Last 5 Days
Caution! Slippery slope ahead.
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.
I was appalled when reading a July 15 newspaper article in the Straits Times titled “Man sexually abused daughter when she was a pre-schooler, and again after divorce” and another on March 7 which says “Man admits sexually abusing four daughters, raping three of them”. What could drive a father to such monstrosity as to commit despicable acts towards their own children? We read the news headlines today and react in horror to the degree of evil in which man is capable of. The events as recorded in Genesis 19 may also lead us to the same horrifying conclusion about man’s propensity for evil with the caveat that it probably took place more than 4000 years ago! Why would Lot offer his daughters to be raped and later allow them to commit incest?!
After escaping from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters withdrew from the city of Zoar to hide in the hills. In isolation, Lot’s 2 daughters collaborated and justified their acts of incest by noble reason that they need to preserve their family line because there aren’t any men on earth they can marry. His daughters had learnt how to rationalize sin, likely by observing how Lot also had this pattern in him. The result of this sin was Moab and Ammon, two perpetual enemies that will continue to be a thorn in the flesh for Israel.
Lot’s descent down the slippery slope of sin began with the choice to take the best land for himself; a choice based on selfish greed. Instead of waking up from the deception of greed and possessions, Lot moved back to Sodom even after losing everything to four Kings from the east. Next, he offers his 2 daughters to the perverted men in Sodom in an attempt to protect his 2 angelic visitors and was hesitant to leave Sodom despite being warned of its impending destruction. Instead of fleeing to the mountains as told, he bargains with the angelic beings to escape to a small city Zoar, then to a cave in the hills.
Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Brothers and sisters in Christ, sin left unchecked will take the human heart in a downward spiral that will disgust, repulse and nauseate. The effects of sin will persist through the generations if left unbridled. Little sins that are not dealt with spread into big sins. Big sins spread to others and persist for years. Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” Let us allow the Lord to examine and confront sin that simmers in the heart. Only Jesus can break the stronghold of sin in our lives. He is the safety rope that will stop our downward spiral. We can help each other from straying onto the path of sin by pursuing what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. To walk in the light as Jesus is in the light and our fellowship with one another will grow from strength to strength because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
