Have you ever said something along the lines of, “I’d never do anything like that, no matter what!” Probably we all have, and while it’s great to have such a confident resolve, we need to be humble and aware of the possibility of our weaknesses. If we aren’t careful, we can take our eyes off of God and allow our circumstances to govern our choices.
Allow me to illustrate. Do you remember Lot’s daughters who escaped the doomed city of Sodom? Probably what most people remember about them is that after they escaped Sodom, they found themselves in a troublesome circumstance. They thought that because they had left the city, and were dwelling in the mountains they’d never find a husband, and consequently never have children (Genesis 19:30-36). Their circumstances caused them to devise and carry out an ungodly plan involving fornication, namely incest with their father.
But here’s what I don’t want you to miss. These daughters of Lot were virgins. Do you remember that Lot offered his “virgin daughters” to the men of Sodom (Genesis 19:8). From the description we are given of Sodom, I’m forced to ask, “How do you remain a virgin in a city like Sodom?” To the credit of these two women, they lived in a city given over to debauchery, and yet they weren’t influenced by their culture. They had somehow managed to keep themselves pure. No doubt, this was a struggle for them. Surely opportunities abounded, but they chose the path of purity.
But how could two women with the resolve to remain sexually pure in a sexually immoral city such as Sodom, commit such a depraved sexual act with their own father? The answer is that they experienced a change in their circumstances. They took their eyes off God, and began looking at their circumstances. It was at that point, that a life-long commitment and sacrifice was thrown to the wind and forfeited.
Now here’s my point. Don’t think that the circumstances of life cannot affect your decision to serve God. Grant it, they shouldn’t, but they sometimes do. Therefore, we need reminders from time to time from people like Lot’s daughters, the denials of the apostle Peter, and others so that we will keep our focus on God and remember that the battle isn’t over yet. There’s still more fighting to do.
That is a good article!
Recently here at Clinton we studied Lot and made the point that despite living in Sodom he did not become calloused to the culture: he was tormented every day by the wickedness around him. I hadn’t made the connection that his daughters had some admirable resolve of their own.
Thank you for pointing it out!
I had never connected the two thoughts together. I had always lumped the daughters together with the mother. We put the Mom in the category of a wistfull and potentially faithless desire for the sin that they were escaping, and it might seem natural to think that the daughters only did what you would expect of a family from Sodom. But such is not really the case now is it. What an amazing insight.
This is a fine example of how the Scriptures never cease to deliver new insight even after years of study. Thank you Steve.
I lament the fact that I often look at people according to their grave mistakes. It’s certainly horrible what Lot’s daughters decided to do, but I never once thought to make the connection that they had kept themselves pure while at that disgusting city. I know its not the main point you were saying in the article, but I realize better that I need to look at the good in people despite what bad they may be known for. Thanks!