PROCLAMATION
“Then
The Lord rained upon Sodom and
upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from The Lord out of heaven; And He overthrew those cities … and all the
inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the
ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:24-26 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
These
are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the
influence of The Holy Spirit of God. After dining with Abraham, the two
angels who had been with The Lord left and went to Sodom. (Genesis
18:22) When they arrived at Sodom, Lot was sitting in the gateway of
the city and he urged them to go to his house and tarry there. (Genesis
19:1-2) Initially they refused but eventually they agreed to go with
him. He prepared a meal for them and they ate. (Genesis 19:2-3) Before
they went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house and called out to Lot
to bring the two men out so that they could have sex with them. (Genesis
19:3-5) Lot went outside to the men and offered them his two virgin
daughters but they refused them. The two angels pulled Lot back into
the house and caused all of the men outside of the house to be blind. (Genesis
19:6-11) The two angels told Lot that they were going to destroy the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19:12) Lot was
told to take his wife and two daughters and get out of the city and go to the
mountains. (Genesis 19:15) They were told by one of the angels of The
Lord to: “Flee for you lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in
the plain!” (Genesis 19:17) When they reached safety in the city
of Zoar, the destruction of the cities began. The Lord God rained
down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife turned
and looked back, and as she looked back she was changed into a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:23-26)
APPLICATION
There
has been much speculation as to why Lot’s wife looked back. Some
Bible scholars feel that she was longing for that which she loved and had left
behind. (Thomas Nelson and John Wesley)
Others believe that that she was curious and wanted to see what was
happening. Regardless of her reason for
doing it, she did it, she disobeyed the angel of The Lord and she was punished
immediately. Once we are saved, we are not to go back to our old sinful
ways, or wish for them, or look back longing for them. Jesus, The Christ,
said that no one who takes up the work of God and looks back on his previous
live longingly is worthy of the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) We are
to learn from past mistakes, not long to return to our past sinful life.
We should not value our past so much so that we ruin our present and our
future.
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