A True Type of Every Believer
Did any of Lot’s descendants figure in the lineage of Jesus? Now we are advancing from an assurance that Lot was appointed to travel with Abram to a view of him as integral to the coming of Christ.
We know that after Lot escaped Sodom’s fate with his family, he and his daughters migrated to a mountain where they lived in a cave. There, both daughters became pregnant by their father, bearing sons whom they named Moab and Ammon.
Surely, no one from such shameful origins could enter the line of Christ, could they? Yes, and they did. In the first chapter of Matthew we find: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”… Verse 5 states, “Salmon the father of Boaz whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed, the father of Jesse...”
Ruth was a Moabitess as we know from the Bible Book named for her. She married into the tribe of Judah and became the mother of King David’s grandfather.
Continuing with verses 6 and 7 of Matthew 1, “and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam…” It is not mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy, but to find out who Rehoboam’s mother was, we can look in I Kings 14:21: “His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.” This fact is confirmed in 14:31, “His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.” Thus, both Moab and Ammon are included in Christ’s ancestry.
Some scholars have suggested that the lineage of Christ set forth in Matthew is that of Joseph’s family, while Luke’s traces Mary’s ancestors. In Luke’s genealogy, Boaz is included but not Rehoboam. Instead Jesus’ line is traced from David through his son Nathan.
These are significant links, but Lot’s claim to fame in Scripture is not for his place, through his line, in the ancestry of Jesus. Rather, he is best known for escaping Sodom’s incineration. Also, he is not well known for having been rescued from slavery by Abraham though that is a key element in his story.
Considering his deliverance from slavery which preceded his escape from Sodom, we must see him as a true type of every believer, for each of us is delivered from bondage to sin when we first believe, then, ultimately, we are kept safe from the flames of hell.