Most of us know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) and the fate of Lot’s wife. We know that she was turned into a pillar of salt because as they were fleeing, she looked back at Sodom. Recently, I learned more about the significance of this seemingly innocent glance. A glance that, hundreds of years later, Jesus spoke of to His disciples.
So, what happened that fateful day? Lot met two angels at Sodom and invited them to his home to rest and eat. The angels originally declined but at Lot’s insistence, they entered his house. (19:1-3). Before long, word got out in Sodom that Lot had guests and “…all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” (19:4-5). Verses 9-11 show the first of many times when the angels stepped in to rescue Lot and his family. When the men of the city became angry saying, “Get out of our way! This fellow (Lot) came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.But the men inside (angels) reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.”
Next, the angels asked Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lordagainst its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” (v 12-13). Once again, the angels showed mercy to Lot allowing him to save his family. Lot spoke to the men pledged to marry his daughters and told them they needed to hurry and leave because God is about to destroy the city. They didn’t believe Lot, laughing at him and ignoring his plea.
At the coming of dawn, … “the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.’ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” (v 14-17). Despite all that he had witnessed, Lot hesitated. God showed His mercy again when the angels grasped the hands of Lot and his family and led them safely out of the city.
One would think that Lot would finally “get it and follow God’s orders.” But no. Once again, he argued, saying he could not flee to the mountains, but asked to run to a small town nearby. The angels granted the request saying, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus, he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” (v. 18-26).
And here we are…back to Lot’s wife. Lots’ wife was one of an estimated 600 unnamed women in the Bible. Only 137 women are named in the bible. Of all the women, named and unnamed, why did Jesus refer to Lot’s wife nearly 1500 years later saying, “Remember Lot’s wife!”? What it is about her story, her choice on that fateful day that was so critically important that Jesus spoke of her? Why not Eve, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Ruth, Rahab, Esther, Elizabeth, or even Mary, his own mother? Of all the women Jesus could have told us to remember, he mentioned only one, “Lot’s wife.”
Lot’s wife is mentioned by Jesus as a warning to his disciples about difficult times in the future when the Son of Man would return. Jesus told them, “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:28-33).
He told them, “Remember Lot’s wife!” as a warning to not waver in their faith and to trust in Him. To remain obedient to their calling and God’s instruction. To not look back.
The original Hebrew of Genesis 19:26 tells us that Lot’s wife lingered “far behind” (achar). She hesitated even more than Lot. The term “looked back” is nabat. It isn’t just a glance or consideration; it means to longingly look or lust after; to respect. She remained drawn to the life she had created and the sin she had accepted. And in this longing, she looked to the past and this worldly life as something to be mourned, rather than the salvation that awaited her. She didn’t see the gain for the loss.
Look, it’s easy to be tough on Lot’s wife. To think, “Why didn’t she just listen?!” If I put myself in her shoes, and God showed up on my doorstep tomorrow and said, “Leave all you know and love in this world immediately and don’t look back,” could I? Or would the temptation be so strong and my faith so weak that I would sneak a quick peek? Would the heartache for the things I’ve left behind be so great that I would sacrifice my future for one last glance? I know how I want to answer those questions. But if truth be told, my daily walk with Jesus suggests it may be harder than I want to admit.
Every day we are faced with choices to follow Jesus or follow the world. There are hundreds of moments in any given day when we can be light and truth in a world covered in darkness and lies. Do we stay silent when someone takes God’s name in vain? Do we look the other way when a friend’s choices go against God’s Word? Do we take a stand when our school district, workplace, government chooses to normalize sin and evil? Do we search out a church that stands for Biblical principles, or just stay where we are cause the pastor’s nice, the music is good, and it’s comfortable? These are Lot’s wife moments.
When we choose to stand down rather than speak boldly for Jesus, we look back.
When we choose the comforts of the world, rather than the unknowns of obedience, we look back.
When we let someone else take a stand because we don’t want to rock the boat, we look back.
And with each backward glance, we give more of ourselves to the world, and less of ourselves to the Lord.
Lot’s wife was turned to a pillar of salt because she didn’t obey the Lord. She didn’t heed the warning. She chose the world over God’s provision. Her ties to the life she had created were more appealing than the promises and salvation God mercifully offered her and her family. She had witnessed God’s mercy repeatedly in the day leading up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it was not enough.
God has a plan for each of us. A beautifully articulated, carefully crafted masterpiece. We simply need to walk with Him and toward Him. Working every moment to leave behind the sinful nature we shed when we were born again. The draw to sin is relentless. The judgements of those who don’t understand, hurtful. Yes, we must intentionally choose Jesus. Choose obedience. Choose trust.
And when tempted to live as citizens of the natural world, rather than citizens of Heaven, we must heed the words of Jesus: “Remember Lot’s wife!”
Wow!! Thank you, Rhonda!!