After Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot and his two daughters went to live in a cave. They isolated themselves from other people. Their story continues in Genesis 19:31-36 (NLT): “One day the older daughter said to her sister, ‘There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.’ So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, ‘I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.’ So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father.”
Therefore, it was Lot’s daughters’ conniving schemes to have sex with their father. They got their father so drunk that he did not even know he had been intimate with them. This was shameful. Habakkuk 2:14, 15, “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! You will be filled with shame instead of glory.” Lot should not have permitted himself to get drunk, but he should not be blamed for having sex with his daughters.
The Bible records the facts of man’s good and bad choices. This account does not teach that God approved of or blessed these acts of incest. In the Law, God specifically forbids sex between family members. Leviticus 18:6 (NIV), “No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.”
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1064: “Is He Who Hesitates Really Lost? The Story of Lot”
Learning the importance of having faith AND conviction
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