout the scriptures there are numerous examples of how the faith of one leads to the rescue and redemption of many.  Grace, trust, faith, these things ripple out beyond the individual and bless even the supposedly unworthy.  Through his rescue, Abram is a Christ-figure to Lot.  This story reminds me of the 2018 Lauren Daigle song, “Rescue”, a song sung from the perspective of Christ (this song was part of the inspiration for the “Dear Child…Sermon Series)

In speaking about the genesis of her song Lauren shares, “Rescue is probably one of the most personal songs on the record. It was written for someone close to me who was going through a difficult time.”  While in the recording studio, Lauren was asked to think of her loved one while she sang.  Lauren centered herself and imagined singing directly to her friend.  Her heart wanted her loved one to hear the comfort of God through this song.  In her interview about “Rescue” she went on to say, “I want people to listen to this song and leave feeling that while they may be struggling, there are better times ahead.”

The album version of Rescue is the take she gave when imagining singing this song directly to her loved one.  In other words, whenever you hear it, you are hearing a genuine cry of love.  If you haven’t heard it, I encourage you to search online for “Lauren Daigle Rescue”

“You are not hidden. // There’s never been a moment // You were forgotten // You are not hopeless // Though you have been broken // Your innocence stolen // I hear you whisper underneath your breath // I hear your SOS // I will send out an army to find you // In the middle of the darkest night // It’s true, I will rescue you // There is no distance // That cannot be covered // Over and over // You’re not defenseless // I’ll be your shelter // I’ll be your armor // I will never stop marching to reach you // In the middle of the hardest fight // It’s true, I will rescue you”