God Rescues Lot, God Destroys Sodom, Lot and his Daughters

Story: God Rescues Lot, God Destroys Sodom, Lot and his Daughters

Passage: Genesis 19

Characters: Two angels, Lot, Lot’s daughters, Sodom, Lot’s sons in law, Lot’s wife

Summary: The two angels came to Sodom and Lot offered them his hospitality. They tried to refuse but Lot insisted. He served them a feast. When night came, the entire city came and wanted to molest the two newcomers. Lot went out and stopped them and offered them his daughters. The town was angry with Lot and wanted to attack him but the angels pulled him inside and struck the entire city with blindness. The angels told Lot about the coming destruction and told him to gather his family and leave. His sons in law didn’t believe him and they stayed. The angels dragged the family out of the city and told them not to look back. Lot asked to escape to a little city and he was granted his request. His wife looked back at the destruction and she turned into a pillar of salt. Lot moved to a cave in the hills and his daughters wanted to get pregnant. So first the older and then the younger got their dad drunk and then slept with him and got pregnant.

Notes: This story is full of interesting details. First of all, Lot threw a feast for these two men. I think he knew they were not ordinary men. He also knew what would happen to them in the public square at night. It makes me wonder if Lot and his family were similarly attacked when they first moved to Sodom. Lot is certainly not viewed as one of them. As we see later they call Lot a sojourner. He does not fit into the culture of Sodom and the people do not respect him for it. It seems cruel to me that Lot offered them his daughters. That he put his guests above his own family is shocking to me. As it was though, the city did not take his offer. Also, the entire city was there. Every last man young and old was at Lot’s door. This was a massive sinful mob. The fact that they turned down his daughters in favor of the new men tells me something as well. These were perverse men. If you think America has issues, Sodom was worse. When Lot suggested his daughters, the crowd was offended. They said he was judging them. I almost wonder if they saw it as Lot was judging them for wanting to sleep with men instead of women. This outcry against Lot might have been because of homosexual rights. Even today, if we even suggest that homosexuality is wrong, we are labeled as judges and bigots. This is nothing new! Lot was immediately accused of being judgmental because he told the people to abuse his daughters instead of the men staying at his house! The angels struck the people with blindness, but that did not stop them. So intense was their rage and their sinful desire that they wore themselves out by groping at the door while blind. I feel like Lot might not have truly believed that the city would be destroyed. I say this for three reasons. First, while he did warn his sons in law, they thought he was joking. He was not very persuasive. Second, he was told to flee to the hills, but he decided he would rather flee to the town of Zoar. He seemed to think the fact that it was little was significant. He mentioned its size twice. The Lord did grant his request. And third, when it came time to go, he delayed and the angels had to grab him and his family by the hand and take them out of the city. As the city was destroyed, Lot’s wife looked at it and was turned into salt. She was either curious, or not completely willing to leave the sinful city behind her. Abraham is said to have been watching for the smoke from the destruction. He was a=obviously anxious for Lot and his family. Interestingly, God told Abraham that He would spare the city if there were 10 righteous people in it. God did not spare the city, but he did spare Lot and his wife and daughters. They might not have been righteous, but God knew what Abraham was really asking for and He provided by rescuing Lot.

The next section here is interesting to me. When I try to see between the lines and get some of the implied information here I find a few interesting things. First of all, Lot does not feel safe in Zoar and ends up living in a cave in the very hills he had just pleaded with God to not make him flee to. Lot lived with his two daughters in a cave. His daughters were not content to be single. They came up with a plan to have offspring. They lament that there is no man on earth to have children with. This is obviously not true. But the women had convinced themselves that this was the case. Remember, they each had fiancés who were destroyed in Sodom. So they drugged their dad and slept with him and they each got pregnant. This is really disturbing to me. Their dad had no idea that he had just fathered two children. This was a desperate attempt by two discontented women to have kids of their own. They went about it all wrong. They used their own power and brains to come up with a plan instead of going through God first, but God still blessed them each with a child. This was how the Moabites and the Ammonites came into being. Moab literally means “from father”.

Questions: Did Lot know who the two men were? Did Lot get a similar greeting from Sodom when he moved there? Were Lot and his wife really attached to Sodom? Why did Lot’s wife look back? Why did God bless Lot’s daughters by making them pregnant? Did Abraham think Lot had died when he saw the smoke? Why did Lot offer his daughters to the angry crowd?

Lessons: Sinful people despise followers of God. If we live among sinful people, we stand out as foreigners. Even if we encounter resistance and hostility like Lot did though, God will provide if we continue to walk with Him. If God tells us to do something, we need to believe it completely and obey immediately. And third, don’t get drunk.