Here is one story that the Lord Jesus has told us to remember. However, you can’t remember a story you have never heard. Perhaps some of you have never heard the story of Lot’s wife, so I shall tell you about her.
We don’t know her name, except that she was Mrs. Lot, and she lived in a city called Sodom. Mr. and Mrs. Lot had sons and daughters, and at least two of their daughters were married and lived in homes of their own. I don’t think Mrs. Lot was very hospitable, and I will tell you why.
God sent two men to the gate of Sodom, and there they found Lot sitting in a place of great importance as a judge in that city. He was very polite to the visitors and invited them to his house. At first they refused, but they finally did accept Lot’s invitation and came to his house.
I don’t know where Mrs. Lot was, but she didn’t seem to share her husband’s hospitality. It was Lot who did the cooking and serving and made his guests welcome. Those two visitors were angel-messengers from God, but it seems that Mrs. Lot missed the opportunity.
Are you missing an opportunity when God’s messengers come to your house? You could be a listener and a helper.
Lot heard an important warning from the visiting angels that night, but I am not sure that Lot’s wife heard the warning. Lot not only listened to the warning, but he believed it and went to the homes of his married daughters to warn them. He told them, God is going to destroy this city! But nobody believed him. They laughed, as though he were telling them a joke. It was the last time Lot’s family heard the warning.
When you hear God’s warning of judgment that is sure to come, is it a joke to you? Is hell something to laugh about? Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27) is warning us right now: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
When morning came, it was time to leave the city, but Lot and his wife and young daughters did not want to go. The two angels actually took their hands and pulled them out of the city, because God was merciful to them.
As God was destroying Sodom with fire from heaven, the angels told Lot and his wife and family, Escape for your lives, and DON’T LOOK BACK! But it seems Mrs. Lot did not really believe the message. She looked back at the burning city, but she never took another step. She became a pillar of salt!
God tells us to “remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:3232Remember Lot's wife. (Luke 17:32)). There is a lesson in this story He wants us to learn and remember. It is a reminder to each of us that we must never say “Yes” when God says “No!”
Do you believe God’s Word? Do you believe Him when He says, “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:1010But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10))? God will judge this sinful world exactly as He has promised. But God has a plan of escape for any who will turn to His Son, Christ Jesus, for salvation from their sins. Will you believe in Him and be saved?
Lot escaped, but he was not a happy man. His life shows us why Christians are not always happy. He believed God’s Word, but he did not like what he heard. He had worked so hard to improve Sodom, and now it was hard to know the whole city was gone up in flames.
Don’t waste your life doing your own thing. Even if you are a true believer, you may follow your own ideas of what you want to do without reading God’s Word to find out His choice. The world has a lot to offer, but God has more joy and love for you than you could ever guess, if you follow His plan.
Think About God’s Word!
1. What warning did the angels bring?
2. Do you have trouble “hearing” something you don’t like - such as a call to clean your room? How does an obedient spirit improve our hearing?
Project: God uses the ear as a symbol in many places in His Word. Can you give five verses about the ear, hearing or listening? You might need to use a concordance. What message do they send about what God expects from us?