Genesis 13:10 Daily Devotional & Meaning – Lot’s Choice, Worldly Beauty, and What Truly Lasts
- Benjamin Michael Mcgreevy
- 15 hours ago
- 6 min read
Daily Verses Everyday! Day 60
“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.”
When Lot lifted up his eyes to look upon the plain of Jordan, what he saw was breathtaking. The land shimmered like a mirror of heaven—green, fertile, and full of life. It was everything a man could want: abundance, comfort, and promise. To Lot’s eyes, it looked like paradise itself, a place of endless prosperity. Yet Scripture reminds us that this beauty existed “before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” What seemed perfect to man was already under judgment from God. This verse reveals that what man gives, and what man builds, may appear dazzling, but it cannot compare to what God gives nor can it last like what He prepares.
The plain of Jordan is a picture of human achievement. It is what happens when man reaches for what looks best in his own sight. It was as the garden of the Lord in appearance but not in holiness. It was lush like the land of Egypt, but its heart was corrupt. That is often how the world’s gifts appear: outwardly magnificent but inwardly fragile. The world can give us much to look at but very little to live for. Everything man gives is temporary; everything God gives is eternal.
God’s gifts, however, are not limited to His people. He pours out blessings even on those who oppose Him. The same sun that warms the righteous also lights the path of the wicked. The same rain that falls on the crops of the believer nourishes the fields of the non-believer. He gives breath to every soul, even those who use that breath to curse Him. If the enemies of God receive such generosity, imagine what He has in store for His beloved children. Imagine the wonders of the new heaven and the new Earth, prepared not by the hands of man but by the heart of the eternal Christ.
In Genesis, we see the first great act of divine giving, the creation of the heavens and the Earth. In six days, God spoke everything into being, and on the seventh, He rested. His rest was not the rest of weariness but of completion. Creation was perfect, whole, and good. Nothing was missing. Every blade of grass, every star in the sky, every breath in man’s lungs testified to the perfection of His work. Yet, in the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke another word of creation not of earth and sky but of eternity itself. “I go to prepare a place for you,” He said, “…that where I am, [there] ye may be also” (John 14:2–3).
Jesus was not speaking of construction as we know it. The Greek word for “prepare” means to make ready, set in order, and make something suitable. He was not crafting walls or carving stones; He was arranging eternity so that we might dwell in unbroken fellowship with God. Genesis tells of physical creation, but John reveals spiritual preparation. The world was made in six days; our eternal home is being readied through the work of redemption as a work that began on the cross and continues in the hearts of all who believe.
We think of time as long and drawn out in days, years, or centuries, but God does not dwell within time. He created time as easily as He created light. For Him, a thousand years are as one day, and one day as a thousand years. So when we hear Jesus say, “I go to prepare a place for you,” we must not picture Him slowly hammering away at heavenly mansions. What He prepares does not take millennia of labor; it unfolds in perfect divine timing. From our perspective, the centuries stretch on; from His, the plan is already complete. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, which means redemption was already finished before creation began. Time is the stage where God’s eternal work is revealed, not the measure of His progress.
So, what is Jesus preparing? It is not a city of brick and stone, for heaven is not made with human hands. He is preparing the way to the Father. When He died, the veil in the temple was torn in two, symbolizing that access to God was opened forever. His “preparation” began on Calvary, when the blood that spoke better things than Abel’s was poured out for our redemption. Through His intercession, He continues to make ready our hearts, sanctifying us, cleansing us, and shaping us for eternal fellowship. The place He promised is not under construction; it is waiting, complete, and perfect. It is we who are being prepared for it.
In Genesis, creation was completed, and God rested. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” and then He, too, rested not in a tomb but in triumph. Creation gave us life; redemption gives us eternal life. After creation, God rested from His work. After redemption, Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. Both acts were complete, yet the fruit of redemption continues to unfold. Souls are still being gathered, lives still being transformed, and creation itself still groans for its final renewal.
When Scripture speaks of a “new heaven and a new earth,” it is not describing God starting over from nothing. It is not a new project but a transformation, just as our resurrection bodies will be new yet still our own. The old will pass away but not by destruction, by purification. Creation will be refined as gold in fire, freed from sin and decay. The beauty of the new world will not come from new materials but from the removal of corruption. Revelation tells us that John saw the New Jerusalem “coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2). Notice that word: prepared—not being built but already finished and adorned, waiting for its moment of unveiling.
Heaven, then, is not the part that needs preparation. Heaven is already completely glorious, unspoiled, eternal. It is we who need to be made ready. Through the Spirit’s work in us, we are being molded into the likeness of Christ, so that when we stand before Him, we will be able to bear the weight of His glory. The waiting we endure is not God’s delay in construction; it is His mercy in transformation. Every trial we face, every prayer we whisper, every tear we shed is part of that preparation. The place is ready, and it is our hearts that must be refined.
When Lot lifted his eyes and saw the plain of Jordan, he saw what the world could be lush, abundant, and temporary. But when the redeemed lift their eyes to heaven, they will see what God has prepared to be glorious, eternal, and incorruptible. What man builds will always crumble; what God prepares will stand forever. The plain that once dazzled Lot’s eyes was reduced to ashes, but the home Christ prepares will never fade, never burn, and never die.
In Genesis, creation ended with God’s rest. In the Gospel, redemption ended with resurrection. And one day soon, when the new heaven and earth are revealed, creation and redemption will finally meet and God’s rest will become our eternal joy. The waiting is not delay; it is grace. The preparation is not slow; it is perfect, for heaven’s glory is not being built because it already is. We are simply waiting for the moment when God opens the door and welcomes His children home. When Lot lifted his eyes, he saw the best the world could offer; when we lift ours to Christ, we see the world that cannot be lost.
If you would like to explore Genesis in a sustained, verse-by-verse way with space to reflect, journal, and trace how these foundational truths unfold through Scripture the Verse by Verse book expands these reflections into a unified reading experience. The book gathers these meditations into a structured journey through Genesis, designed to help readers linger in the text and engage God’s Word more deeply over time.
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