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Genesis 19:24-26 “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon
Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the
inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar
of salt.”
There it is…the last reference to Mrs. Lot! She looked back
and became a pillar of salt. It is easy for us to judge her from
our place in history, but think about her for a minute. She had
lived in Sodom with her husband for many years…her home was
there…her friends were there…she hadn’t had time
to think, say good-bye or pack her favorite possessions…she
was leaving at least two daughters there… she may also have
left grandchildren in Sodom. The temptation to look back must
have been very great, but God forbid it. Yet, she turned for one
last longing look at the allure of sin and it cost her life. Oh,
how many of us are so busy looking back at an incident in our
life, living constantly in the memory land of “If Only”
that we are unusable to God. Not unusable because we have sinned
but because we refuse to leave the sin behind and become
available for life.
Lot then was afraid to remain in the small town of Zoar, so he
and his two daughters went into the mountains and dwelt in a
cave. Obviously, Lot recognized that his previous fear of the
mountains was only an excuse he was using to do what he wanted
rather than doing what God commanded.
Genesis 19:31-34 “And the firstborn said unto the younger,
Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the earth to
come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with
him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
And they made their father drink wine that night: and the
firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not
when she lay down, nor when she arose.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto
the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us
make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, [and] lie
with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”
It was while they were living in the cave that Lot’s
daughters decided they would cause their father to become drunk
and then have intercourse with him so they could each conceive a
child. They used their father’s habit of justifying
disobedience to God by the situation. Did they really believe
there was no man in all the earth? Of course not! They knew there
were men living in Zoar. They knew that Uncle Abram had many men
in his family unit. They must have known some of the history of
their father’s tribe. They knew that Uncle Abram would
eventually send someone to look for them after he saw the smoke
of the brimstone. God had already told Abram he would destroy
Sodom and Gomorrah. They chose to make an excuse to sin, but they
had watched their father make compromises and deals all of their
life. Today we call this type of thinking situation ethics…but
God still has the final word.
We cannot hold Lot blameless in his daughter’s deceit and
conceptions even if he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
All he had to do was say, “No thank you, I don’t care
to drink any more wine.”
This is a family history that could come out of almost any TV program or newspaper
headline of our day. I want to summarize the destruction of this family unit
and see if we can draw some conclusions about what our lives should be.
- Lot’s family looked at sin: Genesis 13:12 “Abram
dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the
cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward Sodom.”
- Lot’s family lived with sin: Genesis 14:12 “And
they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom,
and his goods, and departed.”
- Lot’s family was respected by sinners: Genesis 19:1
“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot
sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing [them] rose up
to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward
the ground;”
- Lot’s testimony was worthless: Genesis 19:14 “And
Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which
married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this
place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed
as one that mocked unto his sons in law.”
- Lot’s family had a problem being obedient to God:
Genesis 19:16 “And while he lingered, the men laid
hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being
merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set
him without the city.” Genesis 19:18 “And Lot
said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:” Genesis 19:26
“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt.”
- Lot’s inconsistency left his daughter’s with no
values to cling to in trouble: Genesis 19:31-32 “And
the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old,
and [there is] not a man in the earth to come in unto us
after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our
father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father.”
It is so easy for any one of us to become complacent
about the sin around us and to feel there is nothing we
can do to change our society. Many times we can’t
change things but we do not have to condone or justify
ungodly behavior. Lot’s wife looking back is an
example of our living today, looking back…at the
would have, could have, and should have…we become a
pillar of salt…useless to ourselves and every one
else when we live like this.
As Christians we need to realize that sometime the place
that looks the best or the job that pays the most may not
be in the our best spiritual interest.
We need to guard our eyes from looking on sinful
behavior. If we become comfortable looking at sinful
behavior it becomes enticing. How often do we hear
someone say they only wanted to try something once and
now find themselves hooked on alcohol, drugs,
pornography, or any other self-destructive behavior?
We need to speak up within our homes about wickedness in
our society and world, so our families know we agree with
God rather than with man. Ephesians 4:13-15 is written to
the church but it teaches a principle that holds true for
the home also. Unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus
Christ gives children stability and enables them to stand
firm against temptation and peer pressure. That unity of
faith means the parent or parents must be steadfast and
consistent in their walk and their talk.
We need to keep sin out of our homes. I realize that
there are things we cannot do, but we need to do what we
can. We always have our remote set to flip back and forth
between two channels. As an example, if a Victoria’s
Secret commercial comes on we flip the channel. Our young
people do not need to see commercials for mood altering
drugs, underwear, alcohol, condoms, feminine hygiene
products, or to correct impotence just to list a few. How
many times does a teenage boy need to see a commercial
about sexual enhancement before his mind is fantasizing?
We need to be motivated by the prospect of hearing a
“Well, done” from God rather than seeking the
praise or approval of man.
We need to realize that being consistent in anything
involves self-discipline and personal conviction. You can
not set the standards for your family if you have no
standards for yourself.
I don’t want to leave any of us feeling hopeless
about the Christian life and our parenting skills. While
many people would say that Lot’s family was ruined
and certainly it was devastated, yet it was not without
hope of redemption. One of Lot’s descendents was
Ruth who married Boaz and is named in the lineage of
Christ. We need to keep our focus on the end of the race.
A runner watches the finish line not the competition or
the cheering crowd. Philippians 3:14 “I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.”
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