These last several weeks, we have been taking an in depth look at the people of the Bible and the lessons they learned in their lives and how it can be applied to our own lives today. So far, we have taken a look at Eve, Adam, Abel, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Lot, and Sarah. This week, we’ll be looking deeper at Lot’s wife.
Lot’s wife is unnamed in the Bible, as far as I am aware, but whenever the Lord’s angels were about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their sin, the Lord chose to have mercy on Lot and his family. In Genesis chapter 19, verses 16 through 17 say, “And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”
So, the angels took Lot, his wife, and his daughters and safely got them outside the city and told them to run—to escape and not look back. But then, later down, in verse 26, it says this:
“But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
They gave them the warning, and Lot’s wife, unfortunately, didn’t listen. This wasn’t just the case of she turned around out of curiosity, or wanting to know what was going on behind her. She deliberately chose to look back at the city, and it’s likely that she might have even been longing for it.
How many times have we done that? Looked back at our past, our old lives and sin natures, and longed for them again? How many times have we traipsed back into our old sinful habits and patterns, rather than just continuing onward, as the Lord wants us to?
Jesus set us free from sin, just like the Lord freed Lot and his family from the city! He doesn’t want us looking back; instead, He wants us to run to the freedom that He has given us. So, every time we return to our old habits, we are standing there, looking back, just like Lot’s wife.
Let her be a warning to everyone—don’t look back. Not into your past mistakes, not into past hurts and pains and terrible memories that may still haunt you. It’s hard and it may not be easy to overcome these things, but God promised to help us through difficult times. Remember that Jesus didn’t steer the disciples’ boat away from the storm, but He did get them through the storm. He will do the same for us, but we need to try our best not to look back, to venture back into our old lives and sinful natures.
God has led us to freedom, so embrace it today!
