What is the moral of the story of Lot in Genesis 19?

[freethinker83]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum. I am trying to read through the Bible to get a better understanding of it for myself. I am struggling with the story of Lot in Genesis 19. What is the moral of the story?

Lot essentially offers his daughters up to be raped by a group of men so that they do not rape two strangers (men) instead. Is the moral of this that it is better to rape a woman than to have homosexual sex?

After that we get to the portion of the story where Lot’s daughters conceive children by him. What is the moral here?

2 Peter 2:7-8 states that Lot was a just man. I am struggling to find the moral of the story of Lot.

Thank you brothers and sisters for your help.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Context, context.

Lot (and his daughters) lived in a society in which women’s role (and her fundamental equality of soul) was not as well understood as it is today. Of course, men’s roles were not so well understood either.

Lot knew that the men of Sodom were not interested in sex with women. But if they had been, as horrifying as it sounds to us today, offering your virgin daughter to a man was not considered morally wrong. . .because the man who ‘accepted’ would be expected to marry her and to provide well for her. (Read Scripture and see what happens to a man who ‘uncovers the nakedness’ of a young woman. Not only was he expected to marry her if she was a virgin, HE COULD NEVER DIVORCE HER.)

Lot was demonstrating to his guests (and to God) that the men of Sodom weren’t engaging in homosexual sex because they ‘didn’t have the opportunity to have women’ (believe it or not, a lot of people even today STILL think, for example, that priests have sex with boys because --they aren’t ALLOWED to have women. Wrong, of course, but you would have found people who would have insisted that poor poor Sodom shouldn’t have been punished because they just didn’t have available women and that’s why they pursued men). However, Lot (in Scripture) proved that little theory was just hot air. If Sodomites were ‘regular’ heterosexual men, they would have jumped at the idea of Lot’s daughters --they would then have a nubile young woman, well connected (Lot was rich and his daughters were heirs), in marriage.

But. . . they weren’t. They didn’t even blink. Women? Ewwww. . .no, they wanted the handsome young MEN. And no normal ‘hospitality rules’ of the time would stop them. (You see, in coming under Lot’s roof, Lot was responsible for the young angel/visitors safety. If anything bad happened to them, he would be guilty of a great breach of hospitality. . .and so these Sodomites were not only guilty of moral evil toward themselves, but toward the young angels/visitors AND toward Lot and his entire household (according to the society of the time).

So no, homosexual sex is not worse than ‘rape’. Both are evil. Lot, however, was not ‘selling’ his daughters or offering them to rapists, as we might think today. Lot knew his daughters were safe from these men.

 

[freethinker83]

Tantum:

I appreciate the reply.

Can you explain though how Lot’s daughters could have married any of the men since they already had husbands? After he offers his daughters up he tells his sons in law that God is going to destroy Sodom.

Thanks again.

 

[floresco]

The moral is that people who call themselves “freethinkers” tend to be hostile to religion and ask questions like this in order to erode the faith of believers. In my experience, people who use this label enjoy mocking Christians and our beliefs.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Tantum:

I appreciate the reply.

Can you explain though how Lot’s daughters could have married any of the men since they already had husbands? After he offers his daughters up he tells his sons in law that God is going to destroy Sodom.

Thanks again.

Lot had many daughters. Some of them were virgins, and some of them were married.

 

[MikeDunphy]

I am trying to read through the Bible to get a better understanding of it for myself.

I am doing the same thing myself. Have you read the New Testament yet? IMHO, the New Testament is more accessible and should be read at least a few times before attempting to read the Old. (My :twocents.

I am struggling with the story of Lot in Genesis 19. What is the moral of the story?

Lot essentially offers his daughters up to be raped by a group of men so that they do not rape two strangers (men) instead. Is the moral of this that it is better to rape a woman than to have homosexual sex?

The moral is that the men of the city were vile and corrupt and strongly attached to their sin, and the Lord destroyed them for their evil.

After that we get to the portion of the story where Lot’s daughters conceive children by him. What is the moral here?

I think the moral here is that what the daughters did was hateful to the Lord. Their descendents were hostile to Israel and forbidden from entering into the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3).

2 Peter 2:7-8 states that Lot was a just man. I am struggling to find the moral of the story of Lot.

Lot doesn’t seem to be an exceedingly virtuous man by Christian standards, but perhaps by the depraved standards of Sodom he was just. Maybe he panicked and said something stupid when attempting to protect his guests. He did ultimately attempt to protect his guests, his wife, his daughters and their fiancés.

Lot seems weak. He was ineffective at getting the mob or even his sons-in-law to listen to him, and when the angels attempt to lead him to safety he pleads that he cannot flee far. He finds refuge in a town called “Small” (Zoar).

But God will save even a small and weak soul, if it follows His angels away from a sinful life and does not look back.

 

[freethinker83]

The moral is that people who call themselves “freethinkers” tend to be hostile to religion and ask questions like this in order to erode the faith of believers. In my experience, people who use this label enjoy mocking Christians and our beliefs.

This may be true, but shouldn’t those who follow scripture be prepared to share its meaning? I also honestly wanted to know what kind of moral lesson can be learned from this story. I apologize if I’ve offended you.

 

[freethinker83]

Thank you Tantum and Mike.

Tantum- I did not consider that he may have had other unmentioned daughters, this clarifies it.

Mike- I appreciate your analysis of the text on several different points.

I guess I posted this question with the wrong attitude. I admit I am a non-believer, but I am on this forum to learn. I honestly want to learn what lessons people get from The Bible and what their opinions and understandings of the scripture is. I really am reading through The Bible myself in an attempt to understand what so many believe in and hold to be true. I apologize if I’ve gotten off on the wrong foot here. I do not want to be hostile to anyone.

 

[floresco]

Hi all,
After that we get to the portion of the story where Lot’s daughters conceive children by him. What is the moral here?

I don’t think there is a moral to that. It looks to me like an etiological story, describing the origins of neighbouring tribes as shameful.

I don’t assume that everything in the Bible has a moral. There are many different kinds of writing in the Bible and they have different literary functions.