Part of a community

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto 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 seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.”

Lot was now so isolated that his daughters despaired of any future at all. They were concerned that they would never have any children and they were afraid to have any contact with other people. It is easy for people to feel desperate when they suffer from a severe crisis in hope. These girls were suffering this severe crisis in hope and they acted out of this desperation. However, there were serious consequences to the choices that they made. Even though Lot was innocent in this event, he still had to suffer the consequences of the choices that other people had made and they affected him. However, the descendants of these two children became the sworn enemies of Israel as the years went by. It is important for each one of us to remember that we will suffer consequences when we make choices. We may say that we haven’t chosen those consequences but the truth is that we have chosen them even though we didn’t think about them at the time. The other sad issue is that we may make choices but others may suffer the consequences, even those whom we love. A good example of this is Caleb: he wanted to go into the Land but had to wait for forty years in the Wilderness because the others didn’t want to go in. We are all part of a community and our choices can affect the whole of our community.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)