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 give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep 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 slept 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 slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep 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 in and slept 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[g]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[h]; he is the father of the Ammonites[i] of today.
So here are the million dollar questions: What is the moral of this story? What are we supposed to learn? That it was okay for Lot's daughters to rape him and get impregnated by him? They certainly didn't get punished for their actions by either God or man. And what of the offspring of these incestuous happenings (males of course, this is the Bible after all. Wouldn't want anybody to think that people actually gave birth to daughters)? Were they genetic freaks, drooling and babbling like we know they do today? But the story indicates they went on to become the fathers of whole nations. The daughters clearly knew what they were doing was wrong, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to get Lot drunk to the point of not knowing what was going on. Is the story saying that the ends justify the means? That preserving the family line through Lot was more important than doing so many abominable things in one fell swoop?
