Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology

Remember Lot's Wife

by Tony Warren

Luke 17:31-32 "In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife."

 

      When Christ spoke to His disciples of the coming judgment of the holy city that would hearald in His millennial Kingdom, he cautioned them with the omen, "remember Lot’s wife!" She was left a desolate base of salt after she looked back toward the city that the Lord had mercifully brought her out of. So it should be obvious what Christ meant when He referenced Lot's wife. That they should never "look back to the abominations that they have been brought out of," and which are now under the wrathful judgment of God. The context of Christ's warning also bears this out as He counsels them not to go back to their house or come down from the rooftop to retrieve any of the stuff they have left, or not to return to their house when they are in the field. They (and by extension, us) are clearly not to look back to the abominations they came out of as Lot's wife did. She was consequently turned into a pillar or station of salt as an enduring testimony to all of the severity of God's judgment upon those who do. By her rebellion against God's command not to turn back toward the city of His judgment, demonstrated that her heart was still in Sodom.

      Deuteronomy 5:32

• "Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left."

By her failure to observe God's word, and turning back to Sodom when the Lord had forbidden it, she became an enduring Biblical portent as a stanchion of salt. Salt in Scripture is often used to symbolize ruin or desolation (which we'll see momentarily), and that is what God had brought upon this city of Sodom. Likewise, the warning of Christ to his apostles to "Remember Lot's Wife" is a harbinger of desolation to them if they should look back towards their house to take something from it. Because that house that was once a Holy Place is now an abomination that the Lord has placed under His judgment (e.g. Matthew 24:15). In giving this command, Christ has established a lawful principle that the place of abomination that His people are called out of, should not be looked back toward, nor have any thought of returning to. To do so would bring you to suffer the same consequence of desolation that God has pronounced on that place. That is the lesson of Lot's wife looking back towards Sodom and becoming a pillar of salt.

Why A Pillar Of Salt?

The purpose of Lot's wife being made a stanchion of salt serves to vividly illustrate what will become of those who would commiserate with the abominable place of God's wrath, or have second thoughts about leaving it. By looking back, she demonstrated that she was not sealed with the Holy Spirit of truth and would not inherit the promise of God's people. She was ultimately unsanctified, called, but not chosen to participate in God's true deliverance. Salt in this instance signified her judgment of being left desolate for looking back toward the abominations of that city. Let us look at a few examples where God uses salt to signify desolation or being left in ruin or destitute.

      Ezekiel 47:11

• "But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to SALT."

To not be healed, but instead, be given to salt, signifies that the land will remain barren, worthless, or desolate where nothing can grow there. Salt in this instance is a word illustrating that it shall be made unproductive, as a wasteland by the judgment of God. If you've ever seen pictures of the salt sea, with its saline and chemical structures jutting from the waters, you can better understand the Biblical portrait of the barrenness of the land. It is a figure of how those coming under God's judgment are left destitute or in ruin. Salt on the land means the land is polluted so nothing good will grow there. Abominations against God spiritually lead to this desolation.

So we can better understand this example of salt symbolizing desolation when Lot's wife "looked back" to the abominations of Sodom. She very obviously had not taken her eyes (and by implication, her heart and mind) off of of its allurements. As a result, God made her a great example of desolation for all of us to consider.

      Matthew 6:22-23

• "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
• But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

In this passage of Matthew our Lord is comparing the eye to a window which we can look through to let in the light, or the darkness. In other words, it is a gateway to the flesh, heart, and spirit, depending upon what we place them on. We can find temptations for the eyes all around us, but if we redirect our eyes, toward things that are true, honest, just, pure, of good report, virtue, and praise, and think on these things, we shall do well. Lot's wife's eyes were windows into her heart, and where your heart was, there is where what she treasured was. Her eyes offended her and she didn't pluck them out (Matthew 18:9). This necessarily implies a heart problem because she couldn't keep her eyes off that city. Her thoughts were on Sodom, and not on her deliverance from it. Consequently, she was made a desolation as God turned her into a pillar of salt. Not secretly, but as a enduring testimony for all God's people to see and consider.

      Genesis 19:26

• "But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

In this historical and perennial record, we see the folly of looking back when fleeing out of the place that God has placed under His judgment. Lot's wife looked back toward it and she was severely judged of God for this transgression. She became a biblical "byword" of desolation and ruin, a warning to all those who would look back to their old house from where God had brought them out. The Lord had called her out of that world of darkness and warned her not to look back (Genesis 19:17), and she disobeyed and became a token left of God for His people. It is meant as an example to all believers who would look back to our former dwellings that God has declared under His judgment. It is also interesting (though not biblically validated) that most theologians believe from scripture that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located in the area of the Salt Sea, which is a desolate place. Likewise, our Lord declared that "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. -Luke 9:62" This judgment of Lot's wife for this infraction is again illustrated by her judgment of salt. This is not at all a mystery as we consider God's word in Deuteronomy:

      Deuteronomy 29:23

• "And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:"

Here again, we see salt used to signify that the land was desolate or in ruin, and was worthless so that it could not bear any grass. Salt was symbolic of that, and it is also equated with God's judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Moreover, in times when there was war, the enemies' lands were sometimes "sown with salt" in order to make it barren so that no one could cultivate it. As in the example God gives us of Abimelech destroying a city, and then sowing its fields with salt that nothing would grow there.

      Judges 9:45

• "And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt."

To sow the land with salt is so that it would be desolate and nothing would grow there. This again allows us to understand how salt is symbolic of her desolation by the judgment of God. It illustrates that something is made destitute or destroyed and laid waste.

Looking Back at the Abominations of a City made Desolate

What is the practical application? Looking at 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 where God talks about a coming apostasy in His Holy Church. It is a falling away from the faith of His people. We can see in our day that there are many professing Christians who are turning back to the way of the world in a spiritual declension from what the church once taught. In essence, they are "looking back toward what they were brought out of," which is the abominations and filthiness that they had supposedly escaped from (2nd Peter 2:20-22). Even as (in this same vein) Christ warned His disciples in Matthew chapter 24 that when His people see the abomination that stands in the Holy Place that makes it desolate, they were to flee to the mountains and not return to retrieve anything. There is this continuing principle that we are seeing here:

      Matthew 24:15-18

• "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand: )
• Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
• Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
• Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes."

The admonition is to "read and understand" illustrating that this might not be an easy passage to grasp or comprehend. What is the Holy Place in the New Testament era? It is the church. That makes it very difficult to understand that the abomination is within the corporate congregation and its desolation as being called but not chosen is thus established. That's why it's in the context of false prophets, tribulations, and great deception. If you've ever wondered why Christ warned His disciples to flee out of Judah to the mountains in great haste and without turning back to take anything with them, it is the same reason He said this to Lot and His family to flee with haste and not look back. Because the city had become an abomination and He would soon leave it desolate in His perfect destruction.

      Matthew 23:37-38

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
• Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

Judgment was upon Jerusalem because she knew not the time of her visitation. The election fleed from that abomination and did not return back to take anything that they had left in that house. These are all spiritual portraits of a principle for God's people, which is that this place has become an abomination to God and they should not look back to it, nor think to go retrieve any treasures from it. Just as in the story of Lot's wife, where God's word to Lot and his family was that they should not look back to that abominable city that they were brought out of. And yet Lot's wife did look back. It seems that today God's people have forgotten that omen that God left for us so that we might not fall into that same snare of looking towards the things God has placed under His judgment. We are reminded that God sent His two messengers as witnesses of the evil that was going on in Sodom, whereby he and his might escape out of that city and not come under that fiery judgment of God. It is essentially the very same message that we read in Matthew, Luke, and also in Revelation 18:4 where God tells His people to come out of that abominable city of Babylon, and that they should reward her even as she rewarded them. This flight from abominations was originally and unmistakably illustrated in the book of Genesis as God sent His messengers to call His people out of Sodom:

      Genesis 19:12-13

• "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:
• For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it."

Lot went forth and explained this to the husbands of his daughters declaring how this place was under God's judgment and would be destroyed, and they did not believe him ("whoso readeth, let him understand, or read and understand"). His sons-in-law thought that he was joking because they did not comprehend the seriousness of the transgressions. And because of this, Lot tarried in the city and the Messengers of God hastened him to take his wife and his two daughters that were with him because if he didn't, they would all be consumed in God's judgment against the iniquity of the city.

      Genesis 19:16-17

• "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
• And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."

This lingering and being forcibly brought out signifies that it was not of his own will, but the determinate will of God that Lot, his wife, and his two daughters were called out of that abominable city. God's messengers physically took them by the hand and by force of will caused them to flee from this abominable city that was under the judgment of God to the Mountain Retreat (Genesis 19:17). God commanded them to not look behind them back to the city. The meaning of this is no doubt to impress upon them (and ultimately us) how they are not to regret leaving it for all of its riches or vain pleasures. Christ makes a commentary on this in Luke chapter seventeen as He references God's warning to those who would look back longingly or regretfully towards the abominations that they have left.

      Luke 17:29-32

• "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.
• In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
• Remember Lot's wife."

Out of all the people of Israel, Christ chose Lot's wife as an example of the folly of looking back to and desiring temporal pleasures or possessions over the command of God. The warning by Christ to God's people to "Remember Lot's wife" is a solemn admonishment to all of us not to be tempted to look back toward what we have escaped from, and is pointing us back to Genesis chapter 19 in reference to Lot's wife's disobedience to our Lord's command that she not look back towards the abominations of the city. From the context of these passages and the essence of human nature, we can surmise that she loved her other two daughters who stayed behind with their husbands, or perhaps she had great possessions there, or she had accumulated many friends who respected her as Lot's wife. Whatever her longing, we know it was a direct disobedience of God's word that she was not to look back toward it. God's people must look toward Him first, all other things take a back seat to our first love ( ), which she had forgotten.

      Luke 9:59-62

• "And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
• Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
• And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
• And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

The Moral Of The Story

The moral of the story, Do Not Look Back--Remember Lot's wife! To long for the things of this world that are merely fuel for the fire, over and above the things of God that are eternal, is to demonstrate that you are not worthy or fit for the Kingdom of God. This is the same lesson God is teaching in highlighting the disobedience of Lot's wife. She looked back toward the abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Lord had signaled out for the judgment of His wrath is telling. God's people should in no way look towards it. We've come out of that dark Kingdom and we should never look back toward it. But Lot's wife did. The implication is that there was some indecision in her looking back, expressing somewhat of a continuing affection for the city culture and society. As a result of her heart of disobedience to God's warning, she was judged right along with the people of that city she looked toward. Lot and his daughters escaping out of Sodom typified God's people escaping out of the bondage of sin in the place of lawlessness that is under the wrath of God.

      Genesis 19:24-26

• "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
• And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
• But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

She desired just one more nostalgic look at what had once been her life. Just one little departing peek at what was once her home. But by turning around and looking back toward Sodom, in direct violation of God's warning command, even while in the midst of being brought out from among the people of God's wrath, revealed exactly where her eyes were, and by extension where her heart was (Mark 6:21-23; Luke 9:62). Her looking back toward the abominations was for a "sign" that we cannot have any affinity or certain feeling toward the place of God's wrath. We can have sadness for what the place once was, but not sadness for leaving what it has become. There should be no commiseration for the things that she was leaving behind. It could be that it was her position, or her extended family, her great possessions, or her lifestyle. it doesn't really matter because where her treasure was, there is where her heart was.

      Matthew 6:19-23

• "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
• But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
• For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
• The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
• But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

And in Sodom is where her eyes were instead of being singly upon the Lord in gratitude for the great mercy He showed in delivering her from His wrath. A deliverance that neither she nor any of us deserve (Romans 3:9-12). There was something back in Sodom that moved her to rebelliously look back to it and as a result of her folly, she became a permanent portent, harbinger, or augury for all of history to consider regarding her actions. For in her rash and rebellious heart, she declined to take God's word seriously, and being tempted of this world's delicacies, she looked back to that which God had brought her out of. Proving the biblical axiom, "you cannot serve two masters."

      James 1:8

• "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

By double-minded we are meant to understand this as a person who is unbalanced or unstable in his thinking. To mix hot and cold making things lukewarm. To mix black and white making everything a grey area. For example, a person who has divided thoughts or is vacillating between two different thoughts or positions (Matthew 6:24; 12:25-26). For a house divided against itself cannot stand, and that includes the house of God. Lot's wife was divided in her thoughts between cutting Sodom off completely and keeping her eyes on the Lord who mercifully called her out of that city.

The Point Of Remembering Lot's Wife

The moral of this story is, let us keep our eyes on the prize where we are always looking forward. Never turning our eyes backward on the things God has delivered us from but towards a better city whose builder and maker is God. Like Lot's wife, when you hear of God’s call to flee from the abominations in a city and don't look back. You may intellectually know what to do, but where are your eyes are, your heart will be, and your first love will reside? Are your eyes singly on the service and commands of the Lord your God, or are they directed first upon your self-esteem (pride), your job, your position, your possessions, your family, your home, how you are portrayed, or your convenience? Let us cast off the old man and endeavor to grow in grace that we may ensure that our calling and election is made sure (2nd Peter 1:10) where we can never be judged. Because the destruction of which we are in danger in remaining in a place of wanton lawlessness is infinitely more terrible than the desolation of a physical city called Jerusalem, Babylon, or Sodom. The historical desolation of Sodom is a harbinger and shadow illustrating the destruction of the man of lawlessness (or lawless man) who would abandon God's laws in favor of his own, that he may rule in place of God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Fall into his snare of seduction and he will make you his servant, and you will receive the same desolations appointed to his messengers. I pray that you let the warnings of Christ to His Disciples encourage you to the greatest diligence to make sure you are of the Spirit of Promise and your election is sure ( ). May you be empowered to guard against falling in the hour of trial or temptations of lawlessness. By turning and looking back to the abominations of Sodom as Lot's wife was, and as she was in the very middle of fleeing from judgment, she revealed through her eyes where her heart was. ...it was behind her, not on the path that was before her.

May God grant that we might understand that this is not our permanent home and we are merely guests, strangers, and pilgrims just passing through in this world (Hebrews 11:13). We are from a kingdom that is not temporal, and by God's grace we will not look back to the abominations that we have left. Let us pray that God may give us strength to keep our eyes looking forward, and that we give no quarter to the things that we have left behind. Do not get attached to temporal things, rather make sure that you are able to let go of the carnal and set your eyes upon the Spiritual.

Remember Lot's wife!

Amen!

Peace,

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Created 7/11/24 / Last Modified 7/23/24
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