Remember Lot’s Wife

Introduction

This portion of our worship by opening your Bibles and reading and studying along with us as we study God’s word together this morning. I want to begin with confessional time. Any of you at that point in your life where your memory is not as good as it used to be? Oh, come on, there’s got to be more than that. All right. Here’s a test. Do you ever get up and go into a different room in the house and just stand there? Because you can’t remember what you went in that room for. Here’s one for you. The other day I found myself at the front door with my keys in my hand. And I couldn’t remember if I had just got home. Or if I was getting ready to leave.

But you’ve got to be willing to grab a tailpipe. You have to think about that one for a minute. Memory is a fickle thing, isn’t it? Even those of us who aren’t of advanced age have forgotten certain things. Important things that we should have remembered. And so the scriptures are full of reminders for us to remember. The Lord’s Supper itself is done in remembrance of Christ. And there are other passages that are there that constantly tell us there are certain things, certain fundamental thoughts and principles that should be in the forefront of our mind. And we’re told to remember these things. If you turn to Luke chapter 17 and Jesus’ discussion of judgment, a judgment that was going to come in the lifetime of some of the people there.

Jesus used prior judgments as a reminder. And he would give them this one simple reminder, one simple adage when he said, When thinking of judgment, remember Lot’s wife. Let’s look at the context here. Luke chapter 17. Let’s begin reading in verse 26. Again, Jesus is talking about a judgment. A judgment that would come soon. We take it to be the destruction of Jerusalem that would happen in their lifetimes. And he said that judgment is like other judgments. In Luke 17, verse 26, he says, And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And the flood came and destroyed them all.

Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, and they built. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so it will be when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house. Let him not come down to take them away, and likewise the one who is in the field. Let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Jesus says, remember. In thinking of a judgment that is coming upon them, remember this. And using the illustration of those in Noah’s day who were not remembering, were not aware of the judgment coming upon them, and thinking of those in Lot’s day who were not remembering or were not aware of the judgment, he is saying to those people, remember Lot’s wife.

Remember the judgment that is coming, remember not to look back. Let’s make an application of this adage to us today in view of the judgment that awaits us. And what we can learn when we remember Lot’s wife.

Genesis chapters 18 and 19. And let’s look at the context of this story, this event in which Jesus referenced in regard to judgment that was coming upon them. And we can use an application to regard the judgment that awaits us. Let’s remember the story of Lot and his wife. The story begins in Genesis chapter 18, when three angelic heavenly messengers come to Abraham’s house. And they have good news and they have bad news. The good news is, and really the point of their visit to Abraham’s house was to tell him and his wife Sarah of the impending birth of their son. That though they were old in age and had given up hope that he would come back the next year and they would have the Son of Promise.

But as they’re beginning to leave and go from Abraham to his kinsman Lot to execute the judgment on the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, they pause and decide to disclose what’s going to happen to Abraham. And so they tell Abraham about the destruction that’s coming upon Sodom and Gomorrah. And we remember the bargaining, don’t we, that Abraham did. Abraham, like many of us, have questions and difficulties when it comes to God’s judgment. And so Abraham said, Would you destroy them if there’s 50 righteous people? What about 45 or 40? How about 30, or then 20 or 10 righteous people. But not ten righteous people were going to be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, and so the judgment was to be executed. And so two of those messengers go down to see Lot and his family.

We remember the story of the depravity of the people that shows that God was righteous in his judgment at that time.

Because God is bringing judgment down upon them. Lot tells his sons in laws, but his sons-in-laws think that’s just a joke, that that’s not really going to happen. And so Lot gets his wife and his daughters. And it says, let’s pick up in the reading in Genesis chapter 19. When morning dawned, Genesis 19, verse 15, when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city. And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to them. And they brought them out and set them outside the city. So it came to pass when they had brought them outside that he said, Escape for your life.

Do not look behind you, nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed. Then Lot said to them, Please know my Lord. Indeed, now your servant has found favor in your side, and you’ve increased your mercy, which you’ve shown me by saving my life, but I cannot escape to the mountains lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now.

Is it not a little one? And my soul shall live. And he said to them, See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that you will not, I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar, and the Lord reigned brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. So he overthrew those cities of the plain and the inhabitants of those cities and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back. His wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. This famous story forever stands as a reminder, Jesus says, for us to remember when regard to judgment, remember Lot’s wife.

1. Remember the Certainty of Judgment

Let’s see if we can take some lessons from this reminder. The first thing we need to remember when we remember Lot’s wife is that we have to. We must remember the certainty of judgment. Surely that’s the point of Luke 17. In a context of judgment that was coming. In a context that reminded of the past judgment of Noah’s day and of Lot’s day, that surely a major portion of that reminder is for us to recognize that as God has done before, he will do finally again, God will bring judgment. Let’s remember the certainty of God’s promised judgment. But that’s always a problem, isn’t it? To remember. And to have in the forefront of our minds the upcoming, impending judgment of God. Jesus said it was a problem in Noah’s day.

He said it was a problem in Lot’s day. And why? The reason it was a problem in both Noah and Lot’s day, in Jesus’ day, and in our day, is because every day had something in common. Prior to the falling down of rain in Noah’s day, they forgot of judgment because the sun was shining. Prior to the raining down of fire and brimstone in Lot’s day, they forgot judgment because the sun was shining. In Jesus’ day and in our day, it’s so easy for us to forget the horrible judgment that is coming upon this unrighteous and ungodly world because right now the sun is shining. It doesn’t look like the earth’s going to flood. It doesn’t look like rain is going to be substituted for fire and brimstone.

It doesn’t look like everything we see and know is going to be burned up and we’re going to stand before God in judgment. As in Noah’s day, in Lot’s day.

Marrying and giving in marriage. Everything will seem like it always has been until it ceases to be. And we might let that difficulty bore into our consciousness and begin to think that God’s not really going to do it. Let’s look at a couple of passages that illustrate that mindset. Look in the Old Testament to Psalm 50. There were people in the Old Testament, not just Noah’s day and Lot’s day, but throughout the Old Covenant, who thought maybe God’s not really going to do that. God’s not really going to do what He’s promised in regard to judgment. Look in Psalm 50, verse 21. In regard to a judgment that was coming upon them, Psalm 50, verse 21 says, These things you have done, and I kept silent.

You thought I was all together like you.

And set them in order before your eyes.

And so you think I’m like you.

Not like us in regard to sometimes we don’t keep our word.

And make that drive to Walnut Creek and visit my grandma and grandpa. And inevitably, it seems like almost every trip to my grandparents’ house, I would do something that would invoke these words from my dad. You’re getting a spanking when you get home.

That makes for a long car ride, doesn’t it?

But I was always thinking as a child, I would do two things on the ride home. I was a model child. I behaved, I sat up right. I complimented dad’s driving skills. Because I thought maybe he would forget, or maybe my good would undo the bad. And then just in case I had it timed out, about five miles from home, I would lay down in the back seat. This was before seat belts and car seats were a thing. I’d lay down in the back seat and pretend like I was asleep. Even my dad wouldn’t beat a sleeping child. And you know, sometimes it worked. I don’t know, maybe Dad’s temper had calmed down. Maybe my little ploys worked. Probably not. But sometimes when Dad said, You’re going to spanking when you get home, I didn’t get a spanking when I got home.

Now, sometimes I did, but sometimes I didn’t. And so God says, you’ve done these things, and up until this point I’ve kept silent, and you think I’m like you. I think what he’s saying is, you think I’m not really going to do it. Look in the New Testament, the book of 1 Peter, or excuse me, 2 Peter. In 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter discusses a similar issue of judgment. And how that we might fool ourselves into thinking it’s not really going to come. In 2 Peter chapter 3. He says, warning of some false teachers in verse 3. 2 Peter 3, verse 3, knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days according to their own lust, and saying, where is the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. He’s not really coming. Nothing’s changing. Verse 5, for this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. God said, I did it before, and I’m going to do it again. Don’t forget. I keep my word. And so although the sun is shining, judgment is coming. Although today looks just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that, and maybe tomorrow and the next day will look the same. Remember God has not forgotten his promises.

2. The Danger of Becoming Too Attached to This World

Remember the certainty of judgment. Another lesson from Lot’s wife that we need to remember is that we need to remember the extreme danger of becoming too attached to this world and the things of this world. We might think that was a harsh judgment. All she did was look back. All she did was turn her head and look back. But that was an indication of where her heart was.

Something that was tugging at her. Something that had some kind of emotional and spiritual grip on her.

And the following the example has this to say in Hebrews chapter 12 and in verse 1, it says, Therefore, we also, after that great cloud of witnesses that he just talked about, those great men and women of faith, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. If it’s allowed to, the world will grab onto you and choke out every bit of spirituality in your life. Don’t be deceived. You can come out and leave the world, but the world is behind you, yelling out to you, hey, turn around. Look what you’re leaving. Even Lot. Did you notice the language there in Genesis, in Genesis chapter 19?

Peter tells us that Lot was a righteous man, and he was vexed or tormented in his soul by the circumstances around him. But maybe not enough. Because back in Genesis chapter 19, look at verse 16, what was said there. Judgment was pronounced. He is told by these heavenly messengers to get out, and it says in verse 16, and while he lingered, one translation says, while he hesitated, the angels had to get him and his wife and his daughters by the hands and literally pull them out of the city. So even Lot had some hesitation. Though he was righteous, he knew the wickedness, he knew the judgment was coming. There was something even in him that hesitated to flee the city. We contrast that with his family member Abraham.

You recognize that whenever Abraham was given a task to do, no matter how difficult or how unpleasant it was, whether it was sending out Hagar and Ishmael, sending them away, whether it was going and to what he thought sacrificing his son Isaac upon the altar. You notice in the text that it always says that Abraham arose early in the morning and went to it. But Lot hesitated. And Mrs. Lot stopped and turned around. There was something in that ungodly, unrighteous, wicked city that had a hold on them. And we need to remember that danger.

3. Keep Looking and Moving Forward

Another lesson from Lot’s wife that we must remember is let’s remember to keep looking and moving forward.

How different the story would have been. If rather than looking back at whatever hold that wicked city had on her, if she could have seen the spiritual opportunity God was giving her and her family. Are you still in Genesis chapter 19? We saw in verse 16 that where Lot hesitated. But while he lingered, it says, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him. How was God merciful to Lot and his family? I would argue in three ways they were merciful. Number one, that he was immediately given the opportunity to escape. He was told, this is coming, get out. That was God being merciful. The second way God was being merciful, that even though Lot hesitated, the angels took him by the hand and said, Let’s go.

That was God being merciful. But let’s not miss the third point. God was being merciful in not just saving them from the sure death of fire and brimstone raining down from heaven, but God was saving Lot and his family from the wickedness in that city. The judgment that was coming upon that city was a good thing for Lot and his family. Them getting out of that wicked city was a good thing for Lot and his family. Just as the flood destroyed the wickedness, and Noah was not just saved from the flood, he was saved by the judgment of the flood. Lot and his family should have seen that coming out of that wicked city and having it destroyed and forever put in their past was God being merciful to them.

Look in the book of Colossians, chapter 1. God does the same thing for us. We need to appreciate judgment. The judgment of God as a blessing to us.

Our rescue, not just from a judgment to come, but our rescue from the world and the wickedness that we live in. Colossians chapter 1, begin reading with me in verse 9. For this reason, Colossians 1, verse 9, for this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you. And to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy. Giving thanks to the Father, who’s qualified us to be partakers in the inheritance of the saints in the lie.

Notice verse 13. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through his blood to forgiveness of sins. Christ has rescued us from this wicked, vile world in which we live. And so our mantra should be the Apostle Paul’s when he said, forgetting those things which are behind and pressing forward to the mark of the call of God in Christ Jesus. We need to understand the blessing that God gave Lot and His family. Bringing them out and destroying that wicked city. And the blessing that God has given us in delivering us from this unrighteous, ungodly world and dedicating it to judgment. That he’s delivered us.

Conclusion

And like righteous Lot, our spirits have been tormented by the ungodliness around us. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve participated in Sodom and Gomorrah. But God can rescue you from all of that. If you remember Lot’s wife, remember that judgment is coming. Remember the danger of becoming too entangled in the things of this world. Remember to put your past behind you. And keep looking and keep moving forward. If you’re not a Christian this morning, why not put that past behind you? Or better yet, let God put that past behind you. Let Him forgive you of your sins. Wash them away. Free you, deliver you, rescue you from this ungodly world that you live in. And prepare you not for judgment, but for the blessings of reward of heaven.

Could you become a Christian this morning? Would you leave that world and city of sin behind? Don’t look back. But look and move forward. Maybe you’ve done that in the past, but there’s something about the world that’s pulling and tugging at your heart strings. Remember Lot’s wife. Move forward. Look to God and look to your reward. If we can help you in any spiritual way this morning, let it be known right now, as together we stand and as we sing.