Month: January 2025

Genesis 20:6a Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.  

Today’s verses brought to mind a quote by Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”  But I must admit, I still have so many questions about why Abraham acted the way that he did in this situation.

Genesis 20:6b That is why I did not let you touch her.

If I were Abimelek, I would be angry, frustrated, maybe bitter–emotions that I’m sadly far too familiar with. If I were him, I’d have a hard time letting go of the why–Why me? Why this? Why now?–questions that would plague me but would ultimately not be important in the now or in the grand scheme of things.

Genesis 20:7a Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for showing me, through this scripture, that I still have work to do. I get fixated on the Why, on why people act the way they do, why they put others into unnecessary situations. By fixating on the why, I’m taking my eyes off you, I’m not doing better because I know better, I’m following down a rabbit hole and moving in the wrong direction. Forgive me. Help me. Amen.

Genesis 20:7b But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

I have many thoughts swirling around about today’s scripture, but preeminent among them is the fact that 2 Peter 2:8 calls Lot a righteous man. This Lot. That thought brings me back to a billboard I saw years ago that read, “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” Why? Because after reading Genesis 19, I would have filed Lot away in the “not worth saving” category.

Genesis 19:34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 

But God doesn’t give up on us so easily. He doesn’t see hopeless, unsavable, beyond repair the way we do. He knows our hearts. He knows our souls. He knows eternity. I think my biggest lesson from Genesis 19, a chapter that I am so very glad to be leaving behind, is that there is hope for all of us, that even at our worst, God knows our hearts. He loves us. He wants us to be restored to Him. Thank You, Jesus.

Genesis 19:35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

Precious Savior, This has been a difficult chapter for me because there is so much here that just feels icky. Thank You for the ability to read this chapter and see Your love, Your compassion, Your desire for us to be reconciled to You. If Lot can be considered righteous after all that occurs in this chapter, maybe there is hope for me yet. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 19:36-38 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

The expression “out of the frying pan and into the fire” comes to mind as I read today’s verses. Lot separated from Abraham because their herds were so big there were disputes over grazing land. This led him to Sodom, where he became an elder with some influence (shown by his sitting at the gates). God still sees him as a righteous man as witnessed by the angels not destroying Sodom until he and his family had fled to Zoar, a small town chosen by Lot.

Genesis 19:30 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. 

Now they have left Zoar out of fear (Of what? Of whom?) and settled in a cave in the mountains. And now the daughters are plotting ways to ensure their family line in the absence of men for husbands. How do they think this is a good plan? Why do they think this is a good plan? What is going on with this family? How is Lot preserved in the Bible as a righteous man?

Genesis 19:31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 

Precious Savior, There is so much I do not understand about Your word. Thank You for the ability to read, to study, to wonder, to ask questions, to seek answers. Thank You that I can still draw closer to You even when I have no answers, only additional questions. Amen.

Genesis 19:32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 

Lot’s wife, who is given no name in the Bible, looks back as she is fleeing from Sodom, and because of that (the angels tell her not to, it’s true), she is turned to a pillar of salt. Because she is such a widely used cautionary tale, it bothers me that she has no name. Because I, too, have the propensity for looking back, it bothers me that she was turned to salt for that reason.

Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Commentary says she was turned to salt because looking back indicated something about the state of her heart, that she had a heart for Sodom, its people, and its ways. But those of us who have a hard time with change look back even at the difficult situations, sort of an acknowledgment of what was and what we learned as we move to what’s next.

Genesis 19:27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

Precious Savior, You know I don’t love change. You know I look back as I process and move forward. I know that You are not mean or spiteful. There’s more to what happened with Lot’s wife than I understand because You would not destroy her if her looking back was a step in her moving forward. Thank You that I understand Your character enough to know I must be missing something. Thank You for Your love and compassion. Amen.

Genesis 19:28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 

Lot, what are you doing? Can you not be bothered to go farther to save your own life?!? The angels of the Lord have personally saved you TWICE. Why can you not take advantage of this gift you have been given?

Genesis 19:19a Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. 

But even as I type those words, I know I am just as guilty as Lot of not always taking advantage of the opportunities God provides, of dragging my feet when I am perfectly happy with the status quo and don’t want to make a change. Jesus, help me.

Genesis 19:19b But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I act like Lot in situations where You have provided me an out that I need but don’t want to take. Help me to be so aligned to You, so deeply rooted in You that Your will is my will. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 19:20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

I wonder what Lot saw in this place, why he stayed so long and worked to become an elder of the town. Based on the angels’ declaration that they are destroying Sodom, it’s not a friendly little place full of welcoming people. In the next verse, his sons-in-law scoff at him. I’d love to know the backstory.

Genesis 19:10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 

I’ve talked before about my dislike of change, so I could see Lot becoming comfortable because he knows the people, their faults. Maybe it’s not so much that he actively strove to stay and become a part of the town as he didn’t disrupt the status quo and therefore made a place for himself even though he had no great love of the place or people.

Genesis 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

Precious Savior, Forgive me for my dislike of change, especially when it leads me to compromise instead of doing things differently. Help me not to become complacent in my life. Help me not to stay in a situation that isn’t right for me because I don’t want to change. Help me to live intentionally and for You alone. Amen.

Genesis 19:12-13 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 19:5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

The hierarchy as I live it is God first, then family, then others. There’s a hierarchy in the others, too, friends, acquaintances, strangers, etc. Lot is clearly acting from a different hierarchy, and his behavior seems beyond appalling.

Genesis 19:6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 

Sometimes it is hard to put God above family. That feels heretical to say, but if you’ll be honest, I suspect you understand. Our family is here. We know them well and love them deeply. But God has to come first because He knows our hearts, He loves us (and our families) deeply. He knows that we are human and fragile and ephemeral. He knows we need our roots sunk deeply in Him to hold on through the chaos and heartache of life.

Genesis 19:7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the knowledge that You must come first in my life, that I must sink my roots, my heart, my being, so deeply in You that I can survive the maelstroms of life without losing You or myself. Help me to put You first. Always. Help me to love my family, my friends, and all others through and with and in my fierce love of You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

Have a blessed day.