Genesis 19:17-2617And 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. 18And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: 19Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: 20Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. 21And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. 22Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. 24Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:17‑26)
“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.” verse 17.
Even with such remarkable intervention preserving him from Sodom’s destruction, Lot was not equal to escaping to “the mountain.” Those heights which were the scene of communion between the Lord and Abram were the source of fear to Lot. He pleaded instead for permission to escape to the city of Zoar. Poor man, perhaps he thought that because it was a “little city” it would be better than what he had left behind, but what it really expressed was that he yet wanted to hold to the world, even though “just a little bit of it.” How much better, had he even at this late hour, cast himself upon God’s mercy, owned his failure and sought the Lord’s gracious guidance for the future. Surely God would have blessed his latter years under such conditions, even as He did Job, who also lost all his earthly possessions. But Lot was not so inclined. He had so fully dedicated his life to his own devising that he hesitated to separate himself from his surroundings although knowing everything was to be consumed.
“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” verse 26. When Lot chose the well-watered plains of Jordan and later took up residence in Sodom, his action not only affected his own life, but his entire family as well. If they were not there by choice, they were involved by reason of compulsion.
Certain it is that our behavior will affect others, either for good or bad and this is particularly true of those abiding close by us. The unholy atmosphere had its effect upon everyone in Lot’s family and, as we have already observed, it was only by physically pulling them out of their surroundings that the angels were able to deliver them from fiery judgment.
As the pathetic company was released by their deliverers, their instructions were: “Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain.” Contrary to these words, Lot’s wife turned and looked back. She became a lasting witness of the truth of the warning. Her disobedience caused her immediate death. The Lord Jesus Himself, when speaking of coming judgment, said, “Remember Lot’s wife,” and added, “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it.” (Luke 17.) It was a costly error for her to look back with longing on that which she had been told to leave and perhaps to think that she might yet find a way to save herself without giving it up.
Has the reader known something of deliverance from the strong attachments of this world? The warning still applies: “Remember Lot’s wife.” Let us not indulge in any backward glance at that from which through grace we have escaped. May the object of our hearts be Christ, for it is only in “looking unto Jesus” that the soul’s gaze can be directed with assured blessing.
ML 09/26/1965