Good Morning.
Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:24-26)
The Bible says that Lot, and the family that left with him, escaped to Zoar, the smaller of the five cities of the plain and witnessed the destruction from there. As God rained sulfur and fire upon the other cities — perhaps from a seismic upheaval — Lot’s wife turned back watched the destruction. Why she looked back is speculative; perhaps it was a longing for the family she left behind or maybe it was curiosity. Whatever it was, it resulted in her very unique death. Messiah referred to her to caution us about looking back and lingering.
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. Likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke 17:28-33)
In Genesis 12 Abram was told to leave country, kindred and his father’s house. It is understood that he was to leave it all physically and otherwise. In other words, he was not to leave his heart there but to separate himself completely from those things. Perhaps Lot’s wife, though she left Sodom physically, didn’t really leave it completely. It would seem that her heart was in Sodom and this caused her to turn back.
As followers of the Messiah, we must be careful about what has a hold on our heart. If we are to love God with ALL of our heart, that means that nothing should be allowed to pull us away from Him and back into what He has called us out of. As the days grow darker, we will undoubtedly be called upon to surrender more and more of this life if we are going to embrace the abundant life. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to the reward of following Him no matter where He leads.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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