Remember Lot’s Wife

When Jesus tells us to remember something it must be important. Our text tonight is a command from Jesus to remember a particular person. The context of the reminder is important. Jesus is explaining the situation that will exist in the world just before He returns. We would do well to remember that Christ is coming back. The old hymnist said:

Jesus is coming soon

Morning or night or noon

Many will meet their doom

Trumpets will sound

We ought to preach about the second coming of Christ.

We ought to sing about the second coming of Christ.

We ought to think about the second coming of Christ.

As the storm clouds of God’s judgment gather, Jesus says remember Lot’s wife.

As the seventh trumpet is nearing the lips of the angel, Jesus says remember Lot’s wife.

As the white battle horse is saddled, Jesus says remember Lot’s wife.

We live in an age where we are being encouraged to unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament. Christ tells the New Testament church to remember an Old Testament story. I would remind us that there is nothing new under the sun and we ought to remember every Old Testament story.

We ought to remember the Fall in Genesis 3.

We ought to remember the flood in Genesis 6.

We ought to remember Babel in Genesis 11.

We ought to remember Sodom & Gomorrah in Genesis 19.

We ought to remember to remember the plagues in Exodus chapters 7-12.

We ought to remember the flood waters drowning the Egyptians in Exodus 14.

We ought to remember Nadab & Abihu in Leviticus 10 devoured with the fire of God’s judgment for taking the priesthood lightly.

We ought to remember the earth opening up and swallowing Korah in Numbers 16.

There are two women Jesus tells us to remember. One was Mary. Mary poured out a very expensive perfume on Jesus and washed His feet with her hair. Jesus said that wherever the gospel is preached we are to remember her act of devotion. The other woman Jesus tells us to remember is Lot’s wife. These women could not have been any different!

Mary is remembered for her devotion

Lot’s wife s remembered for her rebellion

Mary is an example to follow.

Lot’s wife is a warning.

Mary went to heaven.

Lot’s wife went to hell.

Tonight we obey Jesus command. We remember Lot’s wife.

1. Let us begin by remembering her story.

A. There are many things we don’t know about her.

1. We don’t know her name.

2. We don’t know when she married Lot. We can assume they fell in love and had a normal marriage.

3. We don’t know her age.

We know she had a name. We know she had an anniversary. We know she had a birthday. Perhaps she had a scrapbook with all of those things in it. But none of that matters anymore. Lot’s wife is gone for eternity. Many people knew Lot’s wife. She likely had many friends. Yet the Lord did not know her.

Psalm 9:5 says Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast

Destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out

Their name forever & ever.

Prov. 9:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but

The name of the wicked shall rot.

Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in

The book of life was cast into the lake

Of fire.

I’m sure the people of Sodom would have sung her praises! She stood for us! She was a champion for us!

But in standing for you Sodom, she stood against God!

Her name may have been written in the who’s who of Sodom and Gomorrah but her name was not written in the Lambs book of Life. She is removed from the land of the living for all eternity. She is an unnamed rebel against God. The only thing we know about this woman is we don’t want to be like her.

B. She moved to Sodom with her husband.

Sodom was an exceedingly sinful city. Genesis 18:20 says their sin was exceedingly grievous to God. There have been those who try to discount the historical understanding of the story. It has been taught that the sin of Sodom was homosexuality. Angels appeared in the form of men to come and rescue Lot and his family from the city. In an awful turn of events men from the city attempt to rape these men.

Liberal interpreters have contended that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality but rape. They also point to Ezekiel 16 49-50 which says “ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

They would say that Sodom’s sin was more of social injustice than anything else. There is a major problem with that interpretation. The word “abomination” used in Ezekiel 16:50 is the same word used in Leviticus 18:22. Listen to Leviticus 18:22

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination.”

You can’t be any clearer than that. As I have said before the best commentary on the Old Testament is the New Testament. Listen to what the New Testament says about the sin of Sodom. Jude 7 says

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire”

Jude didn’t say their sin was social injustice. He said their sin was gross sexual immorality.

Genesis 13:10 says Sodom was a beautiful city. For the sinner it was a great place to live. It was prosperous. There were liquor stores, restaurants, shopping, opportunity, farming, houses, etc.

Ezekiel said there was pride, abundance, & idleness in Sodom. He said the people there were overfed and well rested!

Zillow would have these homes listed high!

C. Judgment fell upon the city.

God determined to judge the city. By His grace He sent angels to deliver Lot and his family before judgment fell. Lot had a number of daughters. We’re not sure how many but more than one had married men from Sodom. He went to them to beg them to leave the city because of the coming judgment but they laughed at him.

Lot’s two unmarried daughters as well as Lot’s wife escaped the city before judgment came. The Lord told Lot and his family to flee and not look back. After escaping the city, fire and brimstone fell from heaven killing everyone in the city.

Lot’s wife turned and looked back at the city. Judgment fell upon her. She became a pillar of salt. Becoming a pillar of salt was a very small thing for Lot’s wife. After she died she became an eternal firebrand in hell. That is the tragedy of the story.

2. Let us remember her error.

A. Lot’s wife looked back at Sodom because she loved Sodom. She looked back because she wanted to go back. She left her heart there. I’m amazed that she loved the city considering that some of her daughters married men from the city that mocked the judgment of God. This city had claimed the souls of some of her daughters.

Lot’s wife pitied sinners more than she feared God. I see a parallel in our culture today. The normalization of homosexuality is causing many to look back. There are people in churches who are changing their view on homosexuality because of:

A child

A grandchild

A friend

A celebrity

They think surely God would never judge this person. I know this person. This is a good person. I have heard the excuses. Among the most popular excuse is we are all sinners. We certainly are all sinners but we are not all equally sinful. All sins are not equally sinful as well.

B. The sin of homosexuality is unique. Romans 1 proves it hastens the judgment of God. Yet we have people who call themselves Christians supporting this sin. They may say it’s not for them but they support others who engage in it. We even have so called Christians who attend gay weddings today. You will likely have the opportunity to attend a gay wedding at some point. Let me explain to you why you should not.

In a marriage a covenant is being made. The covenant is directed toward God. When you marry someone you are promising God you will continue to stay married for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer till death do you part.

A gay wedding is two people promising God they will never quit the sin of homosexuality until they die. That is blasphemous!

The people at the wedding are there as witnesses to the covenant. Your purpose at the wedding is a witness to the covenant. And you have made yourself a witness to this ungodly, unholy and blasphemous covenant.

What other sin do we make a covenant before God to never quit doing? None! There is not a sin we proudly announce we will never quit before God and witnesses.

We have fallen onto the error of Lot’s wife. We are pitying sinners more than we are fearing God!

You are at the gay wedding Christian, now what will you say to the couple?

Will you say congratulations?

Will you say “I’m so happy!”

Will you say “God bless you!”

Will you say “That was so beautiful!”

Love people friend, but love God more! Love the souls of people not the sins of people!

3. Let us remember her privileges.

God had set many roadblocks on her road to hell. God had given her great privileges.

A. A believing spouse.

Lot was not a perfect husband. He had major deficiencies. But he was a believer. The New Testament describes Lot with these words in 2 Peter 2:7-8

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy

Conversation of the wicked: For that righteous

Man dwelling among them in seeing &

Hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day

to day with their unlawful deeds.

Imagine how Lot’s heart must have broken when he finally arrived to safety only to discover his wife had looked back. Nothing compares to the funeral of an unsaved spouse. What great grief is experienced when a husband or a wife goes to hell! Please remember we are one on earth but not in heaven. In heaven we are neither married nor given in marriage. You will not make it to heaven based on your spouse. Lot’s wife went to hell despite the fact that God had blessed her with the privilege of a believing husband.

B. A praying family member.

Abraham was her uncle. He prayed for her in Genesis 18. Abraham asked the Lord to spare Sodom if he could find just ten righteous there. Could it be that there were ten in Lot’s family? Is that why Abraham rested on the number ten (Gen. 18:32)

If you have someone who has prayed for your soul in your family you ought to praise God for them. They may not have money to give you, they may not have an inheritance to will you, and they may not have influence to promote you. But if they have prayed for your soul they are of more benefit to you than all those things. There are many souls that will go to hell unsprayed for. If yours is not among them you ought to bless God !

C. Divine Visitations.

Angelic messengers came to her home. In fact Genesis 19:16 says an angel grabbed hold of her to pull her out of the city. How often has the Holy Spirit been grieved in a worship service? The precious Spirit of God descends upon a service through the preaching of the Word and the worship of His Son. Conviction sets in. What a privilege that is!

God sends a stranger by with a tract. God stops the radios station on a gospel message. God draws our attention to a bill board. What privileges we have!

D. A prosperous country.

She lived in abundance. She was blessed. Instead of thinking of the goodness of God she thought of herself. She had the freedom to worship God. She had the means to worship God.

Look at where we live. What will we say on the Day of Judgment? It’s easier to live for Christ in America than anywhere in the world. What have we to complain of? What have we to stop us from gathering with fellow believers?

What privileges she had! A believing spouse, a praying family member, divine visitations and a prosperous country. Yet she looked back.

4. Let us remember her end.

A. The last thing she saw on this earth was her beloved city.

All that she loved! All that she longed for was in that city. Surely God wouldn’t judge it! Surely God wouldn’t take away the desire of her heart!

But He did! Before her very eyes God judged all she loved.

Perhaps she didn’t realize how much she loved Sodom until she left it. She loved it. She loved it more than her own soul.

Dear friend, you can live in Sodom if you want but it’s expensive! It cost Lot’s wife her soul. The Bible says in 1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Jesus said “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

What good will it do us if we have the deed to Sodom in the depths of hell?

B. Many in Sodom believed she escaped.

Let’s not forget she left Sodom. She left, but her heart didn’t. Lot’s wife was not a true believer. I think she probably thought she was like many others did. She was a false believer. That’s the point Jesus is making in Luke 17. Perseverance proves salvation.

The Baptists need to take heed to this. We are often guilty of valuing decisions over conversions.

It doesn’t matter if you prayed the prayer if you’re not living the life.

It doesn’t matter if you were baptized if you didn’t die to self.

Have you noticed how many Baptists look back? Look at our church roles and you will see it. They started but they didn’t finish. They signed up but they never show up. They say they love God but they spend all their time, money and effort in the world. They look back!

Jesus said “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matthew 7:22)

Now if they’re doing all those things they’re active. I mean these sound like folks who are going to church, yet they’re not going to heaven. Now think about all the people who say they are saved but couldn’t even say those things to Jesus. They’re not doing anything at all for Him.

If the group in Matthew 7:22 aren’t going to make it and they’re busy then certainly the ones who say “I believe” but never show a sign of spiritual fruit in their lives aren’t going to make it.

We can fool people, we can fool our family, we can even fool ourselves, but we can’t fool God.

C. She went to hell.

I think Lot’s wife changed. I think the culture of Sodom influenced her. I’m afraid for our people. I see the culture of Sodom influencing so many today. The sin of homosexuality is in our face. We are being forced to choose. We are told if we don’t accept homosexuality it then we don’t love homosexuals.

Listen to me friend, that’s not true. God loves homosexuals but if they don’t repent then they will go to hell with the drunk who won’t repent, the atheist who won’t repent, the proud person who won’t repent, etc.

Lot’s wife loved the people of Sodom. Now she is with them forever in hell. If you love the world that much then you are in danger. There are those who refuse to believe in a God who would not affirm a sin like homosexuality. That’s their choice. But that choice will send them to hell.

Dear friend, you know what is right. You know what God says. Don’t look back. Don’t chose the lost over the Lord. Don’t choose sin over salvation.

Lot’s wife regrets looking back. She has regretted it for centuries. She will regret it for eternity.

I don’t look back because I believe in hell. I believe it as much as I believe in heaven. Every person on this earth is headed in one of two directions: heaven or hell. I meet people on their way to hell all the time. I can talk with them. I can love them. I can pray with them. But I cannot turn and go with them. If they go that way it will be without me.

The second to the last thing Lot’s wife saw on this earth was the salvation of her family. She watched two of her daughters and her husband make it to safety. That must haunt her to this day. They made it, she didn’t.

Friend, don’t just witness your family’s salvation. Walk with them. Don’t walk halfway. Stay on the path. Don’t look back. Hell is real. It’s hotter when you were close to heaven.

Remember Lot’s wife:

Remember her story

Remember her error

Remember her privileges

Remember her end