Now, dear reader, I ask you to read this verse with me again, because I see two possible interpretations:
1. The wife was in front of her husband and looked behind him
2. The wife was behind her husband and looked back
Three things are certain:
1. The people in the verse are a married couple
2. The wife looked back
3. She became a pillar of salt
Are you familiar with this piece of scripture? It is the story of Lot and his wife, given the gift of mercy, the opportunity to escape destruction at the hands of a righteous God, that could no longer tolerate the wickedness of two places called Sodom and Gomorrah (Sodomy, Sodom… yes yes, the term comes from the territory, and Sodom and Gomorrah are infamous for their open rebellion against God).
Looking back
Do you look back dear one, to what your life used to be like? What do you see? Is it better, somehow, then the life ahead of you? Turn back for a brief moment: not to worry, you will not turn into a pillar of salt, what have you escaped? What destruction lies in your wake, your sudden and God designed removal from the hellish situation that you were mercifully retrieved from having to endure? What is back there, where you used to be? Are you at all, grateful, for where you are in this moment?
Now, look ahead, to the path that has been cleared for you: what do you envision?
The woman in the story
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| Wanton refusal to be led |
The woman in the story, the wife, she looked back in longing, lustfully wanting to return to a wicked place: a place of debauchery, self-indulgence, and every kind of evil endeavour. She did not keep her eyes on the one man that God had shown particular favour to, the one man that God permitted to escape with his family. Lot was a ticket out for this woman; she was his wife. Whether she was in front of him, or behind him as they ran for their lives, she chose not him. She chose not God. She chose to look back to a time and place that damned her and in her choosing, she secured her fate along with the peoples that populated Sodom and Gomorrah. In an instant, her choosing freezes her in time, a life-sized salty statue; a reminder to all who heed, that to disregard God, to rebel against him, to refuse rescue, ensures death eternal and removal from his care forever.
Looking forward
This morning, I read scripture and landed on the verse above. It pierced my heart and gladdened it immediately. I am not like Lots wife: she wanted what was, I want what will be. I am not her: I will follow my man, keep my eyes on him, because he keeps his on our God. I will not turn back, like she did: I have been set free and my future lies ahead: the past is dead and I have been rescued from damnation. I am not she, praise God. Who wants to be a salt lick for eternity?
Your turn
It is now your turn dear reader. Have you been set free, escaped your own version of Sodom and Gomorrah? We all have, by virtue of being sinners saved by Christ… this one thing in common, the need of a Saviour. He is our ticket out, our cleared path, when we keep our eyes on him and follow faithfully.
Keep your eyes on Jesus dear one. He will lead you to the promised land.
