Rev. Phil Hoppe, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Colby, KS joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Genesis 19:23-38.
Whenever we have sin there must be redemption. The wrath of God is extended upon Sodom, Gomorrah, valley, and everything that grew on the ground as payment for their sin. We might assume that after all this destruction Lot and his daughters would spend more time in repentance and living a new life. Yet, our sinful self is full of darkness and often overlooks the depth of God’s love, forgiveness, and mercy toward us in Christ. “O Holy Spirit, give us the gift of repentance as we see the destruction of Sodom and the horrific actions of Lot’s daughters. We realize our sins are just as deserving of wrath and we ask for Your help to live a holy life no matter the chaos. Lord have mercy. In Christ, Amen”
Thy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.
Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
Genesis 19:23-38
God Destroys Sodom
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab.[a] He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi.[b] He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father
- Genesis 19:38 Ben-ammi means son of my people
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org
