3 21 26 - Mrs Lot: Remember Lot's Wife

Every sermon I have ever heard regarding Lot's wife has always pictured her in a negative light. They always emphasized her desire for the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah—longing for that life rather than the deliverance that came at the hand of the angels. 

Through this week, we have identified multiple characteristics of salt, and none of them have to do with anything that is wicked or sinful. In fact, everything that we have shaken out in our studies—pun intended—has been that salt is amazing and necessary in every area of life, especially in our speech (Col. 4:5–6):

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
(Col. 4:5–6)

What put us on this salty journey was Leviticus 2:13, where every offering that is brought into the presence of the Lord must be seasoned with salt. Similarly, we have also seen in 2 Chronicles 13:5 that the covenant of salt is connected to our concept of eternity and the faithfulness of God regarding His throne:

And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.
(Lev. 2:13)

Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
(2 Chron. 13:5)

On the flip side—no news to any of us—we know that man was made from dust (the serpent's RDA, Gen. 3:14), and when we die, we return to dust (Gen. 3:19). However, what made me question the traditional view of Mrs. Lot is this: instead of our dusty frame (Psa. 103:14), she becomes a pillar of salt. If she is rebelling, why would she turn into something that is a symbol of eternity, the covenant of God, His faithfulness, a preservative, a thirst producer, essential for health, and a substance that makes life taste better? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

Just as big of a question is, why did she turn back (Gen. 19:26)? And why are we supposed to remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:32)? One major role of a woman is to take the seed that she has been provided from her husband and bring it to life. Based on Genesis chapter 18, Lot had been neglecting his family's spiritual needs. He displayed to his family and those around him a misplaced love; he gave more love to people outside his family than to those inside. He had lost his testimony completely in the eyes of his sons, in-laws, two of his sons, and two of his daughters (Gen. 19:14).

There is a general rule that mothers have a deeper longing for their children than most fathers; they want to make sure that they are not left behind spiritually. When the husband fails to do his job leading, the mother usually picks up the slack. With the internal challenges of living in Lot's house, the inconsistency in his faith, and most likely the regret from not living differently, they left behind six of their children. I think this is what Mrs. Lot was looking for: to have the entire family saved out of the destruction (Gen. 19:22).

In last night's Zoom call, I addressed this topic in significant detail with hopes it would spur us on to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:23–25)—specifically for fathers, like Lot, to be consistently pouring into the lives of their honey bunny and children, and for the honey bunny, guiding the children with truths that are diametrically opposed to the philosophy of Sodom and Gomorrah (Eze. 16:49–50):

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, abundance of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
(Eze. 16:49–50) 

Ironically, Lot must not have been holding his honey bunny's hand as they exited Sodom, inferring that by the only words we hear him saying about his own self-preservation. Could their reluctance to be delivered out of the city be a result of their regret in leaving behind six children? There are probably just as many questions as answers. However, if I am going to remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:26), I want to make sure that, regardless of the husband's spiritual leadership, the mother still has a responsibility to teach the children well. Of course, all children have to make up their own minds, and sometimes those are painful decisions because they are in direct rebellion to the Word of God.

With the Sabbath nearly over, I am reminded to remember Lot's wife. For myself, I will remember her in the most positive way, and with the most powerful warning: do not sit idly by and allow the influences of the culture in this world to grip the children so strongly that they do not want to leave the place of destruction. I am remembering Lot's wife with you :-).

Have a wonderful close to your Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom!

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