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Lot's Wife
We have fifteen words in a verse in the book of Genesis
about a woman who has stood out in history as a lesson for all of us till this
very day. Genesis 19:26, But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt.
Does
this sound like a harsh judgment to you? Let's look a little deeper into the story from the Bible's perspective. Lot, his wife
and two daughters lived in Sodom; the Bible tells us they were exceedingly
wealthy (Genesis 13:10-11). Sodom was a very wicked city and God had judged it
for destruction. We find the words of Jesus talking about it in Luke chapter 17. Luke 17:26-29, 26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the
days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given
in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and
destroyed them all. 28It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating
and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left
Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
 From the many writings I have studied on this event,
and what has been written on Lot and
his wife, we can discern that they lived a very lavish lifestyle. Lot's wife fit
right in with what was going on in Sodom. Max Eastman in his eloquent and moving
poem, "Lots Wife," wrote: "Herself, like Sodom's towers, shone blazingly." We
can easily picture her as a woman who wore a multitude of jewels and dressed in
very fine clothing. She enjoyed the honor and respect she was given. Being rich
and living in a decadent city, having many servants, she gave countless parties
and feasts basking in the glow of her riches.  Lot, being Abraham's nephew and a Godly man
who knew the Lord, saved his family from the coming
destruction due to the intervention of Abraham. God had told Abraham if ten righteous men could be
found in Sodom he would not destroy the city. God sent two angels to find out if
ten righteous men could be found but they could find none. The angels had to
physically take Lot, his wife and two daughters and lead them from the city the
morning before destruction came to Sodom. They were told to go through the plains
to the mountain and warned not to look back. Lot's wife who had come to love the
riches and things of the world lingered while her heart and desires continued to
draw her attention back to Sodom. I don't believe it was the act of looking back
so much as the desire that was in her heart that betrayed her and she ended up
paying the penalty for her desires. Lot's
wife is a symbol of man today. We are aware of the right things to
do and have been turned in the right direction of salvation but
refuse to accept it because the desires of the heart are on worldly
materialistic things not wanting to forsake them for the Godly
things. Lot's wife had a Godly husband, came from a Godly background
and was privileged to be saved from the destruction of Sodom but
chose in her heart to reject those things in favor of the wickedness
life in Sodom had given her. Luke 17:29-30, 29But the same day that Lot
went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30Even thus shall it be in
the day when the Son of man is revealed. We find Jesus telling His disciples how things will be
before His return and warning them to take head of the desires of their hearts. Luke 17:32, Remember Lot's wife.
I believe Jesus' warning holds much meaning and
we should all remember Lot's wife and her end. Matthew 6:24 No one can serve
two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Lot's Wife by Bob Goulding © October 2006
She sits upon a golden chair her servants to admire. Soon the musicians and dancers, then the notables arrive Sapphire and diamond, rubies and emeralds To leave this time of joyful existence to roam the Desert of Sorrow
Too late, too late for now thou art but a pillar of salt. Return To:   |