May 28, 2023
Reading: Genesis 17:30-38
Focus: Genesis 17:36-38 – So both daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab, he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi, he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Father God, this is a disturbing story in the Bible but it shows us that you can bring hope out of tragic events. Open our minds to what You would have us learn. In Jesus Name. Amen.
What can I say? This is a very disturbing portion of scripture. I said that I wouldn’t gloss over the bad stuff, so I’m not. It’s a tragic sin that ultimately was the result of wrong choices. Lot chose to live in the city of Sodom. He took the easy way, the greener grass and the prosperous city. But apparently, he did not take the time to teach his daughters just how sinful the culture of the Sodom was. He did not teach them that the actions of the people of Sodom was sin the eyes of God. And that God hated sin. Sin brings trouble and has consequences that can only bring sorrow and pain; not only to the ones who have sinned but it will affect generations to come. Only God can take a tragedy and make something good out of it.
Lot and his family escaped the destruction of the cities of the plain of Jordan. Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt when she looked back at her home as it was destroyed. Lot and his daughters took refuge in the mountains, in a cave. He fled Zoar for the mountains because he feared it would be destroyed too. His fear was correct because the Bible tells us that all the cities of the plain were destroyed.
Lot knew all that had happened and why the cities were to be destroyed. We don’t know if his daughters were in the room when the angels told of the coming destruction of the cities. But they had to be aware of what the angels were saying. They had seen the mob struck blind. They were told they had to leave the city or die. They were led out of the city by the angels before the destruction came. Could they have misunderstood? Or did they give in to fear? The girls may have believed that no one on earth escaped that destruction. I mean, God had sent a flood to destroy all mankind once before. The girls may have believed that they were the only ones left to continue the human race and the only man available was their father.
Now remember, these girls had grown up in Sodom. There was no way that they could have been ignorant of the sexual sins played out every day around them. Being surrounded by the influences of Sodom, their ideas of right and wrong might have been twisted by the sin of that city. To sleep with their father was more than likely an acceptable practice in Sodom, therefore it seemed the logical thing to do to continue the human race. Lot knew God but he failed to protect his daughters and he failed to teach them enough about God so that they wouldn’t even contemplate sleeping with their father. And yet, they plotted to continue the human race through their father.
The daughters had seen the angels. They saw the mob struck blind. They knew they had been taken by the hand and led out of the city. They knew that their mother had turned into a pillar of salt because she disobeyed God and looked back toward her home city and all of her possessions as they fled the destruction. One has to wonder what they were thinking. They had never had any real contact with the God of Abram until that day. Lot had not made it important.
Lot was in shock. His wife was dead. He was holed up in a cave with only his daughters. All of his wealth was gone. I wonder why he did not go to his uncle, Abram. Was it pride? Or shame? Somehow, the girls had access to wine and they gave it to their father, meaning to get him drunk. Lot chose to drink the wine his daughters offered. I think he could have stopped at any time but apparently chose not to until he was blind drunk. Not once! But twice! At the very minimum. The daughters became pregnant by their father. Both were sons. One son, Moab, was the father of the Moabites. The other son, Ben-Ammi, was the patriarch of the Ammonites. These two peoples were constant enemies of the people of Israel. Over the centuries, both nations tried their best to destroy Israel. The Moabites taught the Israelites how the worship of idols. And, at the very least, the Ammonites were a thorn in the sides of it Israelites.
The long and short of it is, Lot knew God. He knew that God hated sin. He knew that he lived in a city that was totally, morally corrupt. Perverse in every sexual way and where right was wrong, and wrong was right. But he never had the courage to leave, taking his family from such a place. He may have told his family about God but didn’t have any desire to leave Sodom and his position of influence behind. Lot had drifted through life. He chose to do what was easy, and he chose to flirt with evil in Sodom rather than living to honor God. As a result, Lot, his wife and daughters, suffered. We need to remember that our choices must not conform to the world but must conform to the Word of God, which will guide us into living lives that are pleasing to God. We cannot compromise. We are either of this world or we are not. There is no middle ground.
Left to ourselves, we would be sinful and lost. Without God and the blood of Jesus, there is no telling how wicked and degenerate each of us might be. But God loved humanity enough that He provided a Way. He sent Jesus to die on the cross. When Jesus left his disciples to return to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to guide us. To open our eyes to what is wrong in the sight of God so that we can avoid it. It is still our choice. When you become a Christian, you do not lose the ability to choose. You have a new filter to use to make your choices, the Holy Spirit.
And now, for the rest of the story. God used these tragic sins of the daughters of Lot. One Moabite king hired a prophet to curse Israel but the curse became a blessing. Another Moabite king met his death at the hand of a Judge of Israel. The granddaughter of that Moabite king was a woman whose name is Ruth. She was a Moabite, widow of an Israelite whose mother, Naomi, returned to Israel after the death of her husband and both of her sons while living in Moab. Ruth chose to go with Naomi, her mother-in-law, to Bethlehem. There she chose to become a part of the covenant between God and Israel. She married a man named Boaz, had a son named Jesse, whose son was King David, ancestor of Jesus. God turned the consequences of sin into a blessing for all peoples.
Are you drifting or choosing?
Father God, thank You for the insight you have given me. Thank You that the Holy Spirit is my guide as I make choices between what is right and what is wrong. Open my eyes so that I can see what You are doing in my life. Help me to make the right choices. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food for Thought
- Why do you think Lot chose to move into Sodom?
- Do you think that the daughters of Lot panicked or really believed that they were the last three people on earth?
- Can Lot be faulted for allowing his daughters to get him too drunk to know what he was doing?
- Have you made any choices that were wrong? What happened?
- Do you believe that your choices, wrong or right, could have long reaching effects on you, your family or others around you?
