Escape for Your Life!
The scene of God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was very dramatic. The two angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by their hands to lead them out of the city ahead of the fire and brimstone being rained down on the cities of the plain. Their instructions were clear, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay in the plain." However, Lot's wife did look back, and she became a pillar of salt.(Genesis 19:17,26) Why did God do that, and what do we need to learn?
We are not told why Lot's wife looked back. It could have been curiosity, or it might have been longing for her home and possessions. However, the reason is not essential to get the meaning of the event. They were told to escape for their lives. They knew that the sins of the people were the cause of this destruction. It was clear that they did not need to be in that place any longer if they desired to have life. Life was in escaping, so don't look back. The problem was that Lot's wife did not take the danger of God's wrath against sin and his orders to flee seriously enough to obey the angels. Therefore, she became a pillar of salt for everyone to see and remember what had happened to her.
I am afraid we tend to do the same thing as Lot's wife. We do not take God's anger against sin seriously. We do not take his orders to flee sin seriously, either, so we end up looking back. When we look back, we take our eyes off of life, and we consider the sins which hurt us and cause death. It is destructive for us. In fact, in Luke 9:62 Jesus said, "No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." We can't live like a child of the King when we are looking at the things of this world. We must focus on God. We must escape for our lives and not look behind us, to be a growing Christian who honors Christ as our King. Let's not look back. We may not become a pillar of salt, but our lives will be a sign for everyone of what looking back does to a believer.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 21-23.
We are not told why Lot's wife looked back. It could have been curiosity, or it might have been longing for her home and possessions. However, the reason is not essential to get the meaning of the event. They were told to escape for their lives. They knew that the sins of the people were the cause of this destruction. It was clear that they did not need to be in that place any longer if they desired to have life. Life was in escaping, so don't look back. The problem was that Lot's wife did not take the danger of God's wrath against sin and his orders to flee seriously enough to obey the angels. Therefore, she became a pillar of salt for everyone to see and remember what had happened to her.
I am afraid we tend to do the same thing as Lot's wife. We do not take God's anger against sin seriously. We do not take his orders to flee sin seriously, either, so we end up looking back. When we look back, we take our eyes off of life, and we consider the sins which hurt us and cause death. It is destructive for us. In fact, in Luke 9:62 Jesus said, "No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." We can't live like a child of the King when we are looking at the things of this world. We must focus on God. We must escape for our lives and not look behind us, to be a growing Christian who honors Christ as our King. Let's not look back. We may not become a pillar of salt, but our lives will be a sign for everyone of what looking back does to a believer.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 21-23.