Remember Lot’s Wife!

Luke 17:28-30, 32
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. Remember Lot's wife.

Genesis 19:26
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

During the days when Lot lived in Sodom with his family, the land of Sodom was filled with sins of all kinds. There was sexual immorality at its prominence alongside some strange sins and this grieved the heart of the Lord and His wrath waxed greatly. But Lot was one righteous man and he chose to live in Sodom among the heathen given away to diverse lusts. The angels of the Lord paid a special visitation to Lot to speak to him of the upcoming destruction and to save his family from the peril. Genesis 19:1 says, “The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.” Lot was at the gateway of the city waiting to perform a good deed or may be he was communing with God in a quiet place away from the city, while the rest of the Sodomites were involved in the common actions of today like drinking, buying, selling and planting. These two angles were among the three visitors (Genesis 18:2) that visited Abraham to reveal what the Lord God intended to do for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded the angels to save Sodom and Gomorrah for ten righteous men in the city. Abraham was directly pleading for the sake of Lot and his family. We know very well that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Lot who paid his respects to the angels invited them to his home to be with them for he knew very well the sinful actions of the city and wanted to protect the angels from the evil men of Sodom. Lo and behold, the evil men did notice the angels resting in Lot’s house and wanted to commit the unpardonable sin with the angels. Little did they realize that the angels had the power of God to destroy them while saving the righteous men. Their eyes were so blinded and their hearts hardened that they could not differentiate the angels from themselves. This is the sorry state that has stricken our generation too. May we all bow down in humble adoration to God and plead for our own generation. The evil men were struck blind by the hand of God and Lot was rescued and so were his unmarried daughters.

Angels reasoned with Lot and explained him what God was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah and asked him to bring all his relations into his house. Genesis 19:12 says, “And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place”. The angels wanted to save not only Lot but all who he desired to be saved. This shows their generosity to save but would the people of Sodom take advantage of this great a salvation? His own sons in law thought it a mockery and were not willing to be rescued. Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” This saving grace is similar to that of Lord Jesus Christ’s. His salvation is so great and how can we escape if we neglect this great salvation. For negligence of such a wonderful gift will lead to destruction as it did to Sodomites and also the Noah’s generation except Noah and his family. It is the same today and will be alike when the Son of Man, Jesus Christ returns. The pleasures of the world pave the way for men and women to yield to the desires of the flesh and the end result is going to be disastrous for the Son of Man will soon return to take away the saved and destroy the sinful. The time is yet given unto us to accept Jesus Christ and to confess and repent of our sins which might be as red as scarlet for His forgiveness is unfathomable by us and has the power to cleanse us completely. Won’t you turn from the wicked ways and give your life to Jesus Christ?

The angels grabbed the hands of Lot, his wife and the hands of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city and said (Genesis 19:17), “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!” The angels’ instructions to flee for their lives, not to look back and not to stop anywhere in the plain were serious and they meant it for Lot and his family’s own good. God’s intentions and plans for us are always good and trustworthy. How can we pay a deaf ear to the Almighty’s instructions? Even at this point the angels were gracious and generous to Lot for they heard Lot’s requests and responded in Lot’s favor. But will all the four pay complete respect to the angels’ words?

In Genesis 19:26 we see one person’s negligence to the angels’ instructions and what befell her. “But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Lot’s wife did not either trust the words of the angels that Sodom and Gomorrah would be utterly destroyed or still had a longing for the temporal benefits of the land along the lines of losing their hard earned property. This lady had a longing for her earthly possessions that was greater than her longing to trust and obey the Lord. Many of us today are like Lot’s wife. Do we trust our Lord and obey Him? Do we believe that where He is leading us is the safest and the best place for us? Yesterday my cousin sent me a wonderful line and I would like to add it here for it is just right and fits our discussion. The will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

The Savior forewarns us in this generation of the sin of Lot’s wife. When we leave our past to follow the ways of the Lord, we are not to look back like Lot’s wife lest we become pillars of salt. The best response to Lord’s call is to move farther away from the passions of the world and not even to loiter like Lot and his family when they were summoned away from Sodom and Gomorrah by the angels sent by God. After forsaking our former lives affiliated with world we should not look back or grieve the dainties of life that are temporal that lead to destruction. The Master has already designed the best place for us and so may we yield to His desire and plan for us. May the Lord God help us to align our will with His and give us the strength to resist the traps of the enemy to pull us back into the world!

Tomorrow: Vashti’s Refusal to Appear