v.31 Lot's daughters began reasoning "there is not a man in the land to come to us after the manner of the earth". They start with a false assumption and build on that assumption.
Have you ever done this? When you start with a false assumption, you will always come to a false conclusion, as they did. Again, we see Lot's failure as a father as he never taught his daughters to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding".
Now, living on the mountain, they could have said "there is not a man in the land to come to us" and that may have been true, in their present circumstance however, they added "after the manner of the earth". Here we see that they have lived in the land of sin, a place of seeking one's own desires. It is the heart's desire of every woman to find a husband. They wanted to go after a husband and not wait on God for Him to bring it about. Remember, it was God's direction that they flee to this place.
The custom of the time was for the father to initiate the courtship. This man had not taught his daughters the traditions of his forefathers but he allowed them to observe "the manner of the earth" or the 'ways of the world'. They, therefore, wanted to find their own husband.
The daughters thought this was the right way. They learned this 'dating technique' by watching the people of Sodom. Lot should have sat with them and observed the people of Sodom, their actions and behaviors and helped them interpret these actions. It is one thing to allow our children to watch the ways of the world but totally different to sit with them and help them interpret these ways. If they look upon the world from their own perspective, they will misinterpret what they see and begin to emulate it. If they look at it with a wise person to help them understand people's behaviors and the consequences of their actions, only then will they see it as a warning and lesson in life.
This is one of the problems with youth today. They play and associate unsupervised with their peers. They have no way of processing what they observe so they model their own ways after the dress, speech and behaviors of their peers. As a parent supervises the child and helps them process what they observe and hear from the wise perspective of the parent, then the child can judge right from wrong and model their own behavior after that which is right.
Taking matters into their own hands 'after the ways of the earth'; they get their father drunk and lay with him. Not only did they follow the tradition of the world but also of their father.
Didn't Lot wonder, "Where did these babies came from"? Yes, he did for there were no other men on the mountain. But, continuing with his dysfunction, he did not bring to light the sin but rather ignored it and went on as though it never happened. Isn't this the sign of a dysfunctional family today, they see and ignore? And, was it so 'common place' for him to get drunk that he allowed his daughters to get him drunk two nights in a row?
As to the abuse of alcohol, compare what happened to Lot with what happened to Noah after each got drunk. There was a situation of sensuality. It happened with their children. It encompassed the entire family. It had far reaching results for generations. The curse of the act was that the generations of the offenders were always at odds with God's people, bringing worldliness to God's people and death.
The act of drunkenness was by the father but the result was a lack of protection for the children. Finally, it was the last we hear of the men of God. Even though Noah lived several hundred years more. That was the last of his "ministry".
Next, the children they bore and the conclusion of Lot's life.
Two men were born of this iniquity. It is of interest that neither were girls and both were the forefathers of great tribes of people, the Moabites and the Ammonites. These were men who lacked hospitality an important characteristic both to men and God and men who hired Balaam to curse the people of God Deut. 23.
We often don't see the far-reaching effects of our iniquity and in this case, it took generations to be revealed.
The only other time Lot is mentioned is in 2 Pet. 2:7 where he is described as "righteous Lot". At first, it does not appear from the O.T. account that this was God's feeling about Lot because of the way that he is portrayed in the Scripture. However, this is consistent with the curse on Sodom. God said He would withhold judgement if He could find 10 righteous men. There were only six found, three of who fell with the judgment, Lot's wife and the two men promised to his daughters.
"Now these things happened as examples for us" and "what was written in earlier times was written for our instruction". *
This "righteous man" is a type of worldly believer. He lives a life of leisure, identifies with those who are "exceedingly wicked", jokes to the point he is not believed, and is responsible for the death of others. He fails to train his children, which results in a curse for the people of God.
How do you want to be characterized?
A Joker, a Christian who "identifies" with the world, a person whose friends and family don't seek him out for counsel, one who never teaches his children in the ways of the Lord or one whose life long accomplishments and treasures are destroyed in an instant.
*1 Cor. 10:6 and Rom. 15:4
