Once we got on the right path, why look back?
I’ve been following along with a study on women in the Bible on the website #SheReadsTruth. A few days ago, the post was on Lot’s wife. I’m sure she had a name, but the Bible doesn’t tell us what it was. Her story was always kind of strange and fascinating to me.
It’s found in Chapter 19 in the Book of Genesis. These angels were in town to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God had planned on destroying the cities and everything in them, but Abraham had intervened and asked God to save any righteous people there and God agreed. Those people turned out to only be four, Lot, his wife and their two daughters.
I love the fact that Abraham was able to intercede for Lot. Abraham appealed to God and God listened. Isn’t that what we do for friends and loved ones when we pray? God listens to our prayers, just as He listened to Abraham.
So, the angles told Lot to hurry and he hesitated. They finally took his hand and the hands of his wife and daughters and lead them safely out of the city. They were then told to flee and, “Don’t look back!” Genesis 19:17b
Here’s where it happens. “But, Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26
I always found that to be strange and harsh. I mean, God was raining down sulfur and there was smoke everywhere. Wouldn’t it be natural to be curious about what was happening?
Of course, angels are messengers, so when the angel said, “Don’t look back!” it came straight from God.
But, the writer at #SheReadsTruth took it a step further and said that possibly the greater lesson was our tendency to look back and then go back to our sinful lives even after we have been given mercy and forgiven. Is Lot’s wife a reminder that looking back, leads towards sin and to going back the route where certain disaster will occur?
As I play that scenario out in my head, I’m also reminded of our stubborn refusal to look back after we have been forgiven. Perhaps she is also a reminder that once we have asked for forgiveness and walked away from a bad choice, we are supposed to walk face forward. That can be a tall order can’t it?
When we make decisions for ourselves outside of God’s will for us, disaster inevitably occurs. Divorces, addiction, and all types of emotional pain, along with a host of other human misery, can often be traced back to wrong decisions in the first place. But, once we admit the sin and repent, we are giving it to God and placing it at the foot of the cross. When we look back and lament on it, we are saying we don’t believe we are forgiven. We are saying Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough.
Those thoughts don’t come from God. They come from the enemy. Perhaps Lot’s wife is a reminder that we are supposed to keep our eyes focused on God and journey forward, not backward, into the arms of Jesus.
What do you think about Lot’s wife?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂