Remembering Lot's Wife

Wives actually don't show up all that favorably in the Bible.  Some stellar exceptions are Noah's wife in the Old Testament and Aquila's wife in the New.  But from Eve to Mrs. Job to Mrs. Lot to Jezebel to Sapphira ...  we get the picture.

But of all the wives, Jesus admonished us to remember one in particular:  Mrs. Lot.  We know the story — angelic visitors were sent, by God's grace, to rescue Lot and his family before Sodom was destroyed.  Lot warned his family, but some of them thought he was joking.  Whether motivated by love, obedience or faith, just three left with Lot before the city was destroyed.

We know the story:  she didn't believe enough to remain obedient.  She looked back — after being warned explicitly not to — and she became a pillar of salt.  Now, why would Jesus point to this particular incident as something that those living in these last days should remember?  A few reasons come to mind.

First, Mrs. Lot didn't know where she was living.  She apparently didn't believe that she was living in a city that was coming under judgment.

Second, she didn't know when she was living.  She may have believed, in a general sense, that God would judge the world "some day."  She did not know that the day had come.

Finally, it appears that she did not know WHY she was living.  Her "job description" as Lot's wife involved being a "suitable helper" for her husband.  By disobeying and looking back, she effectively deserted Lot just when he probably needed her the most.

These things are coming into sharper focus for me as we see the judgments against America continuing.  As I write, a dispersant called Corexit is being dumped in massive quantities in the Gulf of Mexico, which is making that body of water TOXIC.  At the same time, national weather services are predicting an unusually severe hurricane season.  We have a certifiable Marxist in the White House and an economy on the brink of total collapse.  It should be clear to any student of scripture that God's benevolent hand of restraint is being withdrawn, and that some frightening things are in the very near future.  It troubles me that many who consider themselves Christians are either unaware, or unconcerned.

Most of us have never experienced an economic collapse.  Most of us have never lived in an aggressive police state (such as existed in Germany under Hitler and in Russia under Stalin).  None of us has experienced a hurricane that is spreading toxic waste and oil over large portions of the landscape.  And tragically, most of us continue in the false hope that "it can't happen here."

Remember Lot's wife.

America has shed the blood of over 50 million innocent babies, and that blood — like Abel's — cries out to the just Judge for vengeance.  God has given us ample time to repent, and we have not repented.  The problems now facing us are not political problems or environmental problems or economic problems; they are SPIRITUAL problems — the hard-heartedness, rebelliousness and disobedience of people who purport to be children of God.  We are occupied by the activities of our busy lives and the amusements of the culture.  The Titanic is going down but we're in the lounge playing cards and can't be distracted.

God is not deceived; neither will He be mocked.  He is not mollified by our little prayer asking Jesus into our hearts, or our superficial once-a-week religious exercises.  The Judge of all the earth will do right, and He has been warning us continually.  Will we listen?  Will we OBEY?

Remember Lot's wife.