Lot's Wife Why Did She Look Back?

As I study the story of Lot's wife, I ask myself, why is her story important to us and how can it be applied to our lives today?

Here are some of my conclusions. Lot's wife was a woman torn between what she was forced to suddenly leave behind, which was the only security she had known for many years, to what lay ahead, an uncertain future.

Lot’s wife was not a bad woman; she was just a woman living in a society filled with wickedness where sin was so prevalent that she had become numb to it and compromised her faith. She lived her life as a woman who took care of her family and ran a household filled with many challenges. Not unlike the women of today’s world, but in her case, it appears that she ignored the world outside her home that desperately needed to know about God.

She was the wife of a prosperous business man, which meant she had responsibilities such as entertaining guests. She was a mother of several daughters. Some of these daughters were married and at least two were unmarried. She had son-in-laws and I believe she also had grandchildren. Her life was filled with responsibilities and obligations. She was living a life most of us would consider to be normal and ordinary. But in one night her whole life changed with the arrival of the strangers that God sent to destroy the cities.

Suddenly she finds herself fleeing her home in the middle of the night with most of her possessions being left behind, but not before her son-in-laws have refused to join the family in their departure. So, her married daughters and possible grandchildren are left behind in a place where God has promised to bring judgment for sins. Lot’s wife leaves her home with an aching heart filled with uncertainty and a sense of loss. She knows her place is with her husband, but what about all that she is leaving behind. With all these loose ends, Lot’s wife allowed herself to be driven by her emotions and those emotions overruled the plans that God had for her. The price that she paid for her indecisiveness was high and ended her life (Genesis 18:16 19:29).

Her life was so important that Jesus saw fit to mention her in the new testament as an example for us to study. In Luke 17:28-32, Jesus warns the believer that in the last days, we must be single minded for the things of God in our daily lives because when the time comes that the Son of man is revealed; we will have no time to prepare.

As a believer in today's world, I can hear Jesus admonishing us to be people of purpose who are sure of where we stand, not driven by our emotions no matter what circumstances are in our lives. He is warning us not to be like Lot's wife; who was a double minded woman that was unsure of the plans that God had for her. He is urging us to examine ourselves and to make changes to improve ourselves so that we will become single minded people unafraid of the changes that God would see fit to bring into our lives. We must be ready to trust God and willing to be obedient to Him so that we will not be left behind rooted to the world as pillars of salt .