Wednesday's Woman of the Word - Lot's Wife

A pillar of salt.  That's what we remember about Lot's wife, isn't it? A warning not heeded.  An opportunity to escape a sinful place - to start a new life in a better place.  Lost.  Because she looked back.

The angels warned Lot and his family not to look back as they left the wicked city, but Lot's wife disobeyed.  She looked back as they fled Sodom and she was punished because of her disobedience.  Immediately she turned into salt.  A pillar of salt. (To read the story found in Genesis 19:1-26 click here.)

An immediate question that comes to mind is "Why?"  Why did she look back?  It doesn't seem to make sense because the angels warned Lot's family not to look back.  But think of yourself.  What if someone says to you, "Don't look now, but right over there is _____"... fill in the blank.  What is the first thing you want to do?  You want to look, right?  We're probably all a little bit that way - some of us more-so than others of us.

But this was a huge thing.  This message was from God.  The angels warned that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  After some discussion between Lot and the angels, Lot's family began to flee quickly.  

What would make Lot's wife turn back?  What made her disobey?  Maybe she heard noises of destruction and she was curious.  Maybe she heard screaming and she was concerned for her friends being left behind.  Maybe she thought of her home and her possessions.  But maybe her heart was still in Sodom. Maybe she thought just one look wouldn't hurt.  We're not told why she disobeyed - only that she did.

We can learn a lot from Lot's wife.  The most obvious thing is not to disobey God.  And the next obvious thing is not to look back.

Do you ever look back?  Do you look back on past mistakes?  Do you look back at lost opportunities or lost relationships?  Do you spend so much time looking back that you fail to look forward?

Looking back on pleasant memories is enjoyable.  Looking back and being unable to move forward is dangerous.  If we're not careful, we'll look back and become stuck in one place - just like Lot's wife.

 Remember this truth:  It's hard to see where you're headed, if you're looking back.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14