Transcript
Lot (0:00)
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Narrator (0:04)
Previously on the Chosen People. Abram and Lot were exhausted after overseeing the grueling sojourn south through the notoriously treacherous desert called the Negev. A devastating famine had swept through the land. It compelled their band of expatriates to carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels until they were eventually, eventually forced to enter the lions and vipers territory on the long, barren desert road to Egypt.
Lot (0:38)
Abram. Abram, what did I tell you? No, don't look over, but listen carefully. That's the fifth time I've got them staring today at Sarai.
Abram (0:50)
If I tell them she's my wife, they'll kill me. But if I tell them she's my sister, they'll probably spare me.
Lot (1:00)
Yeah, not to mention we'd probably benefit from any potential suitors Sarah might have.
Edith (1:09)
Abram, you would tell a half truth and deny me the protection of my husband, lie to spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord?
God (1:22)
Abram, who is Sarai to you?
Abram (1:27)
Your Highness, I beg forgiveness. Sarai is my wife. Just as your spies have surely told you the gossip. It's true. I was afraid of what would happen to me if a man desired my wife.
Narrator (1:45)
Abram felt rebuked by Pharaoh's words, by God's words, and knew that despite his assuredness that he was doing what he thought was right, he never should have left the land he had been promised. His mistakes had almost cost him and Sarai their integrity and their lives.
Lot (2:05)
I love you, Abram, and I always will. You've always been a bit of a brother to me, and you're everything an older brother should be. Your sense of duty and loyalty are unmatched. When I look back on my life, I want to feel like I did something of significance, that I achieved something that no one else has done before.
Narrator (2:31)
Lot pinched the bridge of his nose, a futile attempt to stave off the headache that had been building since they left Egypt. His men's constant grumbling had become a persistent drone, amplified by the slow, torturous pace of their journey through the desert. So large had he and Abram's caravans become that they were forced to move through the miserable wilderness in stages. He guessed that even a tortoise could have outpaced them. And if they had thought resources were scarce during the famine and then again in the desert, returning to Canaan was nothing but a disappointment. Lot was shaken by their experience in Egypt. Being rebuked by Pharaoh, bruised his Ego. And now they were forced to return to the place between Bethel and AI where they had first settled in Canaan. They were not exactly welcomed back with open arms from their neighbors. The Canaanites and Perizzites had barely survived the famine in their region. If they had been indifferent to Abram and Lot's people before the famine, they had turned downright hostile at their return. It certainly didn't help that their numbers had tripled, straining the resources of the land past their limit. The hill country had already been limited in its ability to provide the flocks. As Lot surveyed the expanse, he realized how much famine had devastated the already limited region. Lot then considered the riches their camp was laden with. Silver and gold from the Egyptians, gifts that would have been Sarai's dowry. Abram considered them bitter reminders of his deceit. But Lot refused to assign such sentiments to the fortune that had made him a very rich man. Their accumulated wealth made them easy targets for raids from their aggressive neighbours. So everyone was on edge. Between being on their guard for any threats and squabbling over watering holes and grazing pastures. Especially Lot. Lot's camp buzzed with unrest. His herdsmen, wearied and wary, approached him with grievances.