Lot has a creepy relationship with his daughters. He isn’t a good dad. I feel sorry for his girls.
First, when the inhospitable men of Sodom rush Lot’s house to have sex with the two men (actually angels) staying there, Lot tries to reason with them.
He protects the angels and begs the townsmen not to pursue their wicked desires. As an alternative, he offers them his two virgin daughters to molest. How could a father even think of doing such a despicable thing? Fortunately for the girls, the townsmen aren’t interested.
A loving dad would never consider offering his daughters to satisfy men’s depravity. What did Lot’s daughters think about their father after his cavalier dismissal of their chastity? What did his actions say about his view of their value as females? How could they maintain any self-worth?
Later, we find Lot and his daughters hunkered in a cave, isolated from other people. He’s getting old. There are no men in sight, and the girls’ biological clocks are ticking.
Desperate, they concoct a heinous plan. On successive nights, they get their dad drunk and sleep with him. Both get pregnant and each give birth to a son.
While we can blame the girls for their depravity, I accuse Lot and his bad parenting as the primary offender. He shows his moral failings by offering up his daughters for sex, and they likely form their moral compass from his actions.
Through this he effectively communicates their prime value is for sex. They merely seek to live out what he expects.
True, the girls are not innocent for their actions, but Lot could have produced a different outcome had he been a better father.
What kind of influence do we have on those around us? What must we begin to do differently?
[Discover more about Lot’s two daughters in Genesis 19:4–38.]
Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.