What the Children Learned

Genesis 19:30-38

Lot had begged to be allowed to stop at Zoar, because he was afraid to trust God and go into the mountains as God originally directed him. The destruction of the entire valley reached to the very walls of Zoar, with his wife being killed because she turned to look back just outside.

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.” (Genesis 19:30)

Frightened by his narrow escape, Lot was afraid to remain in Zoar even though God had given him permission to do so. Having lost all the belongings that originally led to his going to Sodom, he fled to the mountains and took refuge in a cave there, isolated from everyone. His daughters were aware of the isolation and feared their desires would never be met so they decided to take action for themselves.

“And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto 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 seed of our father.” (Genesis 19:31-32)

Growing up in a the girls had been able to have anything they wanted because Lot was rich, and a leader in the city. Boyfriends and parties were readily available, and the girls had seen their other sisters caught up in the activities , even if they weren’t allowed to. In a sexually promiscuous society like Sodom, kids were expected to have sex. Because they weren’t worried about over population they didn’t bother about birth control. The attitude was much like the present attitude in the United States, that something is wrong with kids who aren’t sexually active. Even Lot had come to accept promiscuity as acceptable, offering his daughters for sexual use to protect the two angels. Moving into a cave in the mountains with no one else around must have been a real letdown.

Having lost all their belongings, separated from their friends, and with no guys around, the girls despaired of ever having a life like they used to. Their decision reveals again how completely Lot’s moral standard had been lost by his decision to continue to stay in Sodom despite the wickedness around him. Their actions were similar to those of many “Christian” young people today when faced with major change.

“And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” (Genesis 19:33-38)

Once one accepts the idea that sex is a need, rather than a want, it is easy to justify sexual perversions of all kinds. Since Lot was the only man around, they committed incest with him. Lot went along with the getting drunk, eventually going into an alcohol induced sleep, when the first girl took advantage of his stupor to have sex. This was repeated with the younger daughter the second night and both girls wound up pregnant as they had hoped. Their progeny were the forefathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Though they were relatives, they would eventually become some of Israel’s most implacable foes.

An illegitimate child was not to be accepted as a Jew because he had been conceived in violation of God’s standards according to Deuteronomy 23:2. Those who committed incest were to be separated from among the people while those committing adultery were to be executed. The same casual attitude toward sexual sin by the Moabite is seen in Numbers 25. As a result, Deuteronomy 23:3 commanded, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:” It was an exclusion reserved solely for these two groups.

Lot’s failure to teach his children or set a proper example had serious consequences for later generations.