Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“It came to pass on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight. You go in, and lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.” They made their father drink wine that night also. The younger went and lay with him. He didn’t know when she lay down, nor when she got up. Thus both of Lot’s daughters were with child by their father.”
(Genesis 19:34-36)

The older sister thought it up. Instigated it. And now she convinced her younger sister to do the same thing she did. Lot was righteous, but he had placed himself in the midst of an ungodly people. Their behaviour had influenced his family more than his own had (2 Peter 2:6-8). They had been corrupted by their time in Sodom. They MIGHT have had good intentions (continuing the family line), but they were going about it in the most ungodly and inappropriate way possible. We can NEVER compromise if we are going to live godly lives. That takes sacrifice and that takes a reliance on the Lord we don’t get if we are not consistently turning to His Word to strengthen and guide us.

Lot was righteous, but the fact that his daughters could ply him with enough alcohol to get drunk two nights in a row shows that he was also someone who was rough around the edges. Yes, it is human nature to turn to altering substances and behaviour in order to cope with bad circumstances (alcohol, drugs, spending money, emotional eating, etc), but after having direct interactions with angels showing him God’s mercy and grace, he should have turned to the Lord to get him through. If we put ourselves in an ungodly culture, there will always be aspects of that culture that get into our lives and influence our decisions. It is only by keeping our eyes on the Lord that we are able to be in the world, but not of the world. That takes dedication and purposeful action (Romans 12:2; John 17:15-16).

Both Lot’s daughters got pregnant. He knew they were virgins when they left Sodom (Genesis 19:8). He knew they hadn’t stayed in Zoar long enough for anything to happen (Genesis 19:30). He lived alone with them in a cave. And he knew they had encouraged him to drink on at least two separate occasions. He had two daughters. He must have known what happened. He must have had to deal with the guilt and shame of it. It was VERY ungodly behaviour. How Lot must have regretted picking this valley and living among these people. Lot lost almost his whole family and all his wealth and possessions.

Lot’s problems come down to disobedience. Not his alone, but Abraham’s. Abram was told to leave his father’s house and his country (Genesis 12:1). Abram took Lot with him. Yes, Lot would have benefited from Abram’s instruction in the Lord. Yes, Lot was VERY blessed during his time with Abram. But you can’t look at the story of Lot, the choices he made, the situation he ended up in and think that his life would have been worse if Abram had fully obeyed God and left Lot behind. It is often our good intentions that prevent us from fully experiencing what God has for us. We need to obey God no matter what and stop putting our wants and desires and opinions in the way of complete and prompt obedience. There are always consequences to disobedience simply because only obedience will put us where God wants us to be.

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘The older daughter ensures that her younger sister is not without the opportunity to conceive a child. Their cooperation contrasts with the competition between Rachel and Leah (Genesis 29–30).’

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘It was the next day, and the elder said to the younger: Behold, I lay last night with my father. Since I have already broken the taboo, let us give him wine to drink tonight as well, and you come and lie with him; and we will give life to offspring from our father. We cannot know yet if I have become pregnant. Since we must guarantee the survival of the human race, we will improve our chances of success if you lie with him as well.’

The sage Radak writes: ‘ותהרין, they each became pregnant as a result of one sexual union with their aging father. As soon as they became aware of this, they desisted from further such contact with their father.’