Genesis 19:30-38

2007.Sep.11 02:43

Lot’s Legacy

Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
(Genesis 19:30-33, ESV)

Maybe I should create a subsection of this site called “Biblical Patriarchs Getting Drunk and Doing Stupid.” Lot’s lot (ha ha) in life has dropped rapidly. From being very wealthy and successful, he is reduced to living in a cave, fearful, without any male heirs. Actually, I think the last point is irrelevant, except that it happens to be a central point to this last look at Lot’s biography. Perhaps Lot is a righteous man, or at least desires to be, but he’s also a foolish man. He may have faith, but it is weak. He had asked to go to Zoar, but is now afraid to live there. Is he afraid that he might be turned to salt as his wife? Afraid that the people of Zoar might be no different than those of Sodom? Afraid that he would be resented as the foreigner who escaped? What? I want to shout at him, “Go find Abraham and Sarah!”

No. Lot chooses a cave. He chooses also, for his daughters, a life alone. His daughters, following a twisted logic – that they could have a) learned from their father, b) learned from the people of Sodom, c) developed all on their own – conclude that the best solution to ensuring the continuance of their family name (here, I am wondering, “Why bother?”) is:

a) Get their dad drunk and sleep with him

b) Beat their father senseless and try to lead normal-ish lives

c) Convince their father they should go find their relatives.

Go guessed it, they chose A!

The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
(Genesis 19:34-38, ESV)

I find myself thinking about the upbringing of these two women, that this plan seems good. Yes, it works, technically. Both women become pregnant and Lot’s name is carried on.

To me, the legacy these three leave is one of righteousness spoiled. It’s seems all were taught some amount of obedience to Jehovah. I’m speculating in the case of the daughters, but at least Lot had seen his aunt and uncle walk in righteousness. For what righteousness and faith they had, and the faith of Abraham, they were saved from destruction of a town that was ugly to them, but in which Lot chose anyway to live. It’s not an awful legacy, but its so full of “What could have beens?”

Like Abraham and Sarah, Lot and his daughters sought another way than God’s to have descendants (No, I do not care that Lot was drunk; even if his daughters had used some BC date-rape drug on him, he long since acquired culpability in this mess. As it stands, he appears to be quite okay with getting completely drunk two nights in a row). Unlike Abraham and Sarah, this story ends there. Maybe it’s just because God didn’t give Lot the same extra chance he gave to Lot’s relatives. But, I think, Lot had already decided how far his faith was willing to go.

Or, maybe God didn’t think Lot really cared about having descendants. After all, Lot had offered these same daughters to be raped, and probably killed. As a dad, Lot pretty much sucked. For Lot’s daughters who wanted children–for whatever reason–Jehovah did give them children, and he blessed those children. Which leaves me thinking of God’s grace.

Genesis 19:27-29

2007.Sep.01 15:37

Saved for another’s sake

Read Genesis 19:27-29 | Full Chapter

Second Peter has the following to say about our friend, Lot:

Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him. This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.
(2 Peter 2:7-9, CEV)

It’s probably quite clear that I am not impressed by Lot. So, I’m trying to reconcile this statement with what I see from Lot’s life. I suppose Lot did live right, at least from the legalistic standpoint, although I think his actions and attitudes belie (surprise, surprise) the sinfulness of his flesh. Still, I have trouble with actually saying someone lived right when he tried to hand over his daughters to be raped. He was certainly troubled by the wickedness of his fellow Sodom folks, but that trouble seems to be more actual trouble rather than that he was “spiritually bothered” by it.

Well, since 2nd Peter is generally considered canonical, and since I hope that I have no pretensions of my writing being such, I figure I have yet more to understand from the story of Lot. Regardless of Lot’s level of righteousness, how much better could his life have been if he had made different choices. God had not called Lot to be an apostle to the people of Sodom, and so, in my opinion, he left far too late. More thoughts.

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
(Genesis 19:27-29, ESV)

What is Abraham thinking now? I’m not going to try to guess, but what a powerful and heart-wrenching moment this must have been. The might of Jehovah so clearly displayed, and yet how God must have wished not to display it. God loves me, but he doesn’t require me. Unrighteousness separates us from God; the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had already removed themselves from the Lord’s presence, and in judgment, he destroyed them. How pointless the revelries of the people of Sodom the night before. They gained frustration, then destruction. How pointless.

But there’s more to this story. Abraham had asked for the lives of those ten hypothetical righteous. And God would have saved the city for those. And even though, in the end, he only found four (apparently; anyway, he led four out), Jehovah still remembered Abraham and their discussion and saved those four, although Lot’s wife’s salvation was rather abbreviated. So, I’ll return to Second Peter. “This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings.” And if the godliness of Lot is sufficient, how much wonderful hope I can have in Jehovah’s saving power. And I ought to be humble when I receive it. Because, on the scale, am I living better than Lot? I hope so, but, then, I know I have faults; I am disobedient to God far too often, even knowing how good he is.

Genesis 19:26

2007.Aug.27 21:33

Lot’s wife

Read Genesis 19:26 | Full Chapter

But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:26, ESV)

In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse Five, he discusses this moment:

And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes.

Anyway, that’s what The Quotations Page says he wrote. I have the book, but I may forget to check. Anyway, that stuck with me. It is a very human reaction. When we leave behind something that is part of our life, we often want that one last look. We may keep a piece of memorabilia, perhaps some silly thing that would mean nothing to someone else. Lot’s wife is leaving her home, her community. It’s a pretty crummy community, but it is the community that she and her family became a part of, after they split ways with Lot’s relatives.

So, I understand her looking back. It is very human. It’s pretty amazing that she was the only one of the four who did so. But it’s also very striking that she was behind Lot. I checked about five other versions and all but one had language indicating she was physically following Lot. As a husband, this pisses me off. I’d like to hope that there would never be a situation in which I would run ahead of my wife when running from danger. Heck, even when we’re driving home in separate cars, I like for her to be in front of me. Because I want myself between any danger and her and because I want to be able to respond immediately if something happens. I can’t know if she’s in danger if she’s behind me. Now, that may be foolish when considering which one of us would better handle this indeterminate danger and there’s times that I’ve acted differently than this–when, because I’ve been busy, I haven’t immediately responded to a problem. Which is a problem I need to work on. But, come on, Lot. City being destroyed. Get between your wife and it! (By the way, men who claim their religion says that women should walk behind them need to have their —- cut off and shoved down their throats. My opinion.)

This again suggests to me that Lot has issues of selfishness and fear which override his care for his family and his desire for righteousness. How easily such emotions and attitudes (especially of selfishness) can get in the way of the actions we should be taking and in the way of faith. Lot may have had faith, but it seems that he had a lot of other stuff. Lot’s wife may have had faith, but she also had some other stuff. I’m inclined to be more understanding of her stuff than of his. But, so what? In either case, how much more could they have had by seeking first Jehovah. And how much more I? That’s our rhetorical question for today.

Genesis 19:23-25

2007.Aug.23 03:03

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Read Genesis 19:23-25 | Full Chapter

Before I jump into this week’s passage, I was reading in 2 Peter last week and came across a passage about Lot that may be a bit more positive about him than I have been. I’ll examine that more in a couple of weeks when I return my focus to Lot. Also, I’d like to note that I feel…erm…iffy about this particular article/study/whatever. I’m just not sure where to go with it or if have any useful comments. But, then, it is a study after all.

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
(Genesis 19:23-25, ESV)

According to an unsophisticated search on BibleGateway, Sodom is mentioned 28 times outside of Genesis in the Contemporary English Version. My impression, after a quick survey is that these references generally refer to pending destruction and/or comparisons. Here’s a few samplings:

Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
(Isaiah 1:9, NASB)

You and the people of Jerusalem
are evil
like Sodom
and Gomorrah.
(Jeremiah 23:14, CEV)

You people of Jerusalem have sinned twice as much as the people of Samaria. In fact, your evil ways have made both Sodom and Samaria look innocent.
(Ezekiel 16:51, CEV)

So I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than you.
(Matthew 11:24, CEV)

We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns. Their people became immoral and did all sorts of sexual sins. Then God made an example of them and punished them with eternal fire.
(Jude 1:7, CEV)

One thing I notice is that Jehovah exercises his judgment on Sodom and the other cities of the plain, while retaining it in other cases for a later day of judgment. Groups who are deep in communal sin are compared to Sodom, and in several Biblical cases, judged to be worse. Perhaps then Sodom is an example of when a community has taken sin too far. As in, if your town is worse than Sodom, you need to change completely, and you need to change yesterday. If that is the case, perhaps God destroyed Sodom to make clear to future generations that such sin is unacceptable, even in the context of a fallen earth; this then is the line at which a community can no longer survive.

Or maybe not.

There is also the question of Jehovah’s justice. God’s sense of justice and fairness is not the same as my natural sense of these things. I can often come to an understanding of his actions, but sometimes my immediate take on his justice is that it is not intuitive. Why judge Sodom so harshly? Why give mercy to so many others? Of course, I have a hard time questioning God’s giving mercy to anyone, since I am so grateful he has given mercy to me. And yet…and yet…and yet.

Is it worth thinking about such things? Yes, it is. But let me not forget, in such thoughts, God’s holiness, nor his mighty hand. I may not understand the details of his decision, but I rejoice both in his grace and his righteousness. And I also must be humbled by these things. When I find myself proud, I want to remember how easily God overthrew these proud cities.

Genesis 19:18-22

2007.Aug.11 19:53

Negotiations

Read Genesis 19:18-22 | Full Chapter

But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
(Genesis 19:18-22, NASB)

When Abraham negotiated with Jehovah regarding his planned destruction of the cities of the plain, Abraham’s motives were not entirely selfless, insofar as his nephew lived in Sodom, but neither could I call his intent selfish. In Lot’s negotiation, there is no such gray; his motives are entirely self-centered. Lot, quite possibly because of Abraham’s plea, has been slated for rescue, along with his wife, and two of his daughters, but he is not satisfied.

Lot’s selfishness and/or fear (or, perhaps, some as yet unexplored attribute) is so great that he is completely missing the point. The city he is living in is about to be destroyed because of their sin. His family has been singled out for rescue. Despite his delay, the angelic messengers have basically forced Lot to let them save his life and family members. Perhaps all this would clue Lot into the idea that’s it time to get going. But, no, he decides that just fleeing to the mountains is not good enough. How about a city. That’s not a big deal, right?

Now, at this point, if I were in the angels’ shoes, Lot would be real close to a smiting. The fact that Jehovah tolerates our negotiations at all is a huge testament to both his patience and kindness. It’s also a testament to how foolish we can be. Does Lot really think that Jehovah has ordered his salvation just to see him die in the mountains? Okay, that seems pretty silly, but look at my own life. How many times have I negotiated with God on some “little thing”, and how many blessings has that cost me?

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