In Genesis 12 we are introduced to Abram, later named Abraham, whom God calls out of the Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the Land of Canaan. Abraham, unknown to us on the pages of Scripture prior to this, is seemingly called out of nowhere to receive God’s covenantal blessings. Here, we are also introduced to Lot, Abraham’s nephew. He plays a comparatively minor role in the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan in Genesis through the lineage of Abraham, but nevertheless Lot is significant in his uncle’s life. After he and Abraham separate in Genesis 13, Lot going to Sodom, he ends up being captured by an alliance of 4 kings. Abraham conquers these kings, rescues his kinsmen, refuses any war spoil from the king of Sodom, and we are introduced to Melchizedek. Sodom, and more specifically the men of Sodom, were called wicked and great sinners against the Lord (Genesis 13:13). Nevertheless, Lot remains there upon his return, but we hear nothing from him until Genesis 19.
Between Lot’s rescue in Genesis 14 and his eventual rescue again in Genesis 19, God reveals His covenant to Abraham, first by way of unilateral conveyance of promises (Genesis 15), then by way of faithful obedience in administering the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17ff). In order for these blessings to be fulfilled to Abraham he needed a son. Taking things into his own hands, he first declares an heir from his household, then tries to create an heir through his slave Hagar. The Lord ultimately visits Abraham to personally give him the promise of a son. It was at this point, the pre-incarnate Lord, along with two men (angels), reveal another plan to Abraham – the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is then a well-known negotiation, if we can call it that, wherein Abraham intercedes for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in light of their pending destruction.
The two angels who had been with Abraham walked into the city in order to see firsthand what was going on there. In Genesis 19, we have the account of how the men of Sodom (see the previous description) tried to have their way with the angels. Lot intercedes but surprisingly offers up his own daughters as a substitute. Ultimately, as we know, since there clearly was not 10 righteous people in the land, God rained down sulfur and fire from heaven destroying the cities, but not before saving Lot, his wife, and his two daughters whose husbands refused to leave. Upon fleeing, however, Lot’s wife turned around and looked back, immediately she turned into a pillar of salt. From there not wanting to return to Zoar, Lot takes his two daughters and lives in a cave.
With this background in mind, we come now to the main thrust of this post found in Genesis 19:30-38. This passage records for us a conversation between Lot’s daughters expressing their desire to maintain and continue the family name. Their desire leads them to the conclusion that the way to do so is for each of them to bed their father. Each in turn get Lot drunk and conceive a child with him. The first daughter gives birth to the product of her incest and names him Moab, while the second gives birth and names him Ben-ammi. These two sons would be the headwaters of the Moabites and Ammonites, respectively. Now, if you’re familiar at all with the Old Testament, the Moabites and Ammonites play a significant role with respect to Israel. They were in effect sworn enemies and were among the chief inhabitants of the Land of Canaan upon Israels entrance. Because they failed to displace and destroy them, Israel succumbed to their pagan influence (Judges 10:6). The intertwining histories of Israel with the Moabites and Ammonites is long and storied. You can read about it in Numbers 23-25, 2 Kings 3, and especially Deuteronomy 23:3-6 where the Lord pronounces judgement on them and forbids their entrance into His assembly.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
Contrary to what we might expect, in this statement, the Lord does not reject the Moabites and Ammonites because of their incestuous origins, rather He rejects them because of the way they had treated Israel. Stop and think about that. Their origins were shameful, yet their history would not be marked by this, rather it would be marked by how they treated God’s people, essentially treating them with disdain and trying to get Balaam to prophesy against them (Numbers 23-25). Collectively, this punishment extends to the generations for both the Moabites and Ammonites. It was in effect, a generational curse handed down by God.
Now here’s where things get really interesting.
Despite having her genealogical origins in incest and despite having a generational curse placed on her ancestors by God Himself, Ruth was a Moabitess who would be redeemed by God in a mighty way. In the opening chapter of the Book of Ruth we learn that there was a family from Bethlehem who came to Moab. The husband and two sons died leaving only the mother, Naomi, and her two Moabite daughters in law, Orpha and Ruth. As we know Ruth committed to stay with Naomi taking an oath upon herself to not only her mother-in-law, but to the Lord and His people, effectively becoming Israelite. Ruth would later be married to her kinsmen redeemer Boaz, who was from the tribe of Judah. As the book concludes we learn that Ruth and Boaz would have a child, continuing the family line of Naomi. They would call him Obed and he would have a son named Jesse, who in turn would have a son named David, the king. As the course of redemptive history continued, we know that from the line of David was born Jesus, the Messiah and King (Matthew 1:1-17).
Let’s ponder this as we conclude. In our world, we’ve made abortion a political pawn, moving the goal post to allow for exceptions to anti-abortion laws, including incest. We somehow think that God cannot redeem a situation as bad as that. But look again at the origin of Moab from the incestuous affair of Lot’s daughter. The Lord did not discard the children of those affairs because of the sins of their mothers. Later, He would place a generational curse on them collectively, but this had more to do with their treatment of Israel than how they were conceived. Then, despite the corporate, generational curse, God had planned all along for there to be a king, and later the King and the Kinsmen-Redeemer to be born with Moabite blood. That same blood that had begun through incest and that same blood that had received a generational curse.
Dear reader, you are not the product of your origin nor are you enslaved forever to some kind of generational curse. You are made in the image of God and have value. God’s hands are not tied, nor are they shortened with regard to you, but He can redeem you too. Faith in His Son Jesus, the aforementioned great-grandson of the Moabite Ruth, and repentance from sin will bring you into the family of the King and redeem your story, more importantly your life.
Sola Gratia!
