City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

30 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. 31 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. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 33 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.

34 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.” 35 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. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Genesis 19:30-38 (ESV)

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12

Reflection

After pleading with angels that were saving his family’s life, they go to the little city of Zoar. Something is not right there, so they keep going to the mountains, where the angels originally sent them. 

I want to ask Lot, after losing everything, why he didn’t go back to Abraham and find new sons-in-law for his daughters among Abraham’s servants? There are few redeeming qualities of the Bible’s depiction of Lot, so we shouldn’t expect too much of him, I guess. 

Regardless, Lot’s daughters decide they need sons to ensure their own security, and there are no men left in their lives that could deliver, except their father. 

Earlier in Genesis, Noah got drunk on wine, and his son Ham entered his tent. Bad things happened, and then Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan. Reading deep between the lines, it’s implied that the mother of Canaan was also the mother of Ham, Noah’s wife. 

Looking forward, the tribes of Canaan and the nations of Moab and Ben-Ammi create perpetual temptations for Israel throughout its history. Israel is called to keep itself holy, but is constantly borrowing idols from these neighbors (when not engaged in warfare with them). The very existence of these enemies can be traced back to the decisions of the chosen patriarchs Noah and Abraham, of whom God saw great faith in spite of their failures. Noah gets drunk, and Abraham brings Lot along on the journey against God’s command. The result of those two “small” sins is thousands of years of treachery and conflict. No bad news is without redemption though, as Ruth a Moabite, and Rahab, a Canaanite are heroes of the faith, and two of the three women named in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.

Application

God does not back down on His commitments, even when we fail. Noah’s and Abraham’s faiths will be proclaimed for eternity. However, these scriptures are here to illustrate that actions matter very deeply. Wisdom requires that we work out our salvation in fear and trembling, so that our intentions and habits and their resulting actions will be righteous in God’s sight, and lead to the spread of His kingdom.

Prayer

Father,

Keep us from temptation, and deliver us from evil.

Amen