Genesis 19:30-38 Desperate Deeds
We find Lot and what remains of his family hiding in the hills. Their lives have taken a serious detour from the once wealthy man who left Abram.
In our last time together we witnessed Lot’s rescue just before God rained down judgement on the valley containing Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family were given permission to go to the city of Zoar. The angels promised to spare Zoar for their sake.
But we don’t find Lot living in Zoar today. Instead he is in the hill country, which is where the angel originally told him to go. I’m curious why he went there after all. Did the inhabitants of Zoar blame him for the destruction of their neighbors? Were they practicing the same kinds of behaviors that got Sodom judged? If so, was he afraid God would judge them too and that he would be caught up in it this time? What was it about Zoar that frightened him?
Lot was an old man by this point and his wealth was gone. All that remained of the man who separated from Abram YEARS ago, because they had too many herds and people to live together, was his two daughters. They were born while he lived near or in Sodom. At the very minimum, 25 years have passed since Lot went his own way.
I understand Lot’s daughter’s desire to have children. But their methods are WAY out of line!!! Why didn’t they go to their father with their concerns? Had they tried talking to him before about it? Were they convinced that no one would want them because they had nothing in the way of money to offer as a dowry? Were they forbidden to go out and seek husbands? Was Lot so wrapped up in his own trouble that he didn’t even consider their futures? Was this TRULY their only option?
I have some questions about the logistics of this plan of theirs. First of all, the sisters monthly cycles would have to be in sync for this to work with only a day between their acts. This is not impossible because science has found that groups of women living together often have their cycles adjust to one another. Imagine the week of PMS in a big group like that!
The second thing is that Lot must have had REALLY “strong swimmers”! He was old but he was still virile. So how is it that he only had two children? Was his wife the one who was unable to give him more children? I wonder how old he was at this time.
The third thing is that both daughters must have been very fertile too. We are told of a ONE TIME occurrence with both girls but they both become pregnant for it. That is not unheard of but it is not the norm.
The fourth thing is that, when intoxicated, it can be difficult for a man to complete the act of intercourse. Lot was drunk enough not to realize his daughters had had sex with him but not drunk enough to prevent the act from occurring. Was their wine different from what we have today? His daughters were also virgins and the act of initial intercourse would have required more force and persistence. Did Lot think he was just having erotic dreams during those nights?
The fifth thing is that God allowed these two girls plans to succeed. Sarah had tried for years to become pregnant but God didn’t let it happen until it suited His plan. No. I’m not trying to say that EVERY pregnancy is directly ordained and initiated by God, but these two were extraordinarily complex and it makes me wonder.
We know that God used these two children, however they were conceived, in His plans. The eldest son was an ancestor of Jesus as Ruth came from his line and she is in Jesus’ immediate family tree. It is amazing to watch the “finger of God” as He draws His designs in our history’s sands of time. Did He bless the two unions or did He just redeem what Satan had twisted?
I would like to know “the rest of the story” of these two women and their father. I wonder what Lot thought when he noticed his daughters both growing during their pregnancies. Did they confess their deeds to their father or did they leave him wondering? Did he die before they gave birth? If not, how did he treat his grandchildren? Would he have considered them his sons or grandsons? Their mothers must have solved the “no one to be with us” problem for them, otherwise that generation would have been the end of them. The sisters probably returned to “civilization” once their father died. What a MESS!
Father God, thank You that everything doesn’t have to be perfect to be of use to You. Sometimes You “bless this mess” after all. Thank You that EVERY life is precious to You, no matter how it was conceived. You can also redeem anything when I surrender it into Your hands. You have certainly redeemed many of my messes. THANK YOU for that gift! THANK YOU for keeping me from making too many of them also!
