Day Four – Genesis 19:12-38

Day 4 – Genesis 19:12-38

This, to me, is one of the most disturbing passages in the entire Bible. If Lot and his daughters and wife were the “best” people left in Sodom and Gomorrah, how corrupted and broken must the rest of the people have been. Perhaps in some strange way it was a mercy that little ones were destroyed that day in the city and brought straight to Heaven instead of having to have endured abuse and crippling nastiness that would have wounded and hardened them over time. I don’t know. I just know it makes me sad.

In any case, had Abraham not pleaded for Lot, and had the angels not literally dragged him and his wife and daughters out of the city, they would surely have been destroyed by the firestorm that hit both Sodom and Gomorrah and that whole valley, which is in modern times where the Dead Sea lies. When Lots’ wife turned back, she was also incinerated and turned into a pillar of salt. This is dreadful stuff. And it really fascinates me to think that the heavily salted Dead Sea lies where those corrupted cities once flourished. Just. Wow.

But then it gets worse. Lot’s daughters decide the only way they’ll be able to have children is to commit incest with their father. Why they would decide this I have no idea. They weren’t trapped in that cave on the mountains. There were other places they could have gone after the fires from Sodom and Gomorrah died down. But that’s what they chose. And Lot chose to allow them to get him drunk. Oh there is just so much ugliness in this, isn’t there?

But guess what? The Bible is not pretty, made-up fiction. It’s true. And really horrible stuff like that happened back then, and sadly happens today. God tells us unflinchingly the history of His people and in this case, the sad story of Lot and his two daughters. One reason I trust the Bible is exactly stories like this. I surely would not have wanted to include this tale. But it’s true. Out of that horrid incestual relationship was born a little boy called Moab. And he had kids who had kids and they eventually became a nation. They were not nice people, sadly, and the Israelites were told to stay out of their way.

And yet, our Ruth was a Moabitess. She was a descendant of Lot and his older daughter. And Ruth was not rejected by God. God loved her. Let that sink in. Our ancestry does not affect God’s love for us. Just as God loved Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho who had a heart for Him, we will see how God loved Ruth, who had a dubious ancestry, but who was pure gold in her own personhood. Oh, I can’t wait for you to get to meet her and watch her own steadfast love shine!

Did you struggle, as I did, with today’s passage? Were you able to find a verse? This was a hard day. But I hope God spoke to you through even this hard passage.

My verse: Genesis 19:26 “But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.”

My response: I wonder how far behind she was? And the salt fascinates me because this is now the Dead Sea area, where there’s a tremendous amount of salt in the sea. Sometimes hesitation to do the right thing is deadly. Father, help me to remember that, and to flee when I need to, without hesitation.