Remember Lot’s Wife: A Reflective Reminder To Believers

The biblical account of the events of Sodom and Gomorrah is a popular biblical narrative. In Genesis 19:15-22, God delivered Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; a picture of judgement on sin. However, there is an anti-climax to the narrative;  a sad ending to a merciful deliverance. Lot’s wife didn’t make it after escaping Sodom and Gomorrah. She looked back in disobedience and turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus commenting on this event in light of his second coming and final judgement issued a reminder to his hearers: “Remember Lot’s Wife” (Luke 17:32). Of all the virtuous women in the Bible, Lot’s wife, an  unnamed woman was chosen for a “sermon” illustration.

Jesus’s statement is clearly a warning. And in the broader picture of biblical revelation, the event points to a greater event in redemptive history, the second coming of Christ and final judgement. So the event is significant for believer’s learning. It serves a pattern for Christian living.

So what are we to remember about Lot’s wife?

Her Disobedience

What we see in the action of Lot’s wife is a disobedience of God’s command (Genesis 19:17). She looked back (Genesis 19:26). She disregarded the commands of God. And just as was warned, she received judgement. Disobedience to God’s commands comes with consequences. Disobedience is unbelief. Disobedience is sin. And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

We live in a world of sin, suffering and separation from God because of the sin of one man, Adam. In  Eden, Adam and Eve were given clear commands which they disobeyed

After, they received the penalty of that disobedience and sin and death entered the human race. Adam stood as a progenitor of the human race. His sin passed on to the human race and every single human being is declared guilty before God. Humanity is guilty of disobeying God’s commands. The judgement on Lot’s wife is a judgement awaiting everyone living in disobedience to God. And this is where the mercies of God come in. Oh consider your life. How in many ways you have disobeyed God; spurned his grace and disregarded his laws.

We are law breakers of God. We deserve the judgement of God. But there is one who has fully obeyed all of God’s commands for us. He lived a perfect and righteous life and died in our place to satisfy the judgement of God. And we are called upon to put our trust and faith in this one man for the salvation of our souls. So to obey the commands of God, firstly is to have faith in this man Jesus. There is no way you and I can obey God’s commands without putting our faith in Jesus. Her disobedience then is a call to obedience for the Christian.

Her Worldliness

Sodom and Gomorrah is a picture of worldliness and sin. And this was the problem of Lot’s wife. She loved the world. She was worldly. She wasn’t separated from the world: she “looked back” (Genesis 19:26). That phrase is not just a casual looking back to observe what was going on. It is a picture of a deep rooted attachment to Sodom; an attachment to the world of sin. She loved Sodom. She was in love with the world.

When the time for separation arrived, Lot’s wife could not tear herself away from the world. She had always been in it, and had loved it, and delighted in it
— Charles Spurgeon

The word “looked” in the original language means to regard with favour or care. To fix a gaze intently. That was the problem. Lot’s wife was consumed with the world and couldn’t break free from it. Let’s examine our own lives. Are there areas of worldliness in us? What do we set our affection on? What occupies our attention?

And for the Christian, her worldliness is a call to separation from the world of sin. This is not a detachment of ourselves from the world. But it means there should be a clear distinction between Christians and unbelievers. The church and the world. We live in the world but we are not of the world. We do not order our lives according to the sinful pattern of the world. We are to influence the world, rather than the world influencing us (1 John 2:15-17)

Her Backsliding

Lot’s wife didn’t make it. She backslided. She received the judgment of God. And this danger awaits anyone who presumes on their faith to continue in sin  ( Luke 9:62; Hebrews 10:36-39). These Scriptures are warnings to ensure people don’t presume on the grace of God and take things for granted in the faith.

This presents an interesting question. Can a believer lose their salvation? I affirm a Christian cannot lose their salvation:

They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace but shall certainly perservere therein to the end, and be eternally saved (Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 17 section 1)

But Lot’s wife appeared a saved person who lost her salvation. She was delivered from Sodom only to be destroyed. However, we must note that “Being part of the visible people of God is no guarantee of eternal security if it is not combined with a living, personal ongoing trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Alistair Begg).

Belonging to a saved community or being a member of a Christian family doesn’t necessarily guarantee eternal security. And this is a perfect picture of Lot’s Wife. She was Lot’s wife. She was the wife of a righteous man yet was not saved. What a tragedy. She was like Judas, a disciple of Jesus, yet was lost.

Pay attention to the warnings of Scripture

Now, Jesus is not the only One who spoke of an OT event to warn his hearers in the bible. In the epistles, we are reminded of examples from the OT which serves a pattern for Christian living. The Christian life is a call to obedience and separation from the world. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, Paul speaks about the disobedience of the Israelites after they have been delivered from Egypt. And pointing out the consequences of that disobedience, Paul states it was written for our example. 

Dear believer, we have been called to live in obedience to God and all of the trajic events of the OT are reminders for us how to live our lives. Jesus said the proof of our love for him is our obedience to his commandments. (John 14:15).

Remember Lot’s Wife!