Just Because Everyone Is Doing It ...... Series

Anyone know what the Moabites or Ammonites were?

No, they are not like termites!

The Moabites and the Ammonites were descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Were the Moabites and the Ammonites friends or enemies of Israel??

Here’s how the Bible describes them:

The Moabites are described as:

a. Proud and arrogant. Isa 16:6; Jer 48:29.

b. Idolatrous. 1Ki 11:7.

c. Superstitious. Jer 27:3,9.

d. Rich and confident. Jer 48:7.

e. Prosperous and at ease. Jer 48:11.

f. Mighty men of war. Jer 48:14.

The Ammonites are characterized as:

a. Cruel and covetous. Am 1:13.

b. Proud and reproachful. Zep 2:10.

c. Vindictive. Eze 25:3,6.

d. Fond of ornaments. 2Ch 20:25.

e. Idolatrous. Jdj 10:6; 1Ki 11:7,33; 2Ki 23:13.

f. Superstitious. Jer 27:3,9.

God tells us in Deutoronomy 23:3-4, No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

Our story today tells us how it all began with the Moabites and Ammonites. Open your Bibles to Genesis 19, page…

Before we read, let us pray together our commitment to the Word of God…………Let us read Genesis 19:16-38.

Troubles came with the Moabites and the Ammonites. These troubles started from the very beginning, didn’t they? What did Lot and his daughters do wrong??

V16, Lot hesitated to what God was telling him to do.

V18-20, Lot didn’t obey God and asked for relief instead.

V30, Lot and daughters decided to live in a cave; why??

• they were afraid, afraid of what?

• afraid of God (fire and brimstone from heaven again?)

V31-32, Daughters schemed to “preserve the family line”.

Shouldn’t they have counseled with God?

Daughters got their father drunk!!!

The daughters knew that they could lead their father to sin if they got him drunk. In other words, the daughters led their father to sin! We’ll talk more about this later. But, was Lot innocent here??

Lot allowed himself to get drunk!!

Do you think Lot knew what happens when you get drunk? Remember, Lot lived in wicked Sodom; I am sure Lot witnessed many drunks. Also, did you notice that Lot not only allowed himself to get drunk once, but he then again allowed himself to get drunk the second day!! What a fool! Lot knew that when you’re drunk, you don’t know what you’re doing and he did it twice!

What can we apply to our lives today?

The actions of Lot and his daughters led to troubles that went on for generations! Troubles for the Moabites and Ammonites went on for ten generations! A generation in the Bible is 40 years; there was trouble for over 400 years! Shouldn’t we avoid the mistakes of Lot and his daughters? Unless you desire to have troubles for you, your family, and for your next generations of relatives, you must avoid the mistakes made by Lot and his daughters.

What should we learn?

Lot not only hesitated to do what God said, Lot directly disobeyed God. How often do we hesitate doing what God has told us? The righteous shall live by faith! Faith is doing what God tells us from His Word. And where does faith come from? Does faith come by how we feel??

I was talking to someone the other day and this comment came out, “Faith comes from our hearts!” Be careful about your feelings! Your feelings, your own heart, can fool you! Only God truly knows our hearts! King David, who God called a man after God’s own heart said this in Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. If King David couldn’t trust his own heart, should we? No, faith does not come from our own feelings, faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Rom 10:17). Are we listening to Jesus Christ daily as we are called to do?

And more importantly, are we obeying what Christ tells us to do? If we hesitate or disobey God’s Word, trouble will surely come, and it may not come directly to you but to your relatives!

Lot and his daughters lived in a cave and the daughters schemed a devious plot. The problem here is they tried hiding from God. The truth is, no one can hide from God!

Now, if we truly live with this truth that God sees and knows everything, what 2 major things should we be doing??