30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I lay with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[b]; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
So what is going on here.
Why in the world is this story told in God's story of redeeming the world back to him?
It all is based on the last two verses:
37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
You see, the book of Genesis was not written just to record the story of God, it was written to a specific community that was experiencing some difficulties. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament to the nation of Israel, while they were wandering through the wilderness for forty years. These books would help encourage them to be faithful to God and trust that he would be faithful in carrying out the promises he made to them.
And these promises consisted of being blessed, having descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, receiving the promised land, and ultimately that all nations will be blessed through them.
A few things that happen to the Israelites as they were wandering through the wilderness is that they are mistreated by these two nations called the Moabites and Ammonites. In Numbers 22, the moabites actually hire a man name Balaam to curse the Israelites and in Numbers 25, the Moabite women actually seduced the Israelite men to sleep with them, which led to the men worshipping the Moabite gods. And in Deuteronomy 23.4, Moses says that "(the Moabites and Ammonites) did not come to meet you (the Israelites) with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt."
During this wilderness wandering time, the Moabites and Ammonites both mistreated and seduced the Israelites away from God.
So how were the Israelites supposed to interact with these people?
And this is where this story enters the scene.
God is slowly but surely revealing through the story of Abraham the beginning of all these promises coming to fruition.
In the next chapter (20), we see Abraham becoming a great nation that is blessed with all kinds of material blessings. This is the beginning of the promise that God made to Abraham, that he will bless him and make him a great nation. The chapter after that (21), Isaac is born, and the beginning of the promise that Abraham will have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky is revealed. Then after that, in chapter 21, Abraham will acquire the first piece of real estate in the promised land, and that will be the beginning of the promise being fulfilled that God will give Abraham the promised land.
The only thing that is missing is the beginning of the fulfillment of Abraham blessing the nations. And that is what we see here in this passage.
Although the audience that this story was being written to were being mistreated by the Moabites and the Ammonites, this story shows that the only reason these nations exist is because of Abraham.
Abraham prayed that God would spare the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah which led to Lot being rescued and his daughters sleeping with him to secure their line, the Moabites and Ammonites.
Already, at the birth of these nations, the only reason they exist is because of Abraham.
Abraham is blessing people, one at a time, and the result is that nations are blessed.
And this is Moses' message to the Israelites. Although these people have mistreated us, we are the reason they even exist. We blessed them through Abraham.
And that is the message for us.
When we bless one person at a time, that one person can turn into entire nations and kingdoms being blessed.
So bless somebody today. Who knows....they might be the birth of entire nation that could be blessed through you.
INCEST. the one word you failed to mention.
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