HDWN? Abraham & Sarah... and Lot

Hey y'all! How's it shaking? I hope that your week has been full of smiles and laughter!

Look, before we jump into into this week's post, I need to release a major disclaimer. Once we get into Lot's portion of this week's story, there will be mention of rape and incest - reader discretion is advised.

And, as usual, *please, note that my mission is to connect ancient Biblical stories to a modern generation; all stories will be told with modern language and analogies (and memes), linked back to specific verses for reference.

Let's dive in the deep end!

Last week, we left off with Abe, Ish, and all of the men of the household getting circumcised... no matter what age, considering Ish was 13 and Abe was 99.

Abe is sitting at the door of his tent in the oaks of Mamre. It's the middle of the day, so the sun is blazing. Abe looks up, and there are not 1, not 2, but 3 men standing in front of him. Abe immediately runs to them and bows before them; he knows that the Lord is visiting him. He says, "Lord, if I've found favor with you, don't pass me up. I'll bring some water for you to wash your feet. Rest under the oak tree, and I'll bring out some bread... after that, you can pass on." The three men said, "Bet, do what you said" (Genesis 18:1-5).

So Abraham runs back to the tent to get Sarah. "Honey, honey, honey, quick!!! You gotta get the flour and the butter and make three flour cakes." Abe then runs to the cow field, and has a young man slaughter and prepare a calf. Abe takes the milk and curds and the calf back to the three men, and he stands beside them under the oaks as they eat (Genesis 18:6-8). All of these foods were offerings of peace and goodwill.

The three said to him, "Brother where's Sarah?" to which Abe replies, "...in the tent." She was in the tent... she was just at the door trying to listen in on everything that was happening between her husband and these three men. If we're being honest, girl I'd be doing the same thing. The Lord says, "Imma come back around this time next year, and by then Sarah will have a son" (Genesis 18:9-10).

Now, let's not forget... Abe and Sarah are going on 100 at this point. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD. Let's just say, especially in Sarah's case, those baby-making parts aren't working like they used to, and Sarah knows it. So what does Sarah do? She laughs and says, "After I'm worn out, and my lord [Abe] is old, shall I have pleasure?" BROTHER. WHAT? Chick literally hears the words of the Lord and goes "I'm old... he's really old, and I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too? No way" (Genesis 18:11-12).

So the Lord, in His literal omniscience, says, "Uh brother, did this chick just laugh? Why's she laughing? I am capital G God. Is there anything I can't do?" Sarah puts it in reverse and goes, "No... me? I didn't laugh. I don't think I know how to laugh. What's laughing?" God replies, "Mmhhmm. Yeah, spin back. I heard you" (Genesis 18:13-15).

At this point, the men leave heading for Sodom, and Abraham goes with them to set them on their way. The Lord says, "Mmm.. should I hide what I'm about to do from Abe? I mean, he's going to become a great nation and all of the earth will be blessed by him... I've chosen him because I know he will keep his children and his household in the way of the Lord through righteousness and justice." So the Lord says to Abe, "Hey man, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah has come to my attention, so I'm gonna go check it out... and by check it out, I mean destroy it." (Genesis 18:16-21).

So the men set out, but Abe is still standing in front of the Lord. Abe draws near to the Lord and goes, "Okay, but would You sweep the righteous away with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? I know You! You wouldn't do that, would You?" God says, "You know what Abe, if there are 50 righteous people, I'll spare the city" (Genesis 18:22-26).

The conversation continues a little something like this:

Abe: I am but dust and ashes (yeah brother, you're old!), but what if there was just 45?

God: I'll spare the city.

Abe: Okay, what about 40?

God: I won't destroy the city.

Abe: Okay, don't be mad, but what about 30?

God: If I find 30, I won't do it.

Abe: Bet. So like 20 though, what about 20?

God: Nah, I won't do it for 20.

Abe: Okay, okay, so last thing, I promise. 10?

God: You know what Abe? For 10 righteous people, I won't destroy it.

And the two went on their separate ways (Genesis 18:27-33).

The crazy part about this is that God knew the whole time that there weren't even 10 righteous people in S&G - I mean, if He heard Sarah laugh from the tent, then He knows the position of the hearts in the city. He's omniscient. What I love about this interaction is Abe's heart. He's not afraid to ask God again and again and again, because He knows God's character. I think that's a lesson we can all take with us.

Let's head over to Sodom & Gomorrah, shall we? Remember that warning at the beginning of the post? Yeah, we're here now.

The two angels that left while Abe and God were speaking arrive to the gate of Sodom to find Lot sitting in the door of the gate. As soon as Lot sees them, he bows with his face in the dirt. He begs the angels to spend the night in his house, wash their feet, and rest. The angels tell him that they are going to spend the night in the town square, and Lot presses them to stay in his house. The angels agree, and Lot prepares a feast when they all get to his place (Genesis 19:1-3).

Before everyone lays down for bed, all of the men of the town - young and old - surround Lot's house. They start yelling, "Lot, who were those guys??? Bring them out so that we can have sex with them!" (Genesis 19:4-5) Now, I'm sure we're all taken aback here. From what I've read, this wasn't necessarily a crime of attraction, but more so an assertion of dominance - as in the men of the city wanted to establish dominance over these angels. Lot has to think quickly here. Lot goes out on his front porch, all of these men in front of him and the front door closed behind him. He begs them, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, don't do this. Don't act so wickedly." He then offers up a trade. "In fact, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do as you please with them. Just don't do anything to the men in my house, because they are under my roof" (Genesis 19:6-8). Yeah, y'all... Lot really did offer up his daughters to all the men of the town.

The men of the town get angry. "Um Lot, excuse me? You are a foreigner, and now you just get to make all the rules? Absolutely the freak not!" They pressed against Lot so hard that Lot's front door almost caved in. But the angels grabbed Lot and swooped him inside the house, shutting the door behind him. The angels struck all of the men outside the house with blindness, and the men of the town wore themselves out trying to find the door (Genesis 19:9-11).

The angels turn to Lot and said, "Do you have anyone else here? Son-in-laws, daughters, anyone in the city? We're about to destroy this place because the outcry of the people has come before the Lord." Lot rushes to his soon-to-be son-in-laws and urges them to to leave immediately to escape the Lord's destruction of the city. But, the soon-to-be SILs didn't take Lot seriously, convinced that he was only joking (Genesis 19:12-14).

Morning starts to dawn, and the angels sound the bugles, "Up dude! Take your wife and your daughters and leave!!!" But Lot hesitated, and because the Lord had compassion for him, the angels grabbed Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and brought them outside of the city. One of the angels said, "Escape with your life to the mountains. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley" (Genesis 19:15-17).

Lot panics. "Oh no, you've shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I will surely die in the hills and mountains. This city, Zoar, is near enough to flee to - let me go there! My life will be saved!" So the angels said, "Okay brother, we'll spare the city you speak of. Go quickly, because we cannot do anything until you're there" (Genesis 19:18-22).

When Lot arrives to Zoar, the Lord rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah with sulfur and fire from heaven. The Lord overthrew all of the cities, all the valley, all of the inhabitants, and what all grew in the ground. Even though the angels specifically said not to, Lot's wife looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt. (Side note, when God delivers you from a crazy awful past, or a horrible environment, DON'T LOOK BACK.) Meanwhile, Abraham goes back to the place where he spoke to the Lord, and he looks out to see smoke rising from the destroyed city. So it was that, God remembered Abraham when He went to destroy the city, and He rescued Lot (Genesis 19:23-29).

I'll leave you on a truly crazy note...

Lot, even though he asked to live in Zoar, was scared to live there. Instead, he and his daughters lived in a cave outside the town. The eldest daughter said to the second, "Look sis... Dad is old, and - given the state of the world - there aren't any men around to be with. Here's the plan: we'll get Dad super drunk, and we'll have sex with him to preserve his lineage" (Genesis 19:30-32).

So they did just that. The daughters got Lot absolutely plastered - wasted to the point that he didn't know when his either of his daughters laid down or got up. After the firstborn had sex with Lot, she went to her sister the next day and urged her to do the same. Both daughters took advantage of their drunken father, committed incest, and both fell pregnant. The firstborn's son was named Moab (this is where the Moabites originated) and the second's son was named Ben-ammi (this is where the Ammonites originated) (Genesis 19:33-38).

Yeah, that happened.

This is where we'll leave off until next time... things seem kind of crazy, right? Cities destroyed, people turning into salt, crazy daughters. The Old Testament is full of some truly jaw-dropping scenarios and characters. How can any of this be turned around?Thankfully, we serve a God who knows how to work crazy for the good.

I hope you have an awesome week! Let me know your comments and questions, or how I can pray for you!