Genesis 19:15-17; 26 -KJV- And when the morning arose, then the
angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters,
which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
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.
(…) But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar
of salt.
Genesis
chapter 19 records the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
These cities and the cities around where so evil in the sight of God
that He decided to destroy them. Abraham had pleaded with God to spare
those cities if at least 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or 10 righteous people
could be found there (Genesis 18:17-33). Unfortunately they were all
corrupt and only one person was found to be righteous. So God decided
to save Lot and his family because of His mercy and destroy all the
rest, because they were irremediably evil. God sent two angels to
get Lot, his wife and his daughters out before He would destroy those
cities by fire, but the men of the city, both great and small, wanted
to abuse the angels sexually. Nobody took Lot serious when he warned
them about the imminent destruction of the city. The term sodomy comes
from the name of the city of Sodom and describes the perversity of
that sin. The angels urged Lot to flee with his family and gave him
a very specific command: do not look back. But Lot’s wife looked behind
her and became a pillar of salt.
What could be the reason why Lot’s wife looked back? Her friends and
relatives had stayed back and were going to be destroyed; she would
never see them again. It was a place full of memories that she dearly
kept in her heart. She had a love story there with her husband and
their daughters had been born there. Their daughters were just about
to get married when all this happened. Even though the level of corruption
was so high in that place, they had managed to build a comfortable
home and they had learned to cope with the sinful reality of those
days. A lot of memories were still very much alive in her mind. Without
warning they had to run away like thieves and had to give up so much
hope, plans for the future but also all their belongings for which
they had worked so hard all their life. It was just too much at once
and Lot’s wife was not ready at all for such a drastic and sudden
move.
Despite the great level of perversion and depravity that were displayed
day by day in Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife was content and had learned
to manage the situation. She was not grieved by the sins of those
cities and her soul and heart were still attached to that place. She
was not convinced that running away was the right thing to do. She
did not realize how much her own spirit was already negatively affected
by the sins of those cities and that the only way for her and her
family to be saved was to be definitively and radically detached from
that place. They had managed to build for themselves a nest of comfort,
security and contentment. Leaving meant starting back to point zero
in an unknown place and facing new challenges, problems, difficulties;
the future just looked so uncertain. She was concerned about the losses
and she was worried about the future. Her attitude is understandable
in a human point of view because nobody really likes drastic, unpredictable
changes. As human beings, we all want to know that we are secure and
people work hard to have a comfortable and carefree life. So any unexpected,
especially negative change is not welcome in our lives.
Even though we have this natural longing for security and comfort,
God knows where we can find true comfort and security: in His Word
and in His presence. The angel’s instruction not to look back was
not given to Lot and his family just to make it hard on them. God’s
message through that instruction was actually this: “You are not loosing
anything by leaving this place because I am your reward and your provider.
I am able to give you everything you need and so much more. Don’t
look back because there is nothing to regret about your old way of
living. I know where I am taking you to. I have a better plan for
your life and if you obey Me, I will take you to heights that you
cannot even imagine. I am taking you in another level where you can
fellowship with me. Don’t look back because greater things are in
store for you if you just trust and obey. You don’t have to be afraid
because I am holding you with My hand. I love you with an everlasting
love and I will never forsake you. You are the apple of my eye and
whoever touches you touches me. You are perfectly secure in Me because
I know the end from the beginning. Just trust and obey.”
God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We once
were living in the bondage of sin and we were children of disobedience.
But now we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb and we are now
citizens of the heavenly kingdom. We are not fools that we should
return to our vomit (Proberbs 26:11). We must hate sin and depart
from evil. As children of light, we forget all those things that are
behind us and we run the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus the Author and the finisher of our faith because we want to
be like Him and we want to be with Him forever. The Bible says in
Luke 9:62 “(…) No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” We cannot look
back and long for the sinful life style we used to have if our minds
have truly been renewed in Christ and if we know in whom we have believed.
By looking back we are telling God that He is not good enough. But
what can this world give us to help us secure our salvation? Nothing.
What does it profit a man if he can enjoy the pleasure of sin and
all the things that the world has to offer if he loses his soul for
all eternity? (Luke 9:25). Our future is in Christ and when we obey
His Word, we gain eternal life.
The Lord Jesus is coming back soon to take His Bride, the Church.
He is calling us to forsake any sinful and worldly way of living.
We must be ready for the rapture at any time because it will happen
in a twinkling of an eye. Nobody knows the time and the hour when
the Son of Man will return. That’s why we must watch and pray, making
sure that our lamps do not go out (Luke 17:26-30. See also the parable
of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13). When the trumpet sounds, we
will not take anything with us because we did not bring anything into
this world. The only treasure that we will take with us is Jesus living
in our hearts, minds and spirits. When He comes back, our hearts and
minds must be set on Jesus and not on the distractions and ephemeral
pleasures of this life. There will be no time to linger and only those
who are ready will be raptured. As long as we are still on earth,
we must use everything we have and all our abilities and talents to
serve God. Our investment in God’s kingdom can never be in vain when
we are faithful and have the right motives. We are just pilgrims on
this earth and our home is in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. So
let’s move forward without looking back, for our reward will be great
in heaven. mt
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