Remember Lot's wife
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "What can we learn from the story of Lot's wife?"
She loved the world.
But his wife looked back from
behind him, and she became a pillar of salt [Gen.
19:26].
"I think this verse has been greatly misunderstood. Why in the world did
Mrs. Lot turn and look back? I think that the reason is twofold. First of all,
she turned and looked back because she did not want to leave Sodom. She loved
Sodom. She loved Lot, too, but it was a lot of Sodom that she loved. And she
didn’t want to leave it. She was probably a member of the country club, the
sewing club, and the Shakespeare club. In fact, there wasn’t a club in town that
she was not a member of. She just loved these little get–togethers in the
afternoon. I’m not sure but what they met and studied religion in a nice little
religious club also. She was right in the thick of it all, my friend, and she
didn’t want to leave. Her heart was in Sodom. Her body walked out, but she
surely left her heart there.
This is a tremendous lesson for us today. I hear a great many Christians talking
about how they want to see the Lord come, but they are not living as if they
mean it. On Sunday morning, it is difficult to get them to leave their lovely
home. And on Sunday night, they are not going to leave their lovely home because
they love television, too. They have a color television, and they are going to
look at the programs on Sunday night because there are some good ones then. But
when the Lord comes, my friend, you are going to leave the television; you are
going to leave that lovely home; you are going to leave everything. I have just
one question to ask you: Will it break your heart to leave all of this down
here?
I have asked myself that question many times. To be honest with you, I am not
anxious to leave. I would love to stay. I have my friends and loved ones whom I
want to be with. And I have the radio ministry that I want to continue. I’ll be
frank with you, I hope the Lord will just let me stay here awhile longer. But I
also want to be able to say that when He does call, I will not have a thing down
here which will break my heart to leave—not a thing. I love my home too, but I
would just as soon go off and leave it. How do you feel about that today? Mrs.
Lot turned and looked back, and this is one of the explanations.
The other reason that she looked back is simply that she did not believe God.
God had said, “Leave the city, and don’t look back.” Lot didn’t look back; he
believed God. But Mrs. Lot did not believe God. She was not a believer, and so
she didn’t really make it out of the city. She was turned to a pillar of salt.
I am not going to go into the story of Lot’s two daughters in verses 31–38. It
is as sordid as it can be. Frankly, Lot did not do well in moving down to the
city of Sodom. He lost everything except his own soul. His life is a picture of
a great many people who will not judge the sins of their lives. They are saved,
“yet so as by fire.” The Lord has said in a very definite way to these folk who
have put all their eggs in a basket like this that if they will not judge their
sin down here, He will judge it. Apparently, that was the case in Lot’s story.
I want to conclude this chapter by looking at Abraham. What did Abraham think of
all this?" McGee, J. V. (1991). Vol. 2: Thru the Bible commentary: The Law
(Genesis 16-33) (electronic ed.) (51–52). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
God says what he means and means what he says.
