What we can learn from Lot’s daughters

The final epic in the saga of Lot ends with him and his daughters in a cave, having fled the city of Zoar just prior to God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their confederates.

Though his wife initially fled with them, we find Lot and his daughters now alone, she having been turned into a pillar of salt for her disobedience in looking back as they fled. The seriousness of their isolation setting in, the question that now arises in the minds of his daughters turns to the future is where do we go from here?

In the verses that follow, we find them causing Lot to drink wine to the point of intoxication and then conceiving child by him, the elder daughter on the first night and the younger daughter on the second, all without his notice. And why do they do this? Because they conclude in Genesis 19:31 that “there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth.”

What are they really saying? Is it not clear to all that they have become so hopelessly isolated in their minds that they cannot conceive the idea that there was possibly a man left with whom they could get married and so continue on the chain of life? While it is clear they are not necessarily blaming their father, they are acutely aware of their isolation, and in reaching their conclusion they leave God out of the equation and make a bad decision.

My friends, many young people today find themselves in similar situations, particularly Christian young people. They look at the decisions their parents have made and they look where they are as a result, and they come to the conclusion that unless they make something happen, mom and dad will probably die before Mr. Right or Miss Right comes along. While their thoughts may not lean toward incest, as here, you don’t have to contemplate incest to make the wrong decision.

Consider what they could have done.

First of all, instead of drunkenness and intimacy, they could have sat down with their father and honestly discussed their concerns with him. Although members of today’s generation demands to be their own people and make their own decisions, their track record at making these decisions is dismal. While they seem more than willing to blame their parents for how they’ve turned out, when it comes to marriage, many a parent takes a little comfort in being able to say, “At least that’s one thing they cannot blame me for.”

Secondly, while it was clear God had destroyed Sodom, it should have been equally clear God had not destroyed the earth, and that somewhere beyond their mountain was the place where their great uncle Abraham dwelt. Why Lot had not chosen to go there soon after their departure is not clear. Perhaps it was in how they parted company; perhaps it was due to embarrassment. But it was not beyond the realm of suggestion. The same man who 40 years later would send for a bride for his son could certainly do similarly for other kin.

While space doesn’t permit an intricate discussion here, the application for Christian young people is to marry your own kind, and while the New Testament specifies “in the Lord,” it ought to be plain that today it would translate to “in the denomination,” such has been the havoc wreaked by the multiplicity of denominations today.

Lastly, instead of acting on their own, they could have asked God to bring the right one their way. What greater demonstration of his love could God have given them than that of bringing them out of Sodom? Rather than saying, “There are no men left,” they could have said, “The God who spared us certainly will provide for us.”

Young people, before succumbing to such pessimism, you need to understand that God is interested in you and your future. For most of you, that means your marriages as well. God not only created us as we are, but his institution of marriage is for the purpose of perpetuating godliness. In short, God has someone for you and he is fully capable of bringing him or her along at just the right time.

What do you suppose would be the reaction if God had indeed sent a couple of young men who had heard of Lot’s demise and that his daughters were still available, who upon reaching them six months later discovered them in a motherly way? Maybe they would say, “Hmm, looks like we’ve come all this way for nothing.”

One bad decision could last a long, long time.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.

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