So they made their father [Lot] drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day. Genesis 19:35-38 ESV
Put yourself in the place of just one of Lot’s daughters. You’ve been displaced from your home. Your husbands are dead. Your mother is dead. All that is left are you and your sister, along with your father, but he is old. He is not likely to re-marry and your entire future depends on having children who will care for you, sons who will carry on your family name. What do you do?
They did not throw all their hopes on God and seek Him for a solution. (Their father hadn’t done that by example either.) They took matters into their own hands, got their father drunk, and each slept with him to conceive their solution.
One gave birth to the father of the Moabites and the other, the father of the Ammonites. What a future they bred through unholy sexual unions. Both peoples would be cruel to Abraham’s descendants. Both peoples would worship famous idols; Baal and Peor. Children would be sacrificed at their altars. Yet, these two young women never saw into the future to understand the power of their choices. For them, it was an immediate relief from a seemingly impossible situation. From their limited viewpoint, their plan had been successful. They both held sons in their arms.
Long-term outcomes are the problem when I take matters into my own hands. I cannot see down the road either. My own ingenuity can appear to have worked. I might even thank God for it. (Can you imagine how He cringes?) What I don’t know are the long-term effects of what I forced to make happen.
I remember three things today.
- Desperation should drive me to God, not to earth-bound saviors.
- Desperation can never be a valid excuse for doing my own thing.
- Desperation always impairs perspectives and sound judgements.
When times are the toughest, I don’t move. I look up. I wait on You. Amen
christinewyrtzen.com 
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