Most of us have heard the story about Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt but have overlooked an important concept. I’ve been reading the new testament where many stories told by Jesus were taught in parables not to be taken literally. So what is the underlying metaphor happening here in Luke 17:32 where Jesus tells us to remember Lot’s wife and what can we learn from this?
Why Should We Remember Lot’s Wife?
Jesus instructs us to remember Lot’s wife before giving us some inspirational words in Luke 17:33. Let’s dig a little deeper and find out why. Looking back in Genesis, God commanded Lot and his family to leave the town of Sodom to be saved from what was coming. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities full of what God called “exceedingly grave sins” in Genesis 18:20 and God was going to destroy them.
The cities were full of corruption and evil. Homosexuality was among those sins in the city of Sodom, so much so that homosexuality is still often referred to as sodomy. Lot and his family were the only righteous people left in the cities.
Two angels were sent there to help rescue them before God destroyed the cities with brimstone and fire. They told them to flee and warned them not to look back on the city. While they were leaving the city of Sodom, Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s wife disobeyed God and wanted to look back on the city of sin and was punished for it. I have a theory that just maybe she slowed down when she turned around and that was when she was burned to a pillar of salt. This is how temptation is for all of us. It is distracting, slows us down, and can ultimately destroy us if we don’t overcome it. We have the same choice as she did. We can either turn from our sin and walk in freedom or we can look back and return to it.
God refers to believers who return back to sin like a dog who returns to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11). This is graphically explaining that we should no longer live a life without serving the Lord, especially when we have already come to know Him. We should be repulsed by sin in every form like it is vomit and live holy lives before the Lord. Even speaking about sin should not be a part of our lives.
Lose My Life?
“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17:33
This verse has been somewhat confusing to me until recently. Keeping your life means that you aren’t living a life holy and fully surrendered to God. Losing our lives means we should fight and overcome the desires of our flesh daily and replace them with the truth. We should heed to the guidance of the Holy Spirit even when it hurts and feels impossible.
God will always give us a way out of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13) but the choice to obey is not for the weak-willed. We need to be on guard and sharp at all times. The enemy prowls around looking for ways to constantly attack those he fears will do good for the kingdom.
The enemy attacks us because Satan is scared of the potential impact we will have in sharing God’s truth. Satan likes to use those we love and trust against us at times but we have to be aware of who the real enemy is Satan. We need to realize we have power through the Holy Spirit to rebuke the enemy and carry out God’s will.
So do you have what it takes to surrender? I know I do and I hope you will join me in fully dedicating your life to the One who paid it all for us. Be strong in the faith and persevere to the end and your reward will be true riches in Paradise.
A Prayer for You
LORD thank You for Your goodness and Your grace. Guide us and empower us to overcome the enemy’s traps that try to guide us off course. LORD, we want more of You in our lives and for Your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen!
