Lot was a righteous and godly man (2 Pet. 2:6-9). Nevertheless, although he had come out of Ur of Chaldea and was dwelling as one of God’s people with Abraham in the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:5), he became defeated because he separated himself from Abraham, with whom was God’s witness and testimony, and drifted into the wicked city of Sodom (Gen. 13:11-13; 14:12), which was condemned by God and was to be destroyed under His judgment.

Ur of Chaldea was a place of idols, Egypt was a place of worldly riches and pleasures, and Sodom was a city of sin. These three places form a triangular boundary around the land of Canaan. God’s called ones live within this triangle and must be careful lest they fall back to the city of idols, go down to the place of worldly pleasures, or drift into the city of sin.

The wicked Sodomites were homosexuals (Rom. 1:24-27).

Lot’s willingness to sacrifice his two virgin daughters to satisfy the Sodomites’ lust shows that Lot, having dwelt a considerable time in the sinful city of Sodom, had lost his sense of morality and shame (vv. 33, 35).

This shows that sinfulness blinds people. See note Matt. 9:27¹, note John 12:40¹, and note John 9:1².

Lot had no willingness to escape from the evil and condemned city, but the Lord was merciful, pulling him out of Sodom like wood plucked out of a fire (cf. Zech. 3:2; Jude 1:23).

Lit., my soul.

Meaning little.

See note Luke 17:32¹.

Having been drugged with the wicked current of the evil world, Lot’s daughters had lost their sense of morality. Desiring to have seed regardless of the means, they bore sons out of their father by incest, thus breaking the governing principle ordained by God. In principle, to use any kind of sinful or worldly methods to secure increase for our success in the Christian work is to break God’s governing principle and thus to commit spiritual incest (cf. Matt. 7:21-23). The seed produced by incest became a great damage to the people of God through fornication (Num. 25:1-5; Rev. 2:14 and note Rev. 2:14^2c and note Rev. 2:14^3d).

Meaning from father.

God rejected the Moabites and the Ammonites (v. 38) with a holy and divine hatred, commanding His people not to “seek peace with them nor prosperity with them all your days forever” and forbidding an Ammonite or a Moabite to enter the congregation of Jehovah, “even to the tenth generation…forever” (Deut. 23:3-6; cf. Matt. 1:5 and note Matt. 1:5^3c).

Ishmael, brought forth by fleshly effort, was rejected by God (Gen. 21:10-12). Moab and Ben-ammi, brought forth by incest, were a shame in history. Only Isaac, brought forth by God’s grace, was used to fulfill God’s purpose.

Meaning son of my people.