“and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)” (2 Peter 2:7 NET).
The Biblical book of Genesis continues with the scandalous account of Lot and his daughters in the aftermath of their escape from the city of Sodom…
“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. When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites” (Genesis 19:34-38 NLT).
The descendants of Moab and Ben-Ammi (the Moabites and the Ammonites mentioned above) eventually grew to become enemies of Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites. Nevertheless, God, in His sovereignty, brought some positive outcomes from these encounters between Lot and his daughters.
You see, the Old Testament book of Ruth tells us that Ruth was a descendant of the Moabites (Ruth 1:4). She later married a man named Boaz. Their relationship produced a son who became an ancestor of Israel’s king David and eventually, Jesus Himself (see Ruth 4:13-22). In addition, Israel’s King Solomon married a woman from Ammon (2 Chronicles 12:13). She had a son named Rehoboam who was also in Jesus’ ancestral lineage (see Matthew 1:7-16). So, despite the highly inappropriate nature of these interactions, God demonstrated His ability to orchestrate several positive outcomes.
As we consider this passage from 2 Peter 2:7-8 and contrast it with the events of Lot’s life, it becomes clear that he was a righteous individual who failed to anticipate the consequences of his decisions. That produced a chain of events that led to the loss of his wife, most of his family, and everything he worked to achieve. It also impacted his surviving children and their subsequent moral decisions.
One commentator summarizes these realities and prepares us for a look at some concluding applications from Lot’s life…
“It is to Lot’s credit that his conscience was not seared and his heart was not hardened by his surroundings. It seems, however, that his daughters and wife were not ‘distressed’ by their surroundings. Rather, they were influenced toward wrong by those wicked inhabitants.” (1)
(1) Bruce Oberst, Letters From Peter. College Press, Joplin, Missouri, Copyright 1962 pg. 167