The Tragic Legacy of Lot

“In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.” –Genesis 19:36-38, NET

Through incest, Lot becomes the father of two people groups: both of whom later become representatives of God’s enemies (ex: Zep 2:9). And this concludes Lot’s story. No more is heard of him. Not even his death is recorded. He is lost in insignificance, just as he prayed. His progeny perpetually under shame and corruption (now consider the beauty of Ruth’s redemption story).

“If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” –1 Corinthians 3:12-15, NET

Lot is an example of someone who is saved only through fire, all his life’s work consumed. How tragic, to be brought out of Babylon (Gen 12:5; Acts 7:2-4), blessed with possessions (Gen 13:5-6), rescued from the enemy (Gen 14:14-16), honored to entertain angels (Gen 19:3), protected by prayer (Gen 19:29), declared “righteous” (2Pe 2:7-8), and yet he enters eternity as a smoldering stick.

Only true builders, “God’s fellow workers,” receive a reward (1Co 3:5-10). For they are empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; John 20:21-22; Gal 3:2-5) to do "good works" and receive rewards (Rom 2:6-7) because they build with the "precious metal"—Faith, “gold that is tested in fire” (1Pe 1:7), without which “it is impossible to please [God]” (Heb 11:6). And the mortar? Supernatural love, “the perfect bond” (Col 3:14), without which we “receive no benefit” (1Co 13:3). For without Love (Mat 22:37-40), any structure we raise will inevitably collapse (Luke 6:49).

What will be your legacy? Will you enjoy God’s blessings, but seek the approval of the world by sitting among the scoffers (Gen 19:1; Psa 1:1)? Will you allow your mind to be shaped by the flesh (Rom 8:5-8) and corrupted by worldly thinking, empty of the knowledge of God—to your shame (1Co 15:32-34)? Will you be “paralyzed by indecision” (1Ki 18:21), hobbling between an idol and the real God? Will this world have to be pried from your fingers so that you can be led out by the hand before destruction arrives? Will any “multiplication” you produce (Gen 1:28; Mat 28:19-20) be turned shamefully inward (Rom 2:8) to be consumed by the curse (Mat 6:19-20)?

Or will you be as Abraham, living a life exemplified by faith (Gen 15:6), going wherever God leads (Gen 12:1), refusing to set down roots in this world, but setting your sights on a city built by God (Heb 11:8-10)? Will you set your heart to building altars instead of earthly kingdoms (Gen 11:3-4; 12:7-8), willing to sacrifice everything to please the LORD (Gen 22:1-18; Heb 11:17-19), trusting that He is your shield and reward (Gen 15:1)? 

“These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.” –1 Corinthians 10:11-12, NET

What will be your legacy?

“Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last,”

(C.T. Studd).

Stumbling Block

“So in the morning the older daughter said to the younger, ‘Since I went to bed with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. Then you go in and go to bed with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.’ So they made their father drunk that night as well, and the younger one came and went to bed with him. But he was not aware of when she lay down with him or when she got up.” –Genesis 19:34-35, ESV

Lot might have thought he succeeded in raising his daughters to be pure. They had after all saved themselves for marriage (v.8) (or at least Lot believed they had; and did this culture still value such a thing?). But it is now evident that Lot was an utter failure. Their understanding of sexuality was severely warped by the “way” of the “earth” (v.31).

What if we were under a similar delusion? The sexual promiscuity and high rate of divorce within our congregations, the grip of pornography on even our pulpits, and the miserable state of many marriages, are all testimonies to the failure of our pious pretenses. If we are like Lot, not seeking things above (Col 3:1) but having our minds warped by the flesh (Rom 8:5-8), then our focus will be on earthly interest: “Getting pregnant outside of wedlock could ruin your college dreams”; “Promiscuity could lead to deadly diseases, so be safe”; “Abstinence makes you pure for your wedding day.” See how self-interest is the priority, while sacrifice and suffering for God’s kingdom are not even factors in our thinking. Thus, we become stumbling blocks to others (like Lot was to his daughters).

“From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” –Matthew 16:21-23, NET

We are commanded to keep God’s kingdom our ultimate concern (Mat 6:10,33). The Resurrection changes everything (1Co 15:50-58), and we are called to live under this all-consuming paradigm (Luke 14:26-27,33). Marriage and sex included. For this beautiful gift, created by God, is a sacrificial service to our spouse (1Co 7:3-4), a beautiful aspect of gospel-glorifying union (Eph 5:31-33) that God has ordained for the flourishing of humanity (Gen 1:27-28). Sex can only happen self-LESS-ly within the confines of marriage, because long-suffering is a prerequisite for this sanctification process (Col 3:12-19; Eph 5:22-29; 1Pe 3:1-7), and this necessitates a commitment (Mat 19:4-6).

In contrast, all sexual contact outside marriage is self-serving. It does NOT consider the interest of the other (Phi 2:3-4), but uses the other’s body to gratify his own lust (Rom 13:13-14). Sex is a practical means to a selfish end. How many marriages are maintained by mutual manipulation?

For even within marriage, sex can often be sinful. If our pursuit of our spouse is self-serving and not out of love, it becomes eternally worthless (1Co 13:1-7). This is the staggering commitment Jesus calls us to, making disciples declare, “No one should get married then,” (Mat 19:10). It is indeed an impossible weight for a man to carry—without faith in Christ (Phi 4:13). For the ONLY way to abstain from sinful and selfish flesh is to live by the Spirit (Gal 5:16).

So let this lofty paradigm be what we teach our youth (and proclaim to ourselves). We need to demonstrate that there is no standard of law that can keep us pure. Abstinence does not “save” us. Jesus does. It is only living by faith that we can please God (Heb 11:6), and whatever is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23). For God’s will for us is not simply to keep away from sexual immorality, but to “become holy” (1Th 4:3)—to be “perfect as God is perfect” (Mat 5:48). And that is a miraculous work that only He can do (Eze 36:26). This level of righteousness can only be revealed by the power of the gospel that moves us to “live by faith” (Rom 1:16-17), willingly suffering in the flesh, “concerned only about the will of God and not human desires” (1Pe 4:1-6).

May we see the gospel's imperative and our need to saturate every area of our lives in this truth, not merely for our benefit, but out of love for others. Let us strive to not be a stumbling block.

Victim

“So that night they made their father drunk with wine, and the older daughter came in and went to bed with her father. But he was not aware of when she lay down with him or when she got up." –Genesis 19:33, NET

Lot “did not know.” Does this absolve him of responsibility? Was Lot a mere “victim” and his daughters the “perpetrators” in the crime of incest? Or was Lot to blame for it all by keeping his innocent daughters in isolation?

Let us step away from the cacophony of the world’s speculation. They are all spiritually blind and know little of responsibility, insisting that there must be a direct correlation to assign blame, or that one’s guilt absolves the other of fault. We must see that we ourselves are impartial judges, and look for every avenue of escape from liability. In addition, we must see we have an enemy that will play both sides of the truth, feeding us lies we want to believe, or twisting conviction into condemnation and heaping upon one the shame of the other.

Let us instead see and embrace the difficult truth—when we step away from the strong tower of God (Psa 61:3), we turn ourselves over to a wicked world, easily swept up in their judgment (see Gen 14:12). Even if we suffer for doing good (1Pe 4:19), yet fail to “look towards the hills” (Psa 121:1-2) and trust in divine deliverance (Gen 19:17-21), we inevitably find ourselves in a dark cave of self-ruin.

In sharing her redemption story after having aborted her child, Toni McFadden said that while she had to forgive others in her healing journey, “My true healing came because I took responsibility for what I did. I didn’t blame other people for that. And what God revealed to me was how wicked my heart was apart from him, that we are so capable of so much evil when He is not Lord over our lives,” (Family Talk, “Redeemed: My Journey After Abortion” 2022).

As long as we pridefully hold to our innocence, we can never truly escape the cave. Without repentance, we are unable to see the true beauty of the Gospel and run out into freedom and into the loving arms of our kind Redeemer in joyful worship.