My church has a Wednesday night Bible study, and we've been working our way through Genesis. As we worked through chapters 19-22, I noticed a few things I hadn't before.
Lot and the little city: When Lot and his family left Sodom, they were told to "flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed (Genesis 19:17). However, Lot was too afraid to do so, and instead asked to flee to the little city of Zoar (verses 20-22). Then the fire and brimstone came down on Sodom and Gomorrah, and the narrative cuts back to Abraham watching the destruction from afar. When we cut back to Lot, we find out he "went up out of Zoar and settled in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar" (verse 30)! So what happened?
In all my readings before this, I was so focused on what happened next that I missed this detail. This time, since we were reading it slower, it became more noticeable. In our discussion, we noted that Lot ended up where God had wanted him to be in the first place, but doing it the way he did likely brought about more trouble first.
Our best guess as to what happened was based on the fact that God's plan was to destroy everything in the whole valley. Because Lot had pleaded with the angels, Zoar was spared, but the rest of the valley still went up in flames. The people of Zoar probably didn't trust the new people who showed up right before this happened, and plotted against them in some way. Lot's decision to not listen could have quickly become life-threatening, so he and his daughters fled again. The reputation they had gotten likely led to what happened next.
The fifth woman in the genealogy of Christ: The genealogy of Christ found in Matthew 1:1-17 lists mostly men, which is typical for genealogies in the Bible. However, Jesus' genealogy also includes the names of four women, and each one has a bit of an unsavory story. The first one mentioned is Tamar, whose twins were fathered by her father-in-law after she posed as a prostitute and seduced him. The second is Rahab, who actually was a prostitute, but turned her life around after being saved during Jericho's destruction. The third is Ruth, who didn't do anything wrong, but she wasn't born an Israelite either. The fourth, of course, is Mary, His mother, who became pregnant out of wedlock.
The fifth woman enters the picture when you look at the lineage of Ruth. She was from Moab, a nation whose origins came from another unsavory situation.
When Lot and his family fled Sodom, two members were left behind: the young men betrothed to his two daughters. Seeing that their marital prospects were now slim due to their newfound refugee status and the ensuing reputation, they hatched a wicked plan. They decided to get their father drunk two nights in a row. The first night, his eldest slept with him, and the next night, his youngest did the same. Their plot had its intended effect when both became pregnant. Each daughter had a son, and the son of the oldest was Moab, Ruth's ancestor (Genesis 19:37). So this unnamed young woman is the fifth important female element in the family of our Savior.
Abraham lies about marriage to Sarah: This happens two different times, but the second time is what really struck me. This instance occurs in Genesis chapter 20, and in all my readings, I didn't see the strangeness of the circumstance until we were studying it slowly.
Abraham lied because he was afraid others would covet Sarah and kill him because of how beautiful she was. In my mind, I always pictured her as a beautiful young woman in these instances until our slow study helped me to view this one in context. This deception occurs between chapter 18, when Sarah finds out she's going to be a mother, and chapter 21, when Isaac is born. That means that Abraham was afraid of her being coveted and him being killed while she was 90 years old and pregnant. I don't know about you, but I hope I look that good at 90!
Ishmael mocking Isaac: The translation I grew up reading said in Genesis 21:9 that Sarah saw Ishmael "playing with her son Isaac" and sent him and Hagar away as a response. I always thought that was rather cruel of her because that translation makes it seem like she witnessed a sweet brotherly interaction. However, almost every other translation says that he was mocking his young half-brother, which makes Sarah's reaction seem a bit more reasonable.
Isaac's part in the sacrifice: I've known the story about Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac for quite a long time, but until we were studying it, I never really considered Isaac's part in it. The Bible tells us nothing other than his question in Genesis 22:7 about where the lamb is. By the time God tells Abraham to stop, Isaac is already bound and lying on top of the wood. It's widely believed that Isaac was a strong young man, as it says in verse 6 that he was carrying the wood up the hill, so he easily could have fought back against his father. The fact that he didn't shows that he had inherited his father's strong faith. Abraham had said that God would provide, and Isaac believed it to be true. Even when it looked as though he was about to die, he trusted that it was all a part of God's plan. He then rejoiced with his father when he heard the voice telling Abraham to stop and saw the ram caught in the thicket ready to take his place on the altar. We often talk about the faith of Abraham in this situation, but Isaac had just as much, if not more.
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