Lot & His Two Daughters

Published Nov 4, 2024, 10:00 AM

# 22 - Lot & His Two Daughters - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we delve into the dark and troubling story of Lot and his daughters, who, driven by fear and isolation, commit grievous acts to ensure their family lineage. The episode explores themes of desperation, sin, and moral compromise, drawing parallels between this ancient story and modern struggles. Through this reflection, listeners are invited to consider the dangers of self-reliance in times of despair and the importance of trusting in God’s guidance to avoid spiritual and moral decay.

Episode 22 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.

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For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/

Today's opening prayer is inspired by James 1:15, “Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death.”

Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.

Show Notes:

(04:15) Intro with Yael Eckstein

(05:48) Lot & His Two Daughters - Cinematic Retelling

(31:37) Reflection with Yael Eckstein

Previously on the Chosen People.

We're in the throes of arranging the wedding. I have been working tirelessly. You could not imagine the intricacies. But it is a labor of love. My daughters, Keziah and Milka, deserve nothing less, and they.

Will make lovely brides, and.

The match will be most beneficial for both our houses. Of course, there's our noble line. We can trace our family history back to Noah. If you can believe that through his son's shell, the evil.

And vile atrocities have caused a great outcry against its people.

Destroy it.

Yes, the city, the city will be destroyed.

The lightning strikes intensified a harrowing force of nature and judgment. It was as if thick tongues of flame were licking the city of Sodom. The bright white inferno of lightning from above met the blue flames from below, and all that was caught in the middle was melted into the molten mess that writhed beneath that blue, purifying fire.

But you must go now, Remember what we told you. Don't look back, and don't stop.

I can't, I can't do this lot, I cannot follow you again.

Yes, wait, what are you doing?

Where are you gowering.

Weather? Suddenly the wind shifted and she was in full view from the wall. She gazed upward as if in provocative protest, arms outstretched, and her school was cut short. And she stood still as a pillar. But then her body fell. Now it did not fall, it began to crumble. To Lot's revulsion, the outline of her very body was falling in on itself and dissolving into what appeared to be salt. The wind carried larger and larger chunks, until there was a small pile where she once stood. Petrified, His daughters stopped screaming, their eyes wide in horror. Time stood still as the three of them watched a smoky gust carry the rest of her away on a fell wind. His daughter's keening cries filled lotsy as, driving him to his knees.

In the grip of despair. What lines can be crossed and what truths can be unearthed? Shello, my friends from here in Israel, I am ye el Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we'll find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. Let's begin. There are some pretty dark and shadowy things lurking in the Bible, in this most sacred and inspiring of texts.

Aren't there?

Have you ever paid attention to that? The Bible is full of stories that make us feel uncomfortable and that force us to confront the raw and unvarnished truths of humanity's brokenness. And in Genesis nineteen thirty to thirty eight, encounter such a story, a tale that's shrouded in darkness, but essential and it's honesty. The story of Lot and his daughters is a chilling reminder of the length to which fear and desperation can drive us. Why did this family believe that there was no other way? And what does their story teach us about survival, sin, and redemption.

This episode of The Chosen People with the Isle Exstein contains explicit content that may be triggering for some listeners and inappropriate for young children. Listener discretion is advised.

Father, What you need to come back with me? It's time for the evening meal. You can't just linger up here all day. You're unsettling our new neighbors.

I have I have.

To I know, but it's time to go now.

Lot sell this daughter. Kazia placed her hand on her father's arm and guided him away from the town gate and into the heart of the town Bellah, where their mysterious saviours bid them to escape their new home. She felt her father stiffen with fear the further they retreated into the buildings. This tragedy seemed to have aged him twenty years. Kazia knew her father was afraid to be away from the stone walls for too long. He would humor her and her sister by joining them for the evening meal, fain going to sleep, and returning before dawn. Sometimes she wondered if guilt and regret over what happened to her mother kept him watching on the wall, or perhaps he feared being trapped within the labyrinth of buildings should fiery judgment fall again. As for Kazia, she wasn't sure what haunted her more, the image of her mother's corpse crumbling into sault, or her final words, what do you.

Know of it? I handed you everything I got you a husband, secured your future, and gave you stability. You would have nothing without me.

Her mother was right. She had simultaneously done everything and expected everything from her. It was impossible to live up to, and yet nothing had been expected of her younger sister, milkha would never understand the weight upon her shoulders, Upon the eldest's shoulders, her mother was always complaining that Kasia didn't do enough, or that she was always falling short of her lofty expectations for her. Her mother had worked hard to rebuild their family's reputation, despite the misfortunes and nomadic lifestyle their family had adopted on account of their uncle Abraham. Kaziah hardly remembered the city of her birth, Haaron, but her mother constantly reminded her of its sophistication and the intricacies of social status, and preserving those intricacies was paramount why her sister, Milker, the one their mother clearly favored, had even been named for their father's sister, their aunt Milka, who was married to their uncle Nahor. Keeping their blood line was always at the forefront. The blood line of m Cauzara's mother spoke of little else. She had been choosy about her daughter's matchess, and it wasn't until they were established in the upper echelons of Sodomite society that she finally struck the arrangements. Their blood line was not to be compromised under any circumstances. That was her mother's constant refrain. No second rate family edition would do. Not that that seemed to matter now she and her sister's betrothed, Zurum and Laven, were killed in the terrible disaster. They were surely burned or buried or worse. But yet it was their mother who had outright abandoned them. It was now up to Kazia to rebuild their family. Kazia and her father were rounding the corner leading to their lodgings cramped street Malak, a kind old tanner and his wife had taken them in the days following the catastrophe at Sodom, days had turned to weeks, and a new sort of routine formed. Lot haunted the war by the city gate, and Kazia and Milka tried to appear useful to the tanner and his wife, But their mother had raised them to order a household not working one the transition was uncomfortable for everyone, to say the least. Kazia knew she had to devise a plan and soon, but she had no idea where to begin. As they approached the dwelling, Kazi's stomach twisted, she saw a familiar gang of men approach her sister, Milker, who was waiting for them in the doorway.

Hebrew, girl, pardon me, you heard me outside?

Y infiltrate us? How's it only you? Three escaped sodoms do? How do you make it out in time?

How long, dear? What happens?

And sodom happens?

Here?

There's some angry god after you? Huh, what do you do? How long are we going to harbor you?

Like the fugitives you are?

I say we'd drave them out. I they've outstayed there. Welcome they have.

Because I hurried to close the distance between her sister and the four men, A silent, bewildered lot in tow.

Milka, come here, gentlemen. We mean you no harm. We're just trying to make our way here, same as.

You, gentlemen. Who do you think you are?

Ah? You're fine city folk.

You think you're bearing me trying to make you way say I heard you wearing out. You're welcome. It's our hospitality, guess rights and all that. Your podn't we barely speaks, and you two pretty little things think you too good for us. Noses in the air. Don't think we didn't see the fine clothes you came with.

And so what are you girls going to do when the money runs out?

Who will protect you?

Then?

Because I wrenched her arm out of the man's firm grasp as Malach their host burst through his doorway, scattering.

The men live on me.

They're my guests. You will not bring me shame by arming them.

Oh, thank you, Master Malak, Yes.

Thank you.

No, little mistress, I'm not like you. Don't need a title or preamble before my name. You're welcome just to see you. Are you are right there?

A lot, He's fine, He'll be fine if you say so, mister, this, shall we go in and wash up for the evening meal?

I am I wanted to talk to you about.

Something, Milka. Why don't you take farther inside? What did you want to speak of?

Now? I've known those men all all my life. I know those looks. Once they get their heads set on trouble, trouble they will have. I fear the protection of my roof won't mean much considering how riled up they are. The business with Sodom got us all on the edge. Mistress, You understand.

I do.

No uh no disrespect, little mistress. But I don't think you do now. I know your paw isn't in his right mind, jumping the shadows and his mind wandering here and there. But I think it's time you move on from here. I don't want the trouble those men will bring to be my trouble too.

But what will we do? Where will we go? How will we live?

I would tell you to go to your rich uncle across the plain, but they're saying the air still ain't fit to breathe. It's like fire on the insides and stings your eyes. The whole valley is bedden and wild and treacherous. For miles and miles, two girls, and your father and his condition, it would be a death sentence.

Then, where.

There's some big caves up in the mountains, big enough to make like those tents your people favor, you could drap rabbits and grow crops up there too, under the flat parts in the foothills. Not many would Bathria, and it's remote and folk around here they prefer mostly the towns. And me and mine, I can help you out from time to time. My wife made up some food and supplies to help you out.

So you've already decided you're sending us away.

It don't sit right with me, but I got mine to worry about, and I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen under my roof.

But you would send us out to go and starve.

My told you. I don't like it, but you'll find a way. You're a smart girl. You'll find a way for your family to survive.

The old Tennis words like a slap in the face. But he was right. Her mother was right. It seemed it would always fall to her to look after her family. Months passed and Kazia and her family ran to the caves like fugitives at night, and true to her calling, Kaziah ensured that they survived. Their sanity and soundness were held by a thread, but they were alive. True to his word, the Tanner did help them out from time to time, when Kazi would sneak into town to beg or barter for food. Lot took to the caves like an animal going to the ground. He cowered in the back corners of the cave, the stone walls to his back, and continued in his listless state. He sprang to life, however, when he caught Kazia creeping back into the cave one day with wine and bread from town.

Where were you?

I thought you'd been taken or burned?

What did I tell you about leaving the cast? All castle?

Father's gone mad.

I was in town grabbing some odds and ends. I do this every week, father.

Insuln girl, I forbid you to leave.

How am I supposed to protect you when you wander out of sight?

Wait until your mother hears about this.

She's dead. We're not in a palace. We're in a cave, and it's me who's been keeping you safe.

Understand, I think you're gonnare, But I tell you one day, I tell you, I tell you, I tell you, I tell you.

But they listen. No, only kids, these all these kids?

He is he is?

He is it.

These kids?

It is?

What are we going to do with these kids?

It is? Kasia was dismayed at her father's worsening condition and agitation but was forced to heed him. Milka made for lousy company. She was almost as fearful as their father and followed what Kaziah ordered her to do, like a phantom of her former chip herself. Kaziah hated what they all had become. One morning, Kazia and Milka were outside the caves on the side of the mountain checking their snares for game. The tanner had given them a quick tutorial of how to set one and wear it was only successful a fraction of the time. Kaziah groaned with frustration when they came upon the third and final trap, finding it empty. They would be feasting on boiled roots again tonight.

I can't take this any longer. I know, Kassiah, Oh do you, Cassiah.

What's happening to you is also happening to me.

You act like all the suffering is on your shoulders. That's because it is, Milka. It always has been. I've been working to keep us alive. I have no intention of dying here in this cave and dissolving into obscurity. We need a way out and a way up.

What is there to do?

We have no connections, no friends or even neighbors, and father is well.

Milka turned to her father, murmuring in the corner of the cave, tracing something with his finger in the air. It was a pitiful sight. He was degenerating before them. The once ambitious and shrewd man they called father had been reduced to a blubbering fool.

The point is, everyone we knew is dead. We have nothing but the clothes on our backs and the supplies of a stranger. Even our few were snatched away from us. I should have been married by now, I should have been running my own household. I could have been pregnant with my first born by now. But now we have nothing, not even hope.

What about me? It's as you said, what's happening to you is also happening to me. So you would just have us die out here, die in a cave.

Well, there's no.

Life here, This is it. Our line ends with us. Mother would be furious if we intermarried with anyone in that god forsake in town, and there are not exactly eligible men roaming the mountainside. However, if one were, I would beseech him to come and set these blasted snares properly. I may marry him, just out of gratitude and for the promise of a hot meal. But the only man for Miles is father.

Milka had a point. Perhaps the only way out of this situation was to stop thinking about their survival and start thinking about their lineage. Maybe was the malnutrition the Kaziah had become solely focused on their day to day survival. What was the next meal? Was it warm enough at night? Where would they find more fresh water? Should they relocate the latrine? And on and on the list went. Of course, Milker, their mother's favorite, would be the one to remind her of their mother's refrain. Their mother would chastise them for not thinking bigger. Their family legacy was larger than all of them. The weight of responsibility once again settled in on Kaziah's shoulders. Their mother had raised them to be noble women who would one day carry noble babes. Their duty was to steward the family line and wealth until they successfully raised the next generation. Well, the wealth was gone, but Kazia needed to find a way to preserve the lion. They would need to seek out worthy husbands. Milka was right. The men in town were simple minded townsfolk at best, and carousing thugs. At worst, they would not do. The cities of the plain had been wiped off the face of the earth, and their way to anyone else was blocked. If only they could get to their uncle Abraham and his family in Hebrew, or even their uncle Nahor in Awe. Surely Milka's namesake would not turn them away, but both were inaccessible, and besides, Khazia did not know the way to Or, but she knew it was very far and dangerous. That's when a thought took root in the back of her mind, Like a weed slowly coiling over a garden flower. The idea squeezed, intensifying with each moment. Ghazia had a dark idea. The only family they had left was their father. Her sister had just said it in passing, but still, perhaps the answer was right there in front of them. Becauseiah frowned, the prospect of lying with her father was not appealing, but she supposed it was not so different from the arranged marriages of her ancestors or even her extended family. Her uncle Nahor married his niece, their aunt Milkah, and even her uncle Abraham was married to his half sister. The desperation of her situation was beginning to present like an ember of hope, and for the first time in a long time, Becauseiah felt what she finally had her heading away forward.

Did you get it? Yes, I got it? And keep your voice down. We don't want him to hear. Fine, fine father, father? How was your day? What your day?

Oh?

It was fine, child.

I have some good news. I found that we have wine.

Ah, I thought we had no more since we came here.

We must have misplaced it.

Let's drink to our good fortune of fighting it, as you say, daughters, we have so little else.

Kaziah handed her father the sole cup they had. She had filled it almost to the brim with wine she had stolen from the town. She had nothing to barter or bargain with, so she resigned herself to thievery to hatch their scheme. Lot drank the first few SIPs of the wine and then offered it to Milka, who feigned us with Lot then offered it to Kaziah, and she did the same. Kazia then passed it back to her father, and on and on and twent with their meager dinner. It did not take long for the wine's effect to take hold of their father. He was soon drunk and did not realize where he was or what he was doing.

Edith, is that you, Edith? Look the girls have found wine. Isn't this a fine vintage Edith?

No, Father, it's oh, yes, lot, that's wonderful.

The two women went along with what their father was saying until he was so drunk he didn't realize when they were before him or not. Keziah set her jaw and nodded for her sister to leave. She then took her father by the hand and led him to his bedroll in the back of the cave. She had her way with him. Every moment made her shudder, but at least she was in control. In the depths of the dark, damp cave. She was authoring her own destiny. If she had paid any attention to the God of Abraham, she would have understood that a new Sodom was being reborn in that cave. Indulgence, self reliance, and blurred lines between the sacred and profane.

Was it disgusting? Terrible? Not so terrible? Different than what I would have expected.

Cassire could not bring herself to admit it to her sister, or even say it out loud, but what she had felt last night was less discussed and more power. She had taken control of her destiny for the first time in a long time, maybe for the first time ever. She was so rarely in control and so much had been taken for her. A deep, dark part of her reveled in the power she exacted over her father.

But he was so drunk that he had no idea who I was or if I was even there.

Perhaps that's for the best.

It just doesn't seem right. Don't do that. Don't judge me. You agreed to this same as me, and you know you still have to do this as well. I know, but I.

Still wonder what he would say if he knew.

Well, he doesn't know, and he won't know, yes, But if he did, well, you know, he wouldn't want this. He doesn't know what he wants. He would keep us locked up here in this cave forever. Maybe us producing airs will be the very thing that brings him to his senses and convinces him to lead this family again. He won't do it for us, but maybe he'll do it for them.

Kaziah surprised herself with this admission and saw her own pain reflected back in her sister's eyes. They spoke no more of it until evening began to fall, and they repeated the same ritual from the night before. Lord had been groggy and hungover all day, and it took some convincing to get him to agree to accept the wine, but a venture. He was so drunk that he again was speaking to people who weren't there and remembering times that had long since passed.

Milka, what are you waiting for?

Do it now?

I know, I just do it now before you lose your nerve. I just, Milka, this is our only escape. This is the only way out.

Milka fixed Kazara with a helpless stare, but did as her sister bid her to do. Milka was coerced into taking her father and lying with him, just as her sister had done the night before. Lot awoke the next morning to a pounding in his head and a queasiness in his stomach like he had never experienced before. The cave wall above his head spun. As he attempted to sit up, he collapsed back down on him bed roll. Too weak and dizzy to change his orientation, he sighed and rubbed his eyes. He would stink of wine until he could muster up the strength to draw enough water for a bath or make his way out to a stream. He could already smell the wine seeping from his paws through his sweat. The morning sun was winking at him through the caves opening, and with a great groan, he forced himself to sit upright to get the light out of his eyes.

Ah, what on earth happened last night?

Why are my daughters walking around when I'm still in bed with this massive headache?

Eye?

His memory was so hazy he could not remember. But wait, he could remember fragments of memories, warm bodies touching, the rise and fall of his heartbeat, sounds echoing through the caves. It all rushed back to him in blurred images. But everything seemed wrong. He felt a pit in his stomach, a churning beyond the queasiness of the wine.

Ah, surely these memories are from long ago. My wife Edith is gone.

Ah too much to drink my head, Blast at my head, Ah the wine un Ah.

This was the wine. Lot placed his hand beside him to steady himself before pushing off the bed roll. When he saw it, a long, dark hair, he blinked at it. He lifted his hand and looked around his bed several long, dark hairs. Who did those belong to? They were certainly not his? The shade and length were wrong. They were, however, a perfect match for his daughter's. But how surely not? But here was the evidence and his dream, no, not dream memories, he realized. Lot's stomach dropped out and his throat went dry. He hurled, his groans, echoing off the cave walls. O What have I til?

What has been a time?

To me? O?

He was horrified? How could this have happened? And why? How much lower could the depths of his shame go? He felt worthless, defiled, dirty, violated, and what had been the extent of their coupling? He shuddered? If they were with a child. He couldn't fully wrap his head around that, not right now, not with the pounding in his head threatening to rob him of his consciousness. He felt sick. Would he ever feel whole or clean again? But if they were, how would the consequences of his daughter's actions unfold of his own? He wondered what would become of his daughter's children, his children in the years to come?

What a horrible story. It's hard to even imagine the desperation Loot's daughters, driven to unthinkable measures, are trapped in the shadow of their father's shattered minds. Ethical lines blur. What seems unthinkable becomes a grotesque reality, carrying the burden of their families and their people's survival warps Loot's daughters, pushing them to commit acts that reflect a profound loss of hope and moral clarity, and Loot, lost in his grief and madness, becomes an unwilling participant in this dark chapter. Sin he gets sin. Sin has a way of twisting our paths, doesn't it. The story of Loet's family reflects our own struggles with morality, hope, and the relentless grip of sin, even in the face of ruin. How do we maintain our faiths? How do we cling to the teachings of the Bible, to the God who delivers his chosen people from Egypt, who guided us through the wilderness. This story challenges that. It challenges us to ponder the depths of our own faith and the lengths to which we will go when faced with despair. In the end, it is a call to return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to seek his wisdom and guidance in our darkest moments, for it is only through him that we find true deliverance and the strength to rise above our sins. In this story, the Bible and its brutal honesty, exposes our frailty and humanity's vulnerability to sin. Lot's daughters, isolated, devise a plan that plunges them into darkness, intoxicating their father and using him to sire sons alone and abandon their fear, twisted into a resolve born of the very chaos that whispered to Eve in the garden of Eden. Lot's daughters are a testament how easily we can be let astray. The story is warning, a call to vigilance. It reminds us of the seductive power of sin, the ease with which chaos can consume. When we lose sight of God's commandments, we open up ourselves to darkness. This tale, soaked and sorrow, urges us to stand guard, to cling to the word of God, and these stories in God's Word, though dark, help us to remember our identity. Sometimes you need to see what you aren't to remember what you are and who are we we are the Chosen people, bound to him, walking in his light. The story of Lot's daughters is a dark and complex thread in our people's history, a thread that, like Hagar's, weaves both enemies and lessons into our history and the fear and isolation. Lot's daughters took matters into their own hands. They birthed mob and Amon and future adversaries of Israel. Just as Hagar's story led to the rise of Ishmael and future conflict, this tale reflects to the broader theme of our ancestors struggle with faith, a struggle even seen in Abraham's failure with Hagar, and both these Bible stories birthed in nations that would become thorns in Israel.

Side.

The Bible and its raw honesty, doesn't shy away from the Chosen people's failures. Jewish tradition takes a very close look at the failings of Lot's family. Here, the wise sage Rabbi Sadya Gaon tells us Lot's daughters were not punished because their sin was a sin of error. They have the best intentions, but the rabbi explains that the Bible is using this specific story people with pure intentions in order to warn us of this, before you act, clarify the circumstances. I may repeat that again because it's so important before you act, clarify the circumstances. And this lesson pertains.

To us too.

How often do we act quickly on gut instinct, without thinking, without weighing the facts, without asking for advice, and then we end up doing something that's not good.

Maybe it could be even as little as saying a not nice word or being mean to someone when they didn't deserve it. God has given us the ability to consider how to act and how to live our lives. He gave us unique opportunities as humans that are different than animals. Animals act on instinct, Humans look into all the circumstances, and God expects us to use that gift to think about each one of life's situations before we act. What we see in this story it is that it's a timeless lesson of trusting God over our own understanding. The struggles and failures of Lot's family mirror our own as humans, just as they mirror the broader story of the Jewish people. It's a story marked by struggle, failure, and redemption from the chaos of Genesis to the covenant at Sinai. Our journey is one of learning to trust God. We are people who have faced the consequences of taking matters into our own hands time and time again. Yet we continue to seek the light. We don't despair. What we have to remember and learn is to trust in God's plan, to resist the whispers of chaos, and to embrace the hope of his promises. It's in our deepest sorrow and despair that we often find ourselves most vulnerable. When life feels unbearable, when the weight of our grief seems insurmountable, we too may find ourselves tempted to compromise. We see comfort in places that offer only a fleeting reprieve. Just like Lot's family, we too hide in our caves. We see comfort in places that offer only a fleeting comfort. But what if, what if, in the dark cave of loss and tragedy, we made our choices instead of from a place of despair, from a place of trust and love. What if, like Abraham, we saw the barren landscapes as a blank canvas for hope. When alone and lost in a cave, you might convince yourself that there's no way out, but my friends have hope in God. There is always here is one final blessing for you. Ivare Hashem vischmurecher yah Heir hashempanave ileha cha ye sa hashempanave Lechra.

Salon.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.

Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot Com app today. This prey dog Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People with Yaile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.

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