A Joke?

After this scary ordeal in Genesis 19, where Lot is rescued from the wicked men outside his door, the angels warn Lot to flee the town because it’s going to be destroyed.

Lot then speaks to his family and instructs them to hurry away.  But the guys about to marry his daughters “thought he was joking.”

I wonder why these young men took Lot’s warning as a joke.  Could it be that these young men did not respect Lot at all?  Perhaps Lot stating that the Lord was about to destroy the city meant nothing to these guys, because the relationship between them and their future father-in-law was one of jest, merriment, and lawlessness. After all, Lot had just offered his own daughters to be abused by the men who came to the door.

Genesis 19 is such a hard story to read, but so rich with wisdom on how to run our homes.

We cannot lead our homes and expect respect and honor from our children, or the ones who are about to marry our children, if we have not lead well.

Yes, we will make mistakes.  We all do.  But this story isn’t about a few mistakes. It’s about an attitude of flirting with evil, not protecting one’s own family, and then pretending to be religious.

That’s a combo that’s explosive and deadly.