Mothers, Remember Lot's Wife

She was running, stumbling, getting up and falling again. Sweat was stinging her eyes, and Lot kept screaming to not look back. Every time she looked at him she seethed inside. The night before, he offered her daughters to a group of perverted men, and she hated him for it. Thankfully, two strangers had saved her girls from unspeakable defilement. However, today they were making her leave her beautiful home, precious jewels, and fine linens. Because of this, she was beginning to detest these so-called angels. They said God was going to burn the city. Who was God anyway? She had left other daughters, grandchildren, and son-in-laws in Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps, if there was a fire, they would rescue some of her fine things, and she could secretly return to get them.

If she wasn’t so frustrated, she might even find the situation laughable. Why run from the wrath of a God she no longer served. Why seek shelter in the arms of a God she no longer believed existed? She hadn’t always felt this way. Once she had lived in the tents of Abraham. The blessings were innumerable. At times the presence of Abraham’s Lord was so thick that it felt as if you could touch it. Her marriage was happy. Her children were healthy. For the most part, they honored God and His ways. One day, Lot returned to their tent and told her they would be moving close to the beautiful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. She was ecstatic. Abraham never allowed them to have any fun. A little excitement was just what she needed.

She loved her new life. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t want to know Abraham’s God, but she and Lot were able to hold onto both God and the world. Then, her family got so caught up in the pleasure of life that they slowly let the ways of God slip from their grasp. They began to assimilate the ways of their heathen neighbors until they couldn’t even remember what it was like to dwell in His presence. She became cold, careless, and disobedient. Not only had she moved into Sodom, but she allowed Sodom to move into her.

A spirit of regret began to seep into her soul as she continued to run from her beloved cities. The guilt of not holding fast to the truth for her children’s sake began to overwhelm her. Perhaps it wasn’t too late. Maybe she could convince the angels to go rescue her children from the doom that was coming.

She called out to them as they ran, but her voice was silenced over the explosion behind her. The smell of brimstone burned her nose, and her back stung from the heat of the fire. It was happening just as the angels said it would. Lot was screaming to run faster. The fire roared louder. She could hear the screams of her neighbors and friends. Suddenly, her mother’s heart struggled past the desire for worldliness, and tried to reach for her unsaved children. She didn’t want to loose them to the fire. The pain of being responsible for her children’s lost souls caused her to feel complete devastation. She turned around to point them to safety, turned back to point them to God, turned back…

We know this Biblical story’s terrible ending. Some of the details of the account have been expanded, but the message remains the same. Sin brings death and destruction that affects more than our selves. Most people assume that Lot had only two daughters, but scripture tells us this is not the case. Lot says to the Sodomites in Genesis 19:8, “See now, I have two unmarried daughters.” Later in verse 14, he “spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters,” meaning Lot and his wife had other married daughters. Finally, the angels tell him in verse 15, “Arise, take your wife and daughters who are here…” implying he had daughters elsewhere. When God rained down fire and brimstone, Lot’s wife’s daughters, sons-in-laws, and possibly grandchildren died a graceless death.

History would have changed in Lot’s family if his wife had taken a stand for righteousness. If she had held kept the boundaries that Abraham, her pastor, had set for the safety of her family, her children would have had the opportunity to be saved. Her daughters that were rescued on that dreadful day birthed the Ammonites and the Moabites. Both of these nations were hostile toward the children of Israel for generations to come.

There are few things in scripture more solemn than this. When Jesus referred to Lot’s wife in the New Testament, he was not warning the Pharisees, but was warning the church. Perhaps he was speaking directly to mothers. Remember Lot’s wife. Remember the daily decisions that you make for your self and your children may cause irreversible consequences. Find a place to pray. When you feel pulled towards the world, fight for the salvation of your children as much as you would fight someone that was physically harming them. The soul of our children is a mother’s greatest responsibility. The pleasure of sin is for a season, but the heartache it brings is for eternity. Mother’s, remember Lot’s wife.