Genesis 20:1: “Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.”
Abraham’s face looked haggard as he arrived home. “What’s wrong?” his wife Sarah asked. “I think you better sit down”, he said gravely. And so Abraham related the prophecy he had received from the Lord just moments ago. “It doesn’t look good, Sarah”, he concluded. “I wished I could give you better news, but I’m just not sure that there are ten righteous people down there in the Jordan Valley who could prevent a disaster.” He was profoundly sad. Then he said: “Sarah, we must pray. I know the Lord. He will find a way to save Lot. God is merciful.” The couple sat quietly for a while under the old Terebinth tree next to their tent. Suddenly a wind picked up. The sun had set and a storm was brewing. “We should go inside”, Sarah said standing up. The two of them retired for the night, but Abraham was restless and found only little sleep.
Early in the morning, Abraham and Sarah were woken up by thunderous noises. Everybody emerged from their tents to see what was going on. Out of the blue a fireball appeared on the Eastern horizon, two or three times larger than the rising sun. There was a bang in the sky, followed by separate crash-like peals of thunder. This went on for more than an hour until the noise died down at last. The skies were clear, but near the horizon was an ashen cloud that slowly evaporated.
The following day, Abraham got up to return to the place where he had last spoken with the Lord. From there he overlooked the Jordan Valley and was shocked to see its utter devastation. Abraham prostrated himself before the Lord and cried out: “Please be with Lot!”
Shaken to the core, Abraham and Sarah quickly decided to break camp and move away – as far away as possible – from the cities of the plain. And so they headed further south. Between Kadesh and Shur was the capital city of Gerar, where King Abimelek lived and ruled. Abraham remembered how depraved the kings of the Jordan Valley had become and unfortunately, King Abimelek’s reputation was not much better. So he considered using the same old ruse he had previously employed in Egypt. “You can’t be serious!” Sarah protested. – “Do you wish to see me dead?” Abraham asked her, and he had the last word in the matter. Once again Sarah would have to identify herself as Abraham’s sister.
Sarah’s beauty stood out among other women, despite her advanced age. And as suspected, King Abimelek became enamored of her. This was déjà vu all over again. The king sent his attendants and took Sarah away to add her to his harem. Time passed and Abraham prayed day and night to the Lord, interceding on behalf of his wife. He knew that he had made a terrible mistake. Sarah was supposed to give birth to his future son Isaac. Had he spoiled it all? His prayers seemed to hit a wall. It felt as if the Lord was a million miles away. Days dragged on and Abraham slipped into a deep depression. But unbeknownst to him, God spoke to King Abimelek in a dream and told him [Genesis 20:3]:
“You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Abimelek trembled with fear. “This is a gross misunderstanding!” He protested, “I had no idea she was married.” The Lord replied: “I know you did this with a clear conscience. Now return Sarah to Abraham and I will spare your lives.” Then Abimelek awoke. He didn’t rest until he had brought Sarah back to Abraham. With the intention to appease the God of Abraham, he gifted the couple with sheep and cattle as well as male and female servants.
In the meantime, Lot had his own problems. Driven away by the recent disaster, the people of Zoar migrated further and further south, eventually turning the city into a ghost town. His daughters pleaded with him. “We should join them!” said his youngest daughter, and her elder sister chimed in: “We got to get out of here.” This time Lot was firm. “We are not following this godless crowd”, he said. “God judged us and we all deserved to die, but the three of us have been spared. And so we better follow the angels’ instructions or we too shall perish.” And so, instead of joining the other refugees, Lot and his daughters headed further east into the mountains.
Years went by without a single stranger ever making it up into the area where they had settled down. Isolated as they were, they felt like the very last people on earth. One night as they were alone in the tent the older daughter spoke up: “Our father is old and there is literally no man around to give us children. We need to do something.” – “But what can we do?” the younger daughter asked. “I have a plan”, the other daughter replied. “Let’s wine and dine our father until he is drunk and then we sleep with him. That way our family line continues.” And so it happened. Both daughters got pregnant and each had a son who would become the patriarch of two tribes: the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Even though Lot and Abraham never saw each other again, their families would intersect in future generations. Today we have the luxury of looking back, and in hindsight we can see redemption in the events surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s descendants would bring forth Ruth, the Moabite; and she would become King David’s ancestor – whose family lineage would lead to Jesus, the Messiah.