Genesis 19:27-38 comments: Lot's daughters

Genesis 19:27 ¶  And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 28  And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 29  And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

Genesis 19:30 ¶  And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31  And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32  Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 33  And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 34  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35  And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36  Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37  And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38  And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

For Abraham’s sake, God saved Lot. I’ve already discussed what remembered means in this context in comments on 8:1. Whether or not it is doctrinally true in the age of the church there have been many sermons about adult children being drawn to Christ by the Holy Spirit because of the fervent prayers and heart-felt love of a parent.

Lot was afraid to say in Zoar. Perhaps, as he came out of Sodom, the terrified people blamed him for the destruction, maybe believing in their gods’ anger causing the destruction. But, he ended up in the mountain that he feared.

One explanation for what happens next is that Lot’s daughters, in this vast scene of utter destruction, felt completely alone and desolate and simply used their father to provide them with children. They knew he would not do such wickedness willingly so they got him roaring drunk.

Another explanation is that Lot’s daughters were raised in the immoral and depraved climate of Sodom where sex and religion were united. They thought that the ways they had seen and known, the earth religion, was lost to them lest they take action themselves. Notice the passage;

31  And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

The results of this godless and evil rape by the girls of their father are the nations of Moab and Ammon, who will play roles later as the Hebrews try to claim their Promised Land and then even later in the history of Israel.

Here is an important point in understanding the Bible. God acknowledges the results of sin without accepting the sin.

Deuteronomy 2:19  And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

For instance, God ordained that a marriage was to be between one man and one woman.

Genesis 2:24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

His will was for Himself to be king over Israel but they wanted a human king like other countries.

1Samuel 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

And yet God did not abandon the offspring of a king who had multiple wives, even a son that was the offspring of adultery and murder.

1Kings 1:11  Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not?

God doesn’t create culture, the practices of a family, a community, or ethnic group, and He didn’t create civilization. God modified culture and civilization already created by man, bringing commandments to bear on it to alter it and move it toward His standard, sometimes even in small ways. Your country, your culture, your civilization is not holy, is not special, and is not blessed of God just because you have a few churches in it and some of your people claim to believe in Christ or a God of First Causes. But, in the Bible, God worked with men and women where they were and in the conditions they inherited from their forebears. Some of these conditions and cultural practices we find wicked today and clearly against God’s will. God doesn’t justify a cultural practice by acknowledging it and modifying it to be more merciful.

It must be remembered that the Bible is about God’s reconciliation of man to Himself and not about justifying your social order or nation-state’s policies, a nation that will one day cease to exist.

But, the point is that what happened with Lot and his daughters happened and there is no way around it. It was wicked but God wove the consequences of it into His plans, something He knew and did from before He created the world without justifying it or preventing it. The Holy Spirit paints a picture of mankind in the Bible, warts and all. This picture shows a vile and wicked creature, degenerate in his practices and lacking in faithfulness toward God. But, God is merciful in spite of man’s wickedness. Our Creator is merciful to the created thing that turned on Him. I am thankful for that.