Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come into us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” (19:30 -32)
We need to remember that in that time and in that culture, having children was very, very, very important. Not having offspring was a fate no woman wanted. And yet, Lot’s daughters didn’t see how they could have children in their situation. So, they got “creative” and made their father drunk on two consecutive nights, and each slept with him, got pregnant by him, and each bore a son.
Lot’s daughters obviously knew that having sex with their father was not okay – hence the plot to get him drunk. But their desire/need for offspring superseded their sense of what they would have known to be immoral…wrong. What’s more, the descendants of their two sons were the forefathers of the Moabites and Ammonites, both people groups who were enemies of Israel.
If these two young ladies had gone to God with their heartache, their worry, their problem, and not taken matters into their own hands and done what they knew to be wrong, it certainly would have saved Israel many problems!
How often do we have a problem and forget to consult God and ask Him for His solution, even to the point of doing something we know deep down is wrong, but we brush those thoughts away, in pursuit of our solution? I have been close to situations where a group that was trying to bring about something ungodly used ungodly methods and some godly people want to use the same methods in order to bring about a good outcome. We would do well to remember that the ends don’t justify the means.
We need to realize that God is trustworthy, and His ways are the only ways we should walk in.
Prayer: O God! Keep me from justifying wrong actions in pursuit of a desired end. When I have a problem, big or small, may I bring it to You and wait for Your solution. Amen! (Ask God about any current problems in your life.)
