Genesis 19:24-26
“… the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah … But Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.”
This woman’s 15 minutes of fame came from one dreadful moment – the moment when she ignored words of wisdom and met with disaster. Let’s go back a bit to get an idea of what happened to her.
The people of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were known to be wicked, sinful people. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, chose to move his family into the region near the cities because it was green and well watered with enough room to accommodate his flocks and herds.
However, soon we read that Lot was living inside the city gates and he seemed to be well known and influential. Lot and his wife probably thought that they could take advantage of the benefits of living in Sodom and still avoid its evil, but living close to sin can silently take its toll. What, at one time offends us, will eventually seem common place and even acceptable.
When God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of its wickedness, He sent angels to save Lot and his family. When Lot heard, he went to the two young men who were engaged to his daughters and told them to flee with him. Lot had evidently lost his moral authority in the family, because they refused to go. At dawn, Lot and his family were hesitating so the angels finally had to take them by the hands and lead them out of the doomed city.
The angels ordered them to run for their lives and to not look back. The two cities and all the surrounding vegetation were being destroyed. As she ran, Lot’s wife must have been thinking about everything she had in the city. She hesitated. She stopped running and turned to take one last look at the life she was leaving behind. In that instant, she was turned into a pillar of salt. It makes me think of the heat of a volcanic eruption and what might happen to anyone standing too close.
Sin can be very attractive. It is only when the Lord Jesus Christ enters our lives and rescues us that we see it for what it is. After that moment we must keep our eyes on Him, flee from sin and never look back.
The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah have been discovered southeast of the Dead Sea just east of Jerusalem. Archeologists say that the debris was about three feet thick and there is evidence that the fire started at the top of the buildings and burned down.
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