Biblical Character Study: Lot's Wife

Lot and his wife and two daughters were residents of the city of Sodom in Genesis 19. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were well-known for their wickedness and grievous sin. God announced to Abraham that He was going to destroy the city with fire and brimstone because He could no longer tolerate their open lasciviousness.

Lot was Abraham's nephew and Abraham was concerned for his safety. He asked God to spare the city for Lot's sake and God, in His mercy, decided to preserve Lot and his family from the destruction of the city. God even gave Lot the chance to go and convince his other sons living in the city to leave before it was too late. His sons instead mocked Lot and refused to believe that judgment was coming. An angel of the Lord brought Lot, his wife and his two unmarried daughters to the outskirts of the city and instructed them to flee into a neighboring city and not to look back. However, the Bible records for us that Lot's wife did look back and that when she did, she became a "pillar of salt."

The punishment of becoming a pillar of salt seems a little severe, to say the least. However, what became of Lot's wife because of her disobedience is a vivid illustration for us. I would maintain that it was not simply glancing behind her back out of curiosity that caused God's punishment to fall on her. Rather, Lot's wife was looking back to the things she'd left behind in Sodom. Perhaps she was wishing she could have brought some of her possessions with her, or maybe she was mourning for her other sons that were going to be destroyed in the city. Either way, the city of Sodom held a place in her heart, so much so that she did not obey the Angel's instructions.

Sometimes I have the same problem as Lot's wife. Instead of moving on from the life I used to live before I knew Jesus, I am tempted to look behind me and even to long for some of the things I used to do or have. I know that my life now is much fuller with Jesus. I have a purpose in my life and I know where I'm going when I die. However, sometimes it seems like a sacrifice not to go to certain places or do certain things because they dishonor God. This longing for the past is not just me reflecting on the way things were, it is sin, just as Lot's wife looking back to Sodom was sin. If we have a new life in Christ we must walk on in joy and obedience because of all He's done for us. What we have left behind is best forgotten because it held no eternal value.