Lenten Meditation on Lot's Wife: Did the Punishment Fit?
A point of view...(fictional, interpretive, instructional)
Yes, I know God told us not to look back.
Actually, it was the angels who led us away who told us not to look back. I didn't really look back. I just peeked, just for a second.
It's true. The city was an awful place. The night before we left, the angels supernaturally blinded the mob that surrounded our house, ready to knock down our doors and flood into the house.
Lot's uncle made a bargain with God. A bargain with God? Yes, their deal was that if ten righteous people could be found in the city of thousands, God would allow everything to go on as usual. God would leave everything in place for the sake of ten people. Are the righteous worth that much? Abraham's God must think so.
No, it wasn't exactly a good place. I know that. But it was what I knew. It was all I knew. It wasn't so bad, once you got used to it. Well, they couldn't find ten good people, ten " righteous people ", as they kept saying.
So we had to go.
But go where? Into the desert? Yes, the angels waited for us to leave. They kept saying they couldn't do anything until we were gone. They refused to destroy the good along with the evil.
We were not going to be able to make the first destination they directed us to, so they let us pick another spot, a closer location. I suppose that was generous.
So we went.
But I didn't have time to pack all of my things. I wondered how it could be fair that I escaped, but my best friend and my relatives were left behind. They weren't perfect, but no one is. Not even Lot.
At first, it wasn't bad.
Later...heat, dust, noise, screams of people and animals, the crumbling of stone buildings, the sounds of death surrounded us. Anything will scream when it's burned, when it's burned alive.
All of a sudden, it didn't seem fair. It didn't seem fair. It wasn't fair. They deserved just one more chance. Why did this happen today?! I thought about my beautiful linens, the vineyards, the wines, my jewels.
And what would life be in this desert?
I could never go home. Home wasn't far away. Home was destroyed. It wasn't fair. It was cruel, extreme, who ever heard of such a thing? Who wants to live in a desert, in the middle of nowhere and nothing? Who wants to do that? Not me.
So, you see, I didn't look back. Not really.
Just a glance. Just a quick peek. That's all I did before I started to feel stiff, the sounds began to fade, and my vision blurred.
********************************************
The story of Lot's family and their escape from Sodom is found in Genesis chapter 19.
For many years, Bible students and scholars have considered and discussed the meaning of the death of Lot's wife as the family escaped the destruction of the city of Sodom.
The Genesis text only tells us Lot's wife "looked back" and became a "pillar of salt."
She was destroyed .
Her death has been interpreted as a warning not to "live backwards", not to become obsessed or too focused on the past, or on history, or on who or what we may have been in the past.
Sometimes, God closes doors. God may close a door before we realize a chapter of our life is over. God may close a door because we resist accepting a new call, a new direction, a new partnership, a new purpose.
When we live as Christ followers, we don't have a right to choose all of our beginnings and all of our transitions. Some or perhaps all of those choices are made by our loving, all-knowing God. When the path is clear, our call is to follow ---not to challenge or debate.
This is the principle I'm attempting to illustrate in the fictional account of the self-talk of Lot's wife. It's not a substitute for Scripture. We already have the true story. What I'm offering is a reminder that God's leading is always best, always safer, always most secure.
Just a peek or a glance back at the thing we love more than God can be the beginning of the end. Don't look back. Keep moving forward.
Yes, I know God told us not to look back.
Actually, it was the angels who led us away who told us not to look back. I didn't really look back. I just peeked, just for a second.
It's true. The city was an awful place. The night before we left, the angels supernaturally blinded the mob that surrounded our house, ready to knock down our doors and flood into the house.
Lot's uncle made a bargain with God. A bargain with God? Yes, their deal was that if ten righteous people could be found in the city of thousands, God would allow everything to go on as usual. God would leave everything in place for the sake of ten people. Are the righteous worth that much? Abraham's God must think so.
No, it wasn't exactly a good place. I know that. But it was what I knew. It was all I knew. It wasn't so bad, once you got used to it. Well, they couldn't find ten good people, ten " righteous people ", as they kept saying.
So we had to go.
But go where? Into the desert? Yes, the angels waited for us to leave. They kept saying they couldn't do anything until we were gone. They refused to destroy the good along with the evil.
We were not going to be able to make the first destination they directed us to, so they let us pick another spot, a closer location. I suppose that was generous.
So we went.
But I didn't have time to pack all of my things. I wondered how it could be fair that I escaped, but my best friend and my relatives were left behind. They weren't perfect, but no one is. Not even Lot.
At first, it wasn't bad.
Later...heat, dust, noise, screams of people and animals, the crumbling of stone buildings, the sounds of death surrounded us. Anything will scream when it's burned, when it's burned alive.
All of a sudden, it didn't seem fair. It didn't seem fair. It wasn't fair. They deserved just one more chance. Why did this happen today?! I thought about my beautiful linens, the vineyards, the wines, my jewels.
And what would life be in this desert?
I could never go home. Home wasn't far away. Home was destroyed. It wasn't fair. It was cruel, extreme, who ever heard of such a thing? Who wants to live in a desert, in the middle of nowhere and nothing? Who wants to do that? Not me.
So, you see, I didn't look back. Not really.
Just a glance. Just a quick peek. That's all I did before I started to feel stiff, the sounds began to fade, and my vision blurred.
********************************************
The story of Lot's family and their escape from Sodom is found in Genesis chapter 19.
For many years, Bible students and scholars have considered and discussed the meaning of the death of Lot's wife as the family escaped the destruction of the city of Sodom.
The Genesis text only tells us Lot's wife "looked back" and became a "pillar of salt."
She was destroyed .
Her death has been interpreted as a warning not to "live backwards", not to become obsessed or too focused on the past, or on history, or on who or what we may have been in the past.
Sometimes, God closes doors. God may close a door before we realize a chapter of our life is over. God may close a door because we resist accepting a new call, a new direction, a new partnership, a new purpose.
When we live as Christ followers, we don't have a right to choose all of our beginnings and all of our transitions. Some or perhaps all of those choices are made by our loving, all-knowing God. When the path is clear, our call is to follow ---not to challenge or debate.
This is the principle I'm attempting to illustrate in the fictional account of the self-talk of Lot's wife. It's not a substitute for Scripture. We already have the true story. What I'm offering is a reminder that God's leading is always best, always safer, always most secure.
Just a peek or a glance back at the thing we love more than God can be the beginning of the end. Don't look back. Keep moving forward.
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