1 Kings 19: Jezebel seeks revenge

Synopsis:

Jezebel finds out that Elijah had all the prophets of Baal killed and says – you are dead! So Elijah goes to hide in the wilderness. An Angel feeds him for 40 days and nights as he makes his way to Mount  Horeb. There God says, what are you doing hiding here? Go to Damascus and annoint Hazael king of Syria, Jehu (son of Nimshi) king of Israel, and Elisha (son of Shaphat) to be prophet.  Between Hazael and Jehu killing each other, 7,000 people will remain. So Elijah goes and finds Elisha and gives him his mantle. Elisha asks permission to say goodbye to his family, slays a yoke of oxen and boils them and gives them to the people and follows Elijah.

In other words:

Jezebel threatens Elijah and Elijah plots her overthrow.

Favorite bit:

1 Kings 19:13,14 – Behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain they prophets with the sword; and I , even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

The fairy tale bit:

1 Kings 19:5,6 – And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behod, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a ruse of water at his head.

The revenge bit:

1 Kings 19:17 – And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Do not threaten your rivals (1 Kings 19)

Numbers 2: Pitch Your Tent

Synopsis:

God tells Moses and Aaron where everyone should pitch their tents in relationship to the Tabernacle.  For the record here is how the encampment was laid out:

East of the Tabernacle: (186,400 men – 1st rank)
Judah (Nashon is captain)
Issachar (Nethaneel is captain)
Zebulum (Eliab is captain)

South of the Tabernacle: (151,450 men – 2nd rank)
Reuben (Elizur is captain)
Simeon (Shelumiel is captain)
Gad (Eliasaph is captain)

The Levites are to camp around the Tabernacle and take care of it – so they are in the center

West of the Tabernacle: (108,100 men – 3rd rank)
Ephraim (Elishama is captain)
Manesseh (Gamliel is captain)
Benjamin (Abidan is captain)

North of the Tabernacle: (157,600 men – 4th rank)
Dan (Ahiezer is captain)
Asher (Pagiel is captain)
Naphtali (Ahira is captain)

In other words:

The armies are organized and people are given their sleeping assignments.

Favorite bit:

That the numbers add up correctly.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Stay organized. Everything has it’s place.(Numbers 2)

Numbers 3: The Levites get their assignments

Synopsis:

The Levites belong to God so he wants every male child over 1 month counted. Here are their numbers, assignments regarding care of the Tabernacle and where they are to sleep. There are 22,000 males over 1 month old, except that there are more like 22,273 males, except that the numbers counted add up to 22,300.

Gershon Family: 7,500
Sleep west of the Tabernacle.
Chief is Eliasaph.
Responsible for Tent and door hangings and cords

Kohath Family: 8,600
Sleep south of the Tabernacle
Chief is Elisaphan
Responsible for care of Ark, table, candlesticks, altars and vessels.

Merari Family: 6,200
Sleep north of the Tabernacle
Chief is Zuriel
Responsible for boards, pillars and sockets

Moses and Aaron:
Sleep east of the Tabernacle
Responsible for the Sanctuary – kill any stranger that comes nigh


The last bit of this chapter is confusing because the odd number over 22,000  (273) is given 5 shekels each  1,365  and this money is given to Aaron and his sons.

In other words:

The Levites are given their assignments.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Double check your math (Numbers 3)

Numbers 4: Levite workers are counted:

Synopsis:

Only the men between the ages of 30 and 50 are allowed to do the work servicing the temple and it has to be done in a very specific way lest they accidentally touch the holy things and die.  Here are the numbers of workers from each family.

Kohath  - 2,750
Gershon  - 2,630
Merari – 3,200

Total – 8,580

In other words:

Only Levites 30 to 50 can work on the Tabernacle.

Favorite bit:

Numbers 4:15 – The sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. None of the other Levites are threatened this way. This must be because they have to bear the altar and all the gold stuff which is actually worth something. Aaron is to oversee everyone’s work and make sure everything is ready to be transported before the Kohath’s come in because if they see the holy things, they will die. Pretty sure – they don’t want their pretty things to get stolen.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing (Numbers 4:19)

Exodus 40: It all comes together

Synopsis:

Moses sets up the tabernacle, altar and everything else God had asked for. Aaron is washed and dressed. He and Aaron and Aaron’s sons go into the tabernacle and cleanse themselves again.  Once everything is set up as per God’s wishes, A cloud descends on the tabernacle. Moses is not allowed to go in when that happens. When the cloud is not there, the Israelites can go on their journey. When the cloud is in the tabernacle they have to stay put until the cloud is lifted.

In other words:

The tabernacle is finished and is set up.

What’s interesting:

(Exodus 40:34-38) The whole cloud covering the tabernacle thing is really interesting. Presumably, when God was present, they had to stay and tend to Him. When he wasn’t about, they were free to continue on their journey. This state of affairs apparently lasts throughout their entire journey.

Favorite bit:

(Exodus 40:33) So Moses finished the work.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Be organized, everything has a place (Exodus 40)

Genesis 4: Brother Against Brother

Synopsis:

Adam and Eve have 2 sons, Cain and Abel. Cain is a farmer, Abel is a herder.  They brought offerings of their work to God, God liked the smell of burnt meat a lot but he didn’t like what Cain offered Him at all.  God doesn’t understand why his rejection of Cain’s offering has upset Cain so much. After all if you do well, you do well, if you don’t you don’t. Cain is so upset and jealous, he kills Abel. God asks Cain where his brother is, Cain says he has no idea. God gets mad, says you killed him!  You are now a fugitive and your efforts to till the soil will reap nothing!  Cain says ok, but this is more than I can bear being banished is bad enough, but other people are going to try to kill me when they find out I’m a murderer. So God prohibits anyone else from killing Cain. Cain goes with his wife to Nod and they have a son and they have sons and eventually we get to a son named Lamech who has two wives, they bear him sons and daughters and he apparently kills someone and is afraid that he is cursed 70 times over. Adam and Eve have another child named Seth, Seth has a child named Enos.

In other words:

Lots of babies are born, they have babies, another murder is committed and Adam and Eve have yet another child as well.

Favorite bit:

That Cain is able to talk God out of the worst of his punishment and is able to go on and live a prosperous life and have lots of offspring.

Most confusing bit:

That yet another murder occurs, but god doesn’t intervene this time. We aren’t even given the name of the person killed.

Most interesting bit:

(Genesis 4: 20-23) The specific jobs held by the sons and daughters of Lamech. One is a cattle herder who lives in a tent, another is a harpist,  and yet another works brass and iron.

Moral Lesson:

Killing to revenge a killing is wrong (Genesis 4: 15)

Being merciful to people who have committed crimes is good. (Genesis 4: 15)

Genesis 5: The Adam Family

Synopsis:

Adam begat Seth and Seth begat Enos, Enos begat Cainan, Cainan begat Mahaleleel, Mahalaleel begat Jared, Jared begat Enoch, Enoch begat Methuselah, Methuselah begat Lamech, Lamech begat Noah.  They mostly all lived to be 900 something years old and had lots of other children besides the ones named here before they die. The exception is Enoch, who doesn’t die, but who simply “was not; for God took him.”

In other words:

We are given the lineage of Adam up to Noah.

What is confusing:

This seems to be the same lineage of Cain, but we are told it is the lineage that goes through Seth, not Cain. Methinks that someone got this messed up somewhere along the way.

Favorite bit:

Genesis 5: 22-24 – This is Enoch’s story. He is the only one who walked with God after begetting his first son  and he only lives 365 years before he is taken by God. Again, all the other guys die of old age. He is simply taken by God. Not exactly sure what is meant by that, but clearly, he didn’t die of old age like the rest of them.

Most interesting bit:

Genesis 5: 29 – apparently the ground near where they were living wasn’t very fertile because it is pointed out that God had cursed the ground.

Moral Lesson:

Know your family tree (Genesis 5)

Genesis 6: The Sons of God like human women, and God likes Noah

Synopsis:

Humans start to thrive. The sons of God find that they like human women and have children with them. These children were mighty men. There were also giants around in those days. But God got to thinking that men were wicked and evil and he was sad. So he decided to destroy man and beast and all manner of things that creep.  But it turns out that God did like Noah, so he tells him to make an ark and put enough food in it for everyone. You and your family will be spared from the destruction.

In other words:

God’s sons had sex with women, men got violent and evil, there were giants and God decides to destroy everything except for Noah, his family and the animals Noah is able to save.

Favorite bit:

That the sons of God had demigods with the women of earth and these offspring were great and mighty. (Genesis 6: 4)

Most Random bit:

Also Genesis 6:4 -There were giants in the earth in those days. They don’t have anything to do with this chapter, it’s just a random statement. They aren’t apparently related to the sons of God or anything, just something the author thought  we should know.

Biggest Question

What is gopher wood?  Why does the ark need to be built out of gopher wood? (Genesis 6: 14)

Most annoying bit:

We aren’t told what humans have done that is so bad. Seems to me that if you are going to condemn the entirety of humanity we should be told what our specific crimes were. What does being evil mean? Was there a specific incident that caused God to feel this way or was it just a hormonal mood swing?

Moral Lesson:

Gopher wood is apparently great for boat building. (Genesis 6:14)

Don’t destroy everything you’ve created even if you grow bored or annoyed by it. Be sure to save some of it in case you change your mind. (Genesis 6:18)

Genesis 7: That’s a lot of water

Synopsis:

Noah and his family and all the animals enter the ark. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights.  15 cubits upward the water rose, every living substance that wasn’t upon the ark was destroyed. The water remained on the face of the earth for a total of 150 days.

In other words:

It rained a lot, Noah, his family and a bunch of animals survived this flood on the ark.

Favorite bit:

That the animals don’t come two by two. Clean beasts, whatever they are, came in sevens. Unclean beasts are two by two. (Genesis 7: 2) Birds got to come on by sevens too(Genesis 7: 3)

Random bit of useless information:

Noah was 600 years, two months and 17 days old when this happened.  (Genesis 7:11)

Most annoying bit:

Aside from the death and destruction, I’d have to say (Genesis 7:24), while the rains stopped after 40 days, they still had another 150 days in the ark on the water. That’s like nearly half a year. It’s a long time to be cooped up in an ark with a bunch of animals.

Moral Lesson:

Be prepared for disaster, make sure you have enough food for everyone because it can be a while. (Genesis 7:24)

Genesis 9: Oh look, a rainbow!

Synopsis:

God tells Noah and his sons to go forth and repopulate the earth with all the animals they have. To prove to them and to himself that he won’t destroy earth again, he promises to put his bow into the sky so that whenever it rains, he will be reminded to make it stop so that it doesn’t flood again.  In the meantime, Noah becomes a grape grower, gets drunk on wine and falls asleep naked. His son Ham sees him naked, tells the others who put a cloak over his sleeping body. When he wakes up he realizes that his son saw him naked and curses his son Ham’s son Canaan to be a servant to the others. Noah dies at the ripe old age of 950.

In other words:

God promises to not allow it to rain until if floods and to remind himself, he puts his bow in the sky. Noah is caught naked and drunk and takes his anger out on the son of the son who found him naked.

Favorite bit:

(Genesis 9: 13-15) I love that God can’t remember his promise to not kill everyone unless he has some physical reminder, like a rainbow to remind him not to allow the earth to be destroyed again.

Most annoying bit:

(Genesis 9: 22) Seriously – what is the problem with sleeping naked? It’s not like he was walking around with his schlong hanging out. He was sleeping.  Why is that such a big deal.

Moral Lessons:

• Don’t drink too much and pass out naked (Genesis 9:22)
• Always remember your promises (Genesis 9: 12)
• Respect people’s privacy (Genesis 9: 23) 

Genesis 10: Go forth and multiply

Synopsis:

This is a listing of the families and their families and how they spread out and became separate peoples across the area. It chronicles the creation of several kingdoms like the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Philistims, the Girgasites and so forth. Of interest is Nimrod, who is the son of Cush, who was the son of Ham who was a mighty hunter. He founded the kingdom of Babel.

In other words:

The children of Noah spread out and became several nations upon the earth. One of these was Babel led by Nimrod.

Favorite bit:

There are a lot of famous cities founded by the children of Noah’s children. Nineveh, Canaan, Gaza, Sodom and Gomorrah as well as a bunch of places no one has ever heard of. 

Most confusing bits:

The world a) seems to be limited to a very small section of what we now know of as the middle east. b) we are told in Genesis 10: 31 that these are the nations that all had their own tongues. And the reason this is confusing is because in the next chapter, we are told they all spoke the same language. c) who were the gentiles? I thought everyone had been destroyed. Is one group of the family of Noah gentile? That doesn’t seem fair.

Moral Lesson:

Everyone is related, we are all one human family (Genesis 10)

Genesis 11: It’s all Babel to me

Synopsis:

People decide to build a tower to heaven using bricks. God comes down, takes one look and says, no, this will not do. If we allow them to continue, there will be nothing they can’t do.  So God scatters the people all over the earth and makes them speak different languages so they can’t collaborate anymore. In the meantime, we are told Shem’s family lineage leading to Abram. They decided to settle in Canaan.

In other words:

God is apparently threatened by humans becoming technically advanced, so he puts a stop to it. And for some reason, this is related to Abram’s family lineage from Shem, who was one of Noah’s sons.

Most annoying bit:

That god was concerned that humans would be able to accomplish anything they imagined. Talk about insecure. (Genesis 11: 6)

Favorite bit:

(Genesis 11: 5) That the Lord had to come down to see the city and the tower that was being built in person for Himself. I know I shouldn’t take joy in the idea that this God isn’t omniscient, but I do.

Moral Lesson:

Don’t let a petty person get between you and your dreams. (Genesis 11:1-8)

Genesis 12: You can't trust an Egyptian with a pretty lady

Synopsis:

Abram, Lot and their families are told by God to leave and go to a place where God will show them. This land is Canaan. So they get all their stuff together and leave their father and go to Canaan.  The problem is that the Canaanites are there, so Abram builds an altar and God appears and says, don’t worry, I will give this land to your offspring.  Abram continues on his journey south, but there is a famine there, so they decide to go to Egypt. The problem is that Abram’s wife is really pretty and he doesn’t want to be killed because another man wants her, so he tells his wife to tell people he is her brother so he won’t be killed. The Pharaoh does indeed fall for her and takes her into his house. Pharaoh is nice to Abram on account of the wife. The problem is that God isn’t happy and plagues the Pharaoh. Pharaoh finds out it is because the wife was Abram's and he wants to know why they lied, and he then sends them out of Egypt.

In other words:

God sends Abram and his family to Canaan to live, but they can’t live there, so God promises to give it to his sons someday, but for now, to escape a famine, they go to Egypt, where Abram’s wife is taken as a consort of the pharaoh with Abram’s permission. This upsets God who plagues Pharaoh until he sends Abram, his wife and their family out of Egypt.

I can’t help but think:

That all this stuff about talking to God is a hallucination because it would explain why they keep being promised stuff that God doesn’t deliver on. If it is a hallucination, this would make some sense. (Genesis 12: 7)

Favorite bit:

Genesis 12: 17 The lord plagues Pharaoh for taking a pretty woman as his wife, even though that is Abram’s fault.

Biggest unanswered question:

Where did Egypt come from? We were told in a  previous chapter that all of humanity had been wiped out and given lineages of every country on the earth from Noah. But Egypt wasn’t included. Where did Egypt come from then? Hmmmm? (Ancient Aliens maybe?)

Moral Lessons:

• Just because someone says something is ok, doesn’t mean it really is. (Genesis 12: 17)
• Make sure the woman you are taking as a wife isn’t married already. (Genesis 12: 19)

Genesis 13: Going our Separate Ways

Synopsis:

Abram leaves Egypt a wealthy man, and takes with him his wife and his brother Lot and his family. They go back to Bethel the problem is that the land won’t support them all.  So Abram and his brother agree to part ways – Lot goes towards Sodom and Abram goes to the plain of Mamre (modern Hebron).  There he builds an altar.

In other words:

Abram and his brother Lot leave Egypt, and go their separate ways.

Favorite bit:

Sodom and Gomorrah were apparently quite nice before God destroyed them (Genesis 13:10)

Moral Lesson:

Don’t fight over land and resources (Genesis 13:8,9)

Genesis 14: Abram saves Lot

Synopsis:

The kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were at war with several other kingdoms.  A major battle of this war was held at the Vale of Siddim, but the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated at this battle. The kings fled and all their people and goods were taken by the victors.  Abram is told of this and he arms his servants and goes to get his brother Lot back along with all his goods and women as well as all the other people who had been taken as well. The king of Sodom goes to Abram and asks for his people back, Abram says ok – he doesn’t want to be accused to taking that which isn’t his.

In other words:

Lot is taken prisoner in a war, Abram rescues him.

Favorite bit:

Abram, with 318 servants manage to defeat the armies that defeated the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s pretty cool.  (Genesis 14:14,15)

Moral Lesson Learned:

Don’t be greedy (Genesis 14: 23)

Genesis 15: I have a dream

Synopsis:

Abram complains to God that he is childless and has no heir. God tells him, don’t worry,  you shall have an heir of your own. Bring me a 3 year old cow, a 3 year old goat, a 3 year old ram and a turtledove and a pigeon. Abram does this and has a dream where he learns that his offspring will be slaves for 400 years, but don’t worry – it will all work out ok and I’ll give your offspring all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates.

In other words:

Abram has a dream where God promises to give him a huge empire, but that this will only happen after his offspring have been mistreated for 400 years.

Favorite bit:

The very specific nature of the offering God requests – 3 yr old sheep, goat and cow as well as two birds.  (Genesis 15:9)

Least favorite bit:

I didn’t like the part of the dream where God tells Abram that his offspring are going to suffer, basically because “The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” This may have made sense to the people who were originally told this story – but honestly, I have no idea what the Amorites have to do with the children of Israel being forced to endure hardship in Egypt. (Genesis 15: 13, 16)

Moral Lesson Learned:

Things don’t always make sense (Genesis 15: 16)

Genesis: 16: Abram has a son, his wife isn’t happy

Synopsis:

Abram’s wife Sarai is barren so she has her handmaid, an Egyptian named Hagar sleep with him. Hagar gets pregnant. Hagar starts to despise Sarai. Sarai asks Abram to deal with it. Abram says no, you deal with it she is your servant.  So Sarai does. Hagar is upset and leaves.  An angel finds Hagar weeping near a fountain and tells her to go back and endure the hardship because your son needs to live among his brethren. Hagar goes back and has the son who is named Ishmael. Abram is now 86.

In other words:

Abram’s wife Sarai can’t get pregnant so she offers up her maid servant, who promptly gets pregnant.

Least Favorite bit:

Sarai and Abram arguing about who is going to deal with Hagar who is upset and not dealing with being pregnant too well. (Genesis 16: 4-6)

Most Confusing Bit:

Genesis 16:12 – An angel tells Hagar her son will be a wild man and no one will like him and he won’t like anyone, but he still needs to be brought up in this house. Why exactly?

Moral Lesson Learned:

Pregnant women can get moody. Deal with it (Genesis 16:4)

Genesis 17: God and Abram make a covenant

Synopsis:

God comes to Abram, tells him to change his name to Abraham and to change his wife’s name to Sarah and that if he circumcises all the men in his house, he will bring great wealth to his family. Ishmael shall have 12 princes as sons and Abraham’s wife shall finally bear him a son who shall be named Isaac and God plans to continue his covenant with Isaac. So, Abram (now Abraham) circumcises himself, Ishmael and everyone other male in the household.

In other words:

God tells Abram to change his name to Abraham and that if he will circumcise all the men in his house, he will be blessed.

What I think really happened:

Abram/Abraham seems to be schizophrenic and hearing voices and seeing people. because the nature of his interactions with “God” are really weird. Seriously, what kind of God requires the cutting of thousands of penises in order to make a deal. It seems more like a joke than a real deal.  (Genesis 17:10)

On the other hand:

Everything we are told that God will do does indeed happen and Abraham and his family and his offspring thrive for quite a while. (Next few chapters)

Favorite bit:

I think it is really funny that that is the price of the covenant, circumcision. Again, seems so random and bizarre.  (Genesis 17:10)

Most interesting bit:

God is very specific about his relationships. It’s not with everyone, just certain people who are descendant from his original two playthings Adam and Eve.  Everyone else, he’s not that interested in and even then, only certain people in the lineage are considered interesting enough for him to bother with.

Moral Lesson Learned:

Crazy people are capable of doing some really strange things (Genesis 17:24-27)

Genesis 18: Abram tries to convince God not to destroy Sodom

Synopsis:

God and two other people show up at Abraham’s tent. Abraham offers them a feast and orders Sarah to prepare it.  God promises to make Sarah a mother. Sarah laughs at this. God then tells Abraham he plans to destory Sodom and Gomorroah. Abraham asks God to have mercy and starts bargaining with him. God agrees to the bargain, if he can find just 10 good people there, he will not destroy the city.

In other words:

God sees Abraham and his wife on his way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Favorite bit:

The haggling that takes up Genesis 18:23-32. Perchance, if you won’t destroy it if you find 50 people, will you be so lenient if you find 45? Abraham negotiates the final number down to 10.  It doesn’t help, but it’s fun to think of Abraham negotiating with God in this way.

Moral Lesson Learned:

It’s important to know how to negotiate well. (Genesis 18:23-32)

Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed

Synopsis:

Two angels arrive in Sodom. They meet Lot at the gate. Lot encourages them to come into his house to eat and sleep, which they do.  For some reason, the men of Sodom come to the house demanding the angels be brought forth so they can be raped.  Lot refuses and offers up his two virgin daughters instead.  The men of Sodom refuse the offer of the virgin girls and again demanded the two angels.  They start  to advance on Lot but the two angels pull him back into the house and blind the men outside.  The angels then tell Lot to take his sons and daughters and to leave because they plan to destroy the city of Sodom.  Lot tries to tell his son in laws to take his daughters away, but they think he is crazy. In the morning Lot takes his wife and his two daughters with him and the angels transport them all outside of the city and tell them to go to the mountain as there they will be safe. Lot asks if he can go to the city of Zoar instead, the angels agree. But as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are being destroyed with brimstone and fire, Lot’s wife looks back at the carnage and becomes a pillar of salt. Lot left Zoar and went up to the mountains to live in a cave. His daughters, despairing of ever having a man, get their father drunk and have sex with him so that they can get pregnant and carry on his seed. One child is Moab and becomes the father of the Moabites. The other is Benammi and is the father of the Ammonites.

In other words:

Two angels head to Sodom and if it weren’t for the good will of Lot, they would have been raped. The angels transport Lot and his daughter and wife away, but his wife is turned into a pillar of salt for looking back at the destruction of the cities of Sodom and  His daughters get him drunk and have babies with him.

The big unanswered question:

The story of the men of Sodom wanting to rape the angels is really strange. I mean, who looks at an angel and thinks – yup – I want to rape that? Perhaps angel is a metaphor for an effeminate person?  Could they perhaps be gay men? That would make a lot more sense.

Also – is it possible that Lot was  crazy? After all, his son in laws certainly thought he was and didn’t heed his warning to take his daughters away to safety. On the other hand, the “angels” certainly destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  Perhaps they set fire to the place? 

Favorite bit:

Genesis 19:16 – it appears that the “angels” teleport Lot and his wife and his daughters outside of the city simply by laying hands on them. So perhaps, something supernatural happens after all. Or, the ancient alien theorists are right and these are aliens with advanced teleporting technology.

What I think really happened:

Lot has schizophrenia and the angels were hallucinations as was the mob - this would explain why his sons, living in his house witnessed none of this and thought the old man was crazy. I think he went on a rampage, set fire to the town, somehow his wife was killed and he took his daughters away and didn't come to his senses until he was on the road out of town, which is why it seemed he was teleported by the angels.

Moral Lesson learned:

The moral lessons learned in this chapter are really not all that great.

1)      Raping men is bad  (Genesis 19:7)

It’s unfortunate that this is very specific to men and that raping women is apparently ok. As a woman, I’m not entirely happy with this lesson.

2)      A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do (Genesis 19:31)

Again – not happy with this because of the incestuous way they have their children. But then, the Lot family line is clearly not of concern to God so I suppose it doesn’t matter.  (still – ugh)