“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children ... to keep the way of the Lord” (18:19). Just after “the Lord appeared” to Abraham and confirmed that Sarah would soon be pregnant (18:1), Lot and his family became caught up in the terrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (18:22). The attempted gang rape of Lot’s guests revealed the twisted cruelty of the population (ch 19), and Lot’s family barely escaped. Amid the “very grave” evil of the times (18:20), God chose Abraham’s family to demonstrate “righteousness and justice” (18:18).

“... All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (18:18). Those who trust and obey God, resisting sin and following Him, shine brightly in a dark world.