His Plan

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HIS PLAN

Gen 19:30-38

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father." 33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

NIV

This is a difficult story to comprehend; the reason for this strange happening. We can understand why Lot's two daughters would want to have a family, but lying with their father does not seem right. However, the outcome has lasted for many years, as their sons became the start of the Moabites and Ammonites. Both these nations had a complex relationship with Israel. The Moabites refused Israel passage through this land during the Exodus. They even attempted to curse Israel through their god Balaam, but it is also interesting that it was a Moabite woman who became the great-grandmother of King David. Still, we do not understand how Lot would have been so drunk that he did not know he was lying with his daughters, yet we are told he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up. However, he had to be physically aware for his daughters to conceive sons. Then we wonder, what Lot must have thought when he became aware that both his daughters were pregnant, and he was the only man in the cave. Can life just happen without our awareness? Do situations happen in our lives that we are not aware of or understand? Because Lot was Abraham's nephew, and of his actions toward the two angels, we would believe that Lot understood who God was and had some kind of relationship with him. He was with Abrahamin Haran when God called Abraham to go to the land of Canaan. He was with Abraham when he built an altar and worshipped the LORD. Yet, now he had to realize he had sex with his daughters. It might have been acceptable in those days, but if his daughters had to deceive their father by getting him drunk, then it would not have been right. Hopefully, as we are in a relationship with the Lord God Almighty, we do not want to do that, which is unacceptable. Yet life happens, but God is sovereign, and what happens in our lives aligns with his design, plan, and purpose for us. Could we say that about the two sons being the fathers of the Moabites and Ammonites? Was that God's plan all along so that Ruth, a Moabite woman, would marry Boaz, through that line would come King David, whose line would come the Messiah? Sometimes we just have to understand that God is in control, and his plan will always be accomplished; so if something seems strange or difficult to understand at the moment, we simply need to seek the Lord for understanding his plan.