Remember Lot's Wife

The Bible is filled with miraculous events, both well-known and obscure.  One event I thought strangest as a kid was the account of of Lot's wife demise as she fled from Sodom.  God sent angelic messengers to not only warn Lot and his family of the certain judgment of the region, but to lay hold of them so they might be delivered from death.  Genesis 19 records the event in detail.  Lot and his household were very reluctant to leave their home as we read in Genesis 19:16: "And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city."  Lot, his wife, and two daughters were brought outside the city and given clear instructions in verse 17:  "So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."  As God began to destroy the region of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and burning sulfur, Genesis 19:26 contains the last mention of Lot's wife:  "But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

Needless to say, being turned into a pillar of salt is an uncommon way to die.  Ancient historians such as Josephus have attested to the existence of this pillar in confirmation of scripture (Chapter 11, Antiquities).  This pillar remained for years, a testimony and warning in a most unique form.  What led me to consider Lot's wife is the mention Jesus makes of her in Luke 17:32:  "Remember Lot's wife."  It is wise to obey Jesus!  What can we observe of this woman?  I am struck first by the fact we are never told her name.  The second point is the angels did not find her eager to leave Sodom, for she lingered until she was taken by the hand and brought out of the city.  Third, Lot's wife disobeyed the command of the angels:  "Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain."  God is under no obligation to tell us the each specific outcome of disobedience.  The wages of disobedience is death, whether in the city or the plain!  Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

I do not need to justify God's judgment upon Sodom or Lot's wife.  The Bible says there was not even 10 righteous people in the entire city.  God, in His great mercy, intervened and saved those who were obedient and willing.  This story of turning back reminds me of a song often sung at baptisms:  "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back."  Whether moved through curiosity or deep longing, Lot's wife looked back.  That decision led to her destruction.  The context of Christ's command to remember Lot's wife concerns His second coming.  Luke 17:31-33 reads, "In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ³² Remember Lot's wife. ³³ Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."  Jesus bids for all to take His Word seriously.  Deviation from His command will bring certain, severe consequences.

When I remember Lot's wife, I instinctively think about looking back.  As Christians following Jesus, we can choose to look to Christ or look back with longing at our life without Him.  Just like some husbands or wives fantasize about how great it would be to be single again, Christians can sometimes have this same abominable longing to depart from God.  Lot chose to walk in obedience and refused to look back.  2 Peter 2:7-9 tells us God "...delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- ⁹ then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..."  We read in the Bible that Lot was oppressed by the sins which surrounded him, his righteous soul tormented by what he heard and saw.  We do not read the same concerning his wife.  It is possible that Lot was the only righteous person in all of Sodom!  God is merciful to extend salvation to all.

Looking back is the step which leads to going back.  The tantalizing wares of this world may have great appeal to our flesh, but provide no life or strength for our souls.  Far more common than outright apostasy is the peril of a divided heart.  We follow Jesus best when we are looking to Him alone.  When I think of Lot's wife as a pillar of salt, cold and motionless on a desolate hillside turned facing Sodom, I am filled with sorrow.  All that is earthly will some day face the same end of destruction by fire.  Will I set my eyes God or on things of this earth?  2 Peter 3:10-12 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat ?"  Let us be ones who never turn back but fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, our Salvation!