Have you ever watched THE PRICE IS RIGHT with Bob Barker? Did you see me win both Showcase Showdowns last week? That’s right, I guessed the price of both showdowns and won them both, from my kitchen. It felt pretty good until Jude said “what do you have to show for it?”
It’s amazing to me how some people have so much trivia stored in their brain. I’m embarrassed watching Jeopardy and answering so few questions. Occasionally, the Bible will be a category on Jeopardy - but the Bible is more than a book for TRIVIA!
In Luke 17, Jesus told the 12 disciples how quickly the Son of Man will be revealed. with very little, if any, warning. For centuries, popular concepts of the second coming include some cataclysmic event that will cause everyone to know and want to know who Jesus is. Tim LaHaye’s LEFT BEHIND best selling series of books warns of the rapture that will come without warning. But, some other people mistakenly believe they can live life routinely with no concern or care for God, but when Jesus returns, they will go to heaven because they have been baptized. Still others live with full awareness that Jesus Christ could come any moment.
Life is fairly routine for most of us. Some of you have specific things you do on certain days, Monday = wash day; Tuesday = grocery shopping, etc. Some of you awake about the same time, do the same things in the same order, & drive the same route to work. For much of our lives, we live within a daily regime that varies very little.
Jesus said, in Noah’s day, people were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage while Noah was building the ARK. They may have asked Noah what he was building, someone may have even interviewed him for the weekly newspaper. He probably was the subject of conversation in the coffee shop and family gatherings. “Did you hear about Noah?” may have been a popular conversation starter, or even a subject for the 6 PM news.
On the day Noah gathered 2 of every animal, he probably had to herd them through rush hour traffic. While Noah was herding them onto the Ark and after God closed the door, someone probably had just settled down with a good cup of coffee & the newspaper. Other people were eating lunch, planning supper, getting ready for a date, drinking with their buddies, or doing their daily chores. Someone was probably cutting grass, playing a recreational sport, paying bills or even making preparations for their will.
Not as a trivia statement or question, Jesus then says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Who? How does she fit into a discussion about the Second Coming? Let’s see what Jesus may have been trying to tell us:
1. After all these years, people haven’t changed much, People are People!
It has been said, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” Noah’s day was characterized by the wickedness of man and that every inclination of his heart was evil. Things were so bad that the Lord was grieved that He created man. Lot lived in a generation obsessed with sex and sexual perversion.
Some thousands of years later, someone could describe our culture in similar terms. We live in a wicked and violent society that is obsessed with sex. The ultimate perversion is when humankind say that God created people "that way". Popular concepts include "Homosexuality & sexual promiscuity are the NORM". The wholesale availability of pornography is a multi-billion dollar business. It is estimated that up to 30 million people daily log on to pornography on the Internet; 10% of church members access porn daily. Include the drive by shootings, gang activity, theft, mass murders, elderly & child abuse and we live in a violent & sin-sick culture. For all our technological and intellectual advances, we haven’t progressed very far.
Jesus said, in both Noah’s & Lot’s day, God brought judgment as people lived routinely. Someone had just driven in to Noah’s Ark Restaurant, or someone had just been served a good steak, another person had just bought the item at Wal Mart they had saved months for, another person had just hit a home run and was running around the bases, another person had just said “I do” to his bride, & then the judgment of God fell! It was business as usual …..
2. Lot’s wife was a product of her culture
While the Bible tells almost nothing of Lot’s wife, much is known of her husband. Lot was the nephew of Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, and a man who walked with God. Lot apparently loved & admired Uncle Abraham as he lived his faith in front of his nephew.
When Abraham returned from Egypt (Gen. 13) a wealthy man, Lot followed. Lot appeared to be a free going, free-loading type of guy, who enjoyed the blessings of having a rich uncle like Abraham. Possessions, however, complicate relationships when one person is in love with them, & apparently Lot loved his material possessions. Because of the size of their flocks, Lot and Abraham could no longer share the same land. So, on Abraham’s suggestion (13;8ff), Lot chose the well watered plains near Sodom and Gomorrah and pitched his tent nearby the city with a bad reputation. Lot actually didn’t live inside the city, just nearby it! He may have become fascinated with city life and maybe even had been invited there by some of the friendly inhabitants. He may have even thought, “I can go to Sodom and make a difference there for God without being too preachy. I’ll just live my life and let it speak for what I believe. Eventually, I’ll relate to them and be able to tell them what I believe.”
Shortly after the boxes were unpacked, Lot was taken hostage by a king who waged war against the Sodomites. Uncle Abraham came to the rescue again
with 318 trained men from his household as the rescue force. Lot, his possessions, & his wives were returned unharmed. Was God trying to warn Lot about where he was living? If so, Lot missed the point and continued to live near Sodom.
Something else happened, though, that changed his life. Until moving to Sodom, there is no mention of Mrs. Lot - so apparently he was a bachelor when he moved in. Somewhere, sometime, while living in Sodom, he married a pagan wife, who did not know Jehovah God. She had grown up in a town known for sexual perversion that knew no limits.
Abraham was a godly man and it appears he had a hint of what was happening. Abraham prayed for Lot while he lived in the middle of this perversion. The 2 angels appeared to Abraham on their way to Sodom, and Abraham asked for mercy if 20 righteous people could be found within the city. He prayed for mercy! In a town of 300,000 to 1 million people, could 20 righteous people be found?
The angels (19:1) approached the city and found Lot sitting at the city gates. Lot recognized they were special messengers becausee he bowed with his face to the ground. But, why was Lot at the city gates? He had apparently became a more involved, prominent and accepted member of the community. He moved into town -maybe after getting married. Sitting at the city gates may mean he was having coffee with the good ole boys, but it probably meant he was a new leader in the town and was well accepted. Lot had joined the club & may have even been anesthetized to the perversion of the city. I wonder what he thought when he saw the angels. At that moment, did he feel like he had been caught in an X-rated theatre by God Almighty? Did guilt strike his conscience? He called them “lords” and immediately invited them to his house. The angels wanted to spend the night in the square but Lot knew what would happen to them in a town of sexual perverts. Lot insisted they go to his house, which they did. After supper, just before going to bed, there was a knock on the door, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to use so that we can have sex with them.”
Lot steps outside to try to solve this situation. Is he embarrassed by the angelic visitors? What will he do? Notice, he says, “No, my friends… don’t do this. Look I have two daughters who have never slept with a man, although they are engaged. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with these men. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” Lot called these men “friends”. Had he lost the sense of sin? How could these be friends who wanted to have sexual relationships with angels? And, why would you call anyone who thinks they have the right to have sexual relationship with a new male in town, your friend?
In addition, and even more shocking, is a father who would offer his virgin engaged daughters to these sexually perverted men to satisfy their sexual needs! What father would say that? What about Mrs. Lot? What happened to Lot’s moral standards?
As the men of Sodom pushed against the door like a lynch mob, the angels pulled Lot back into the house and made the men outside the door blind. Then, with a sense of urgency and judgment, the angels said, (v12)do you have anyone else who belongs to you? Get them out of the city.
Lot must have hurried to find his son-in-laws even though it was late at night. But, they didn’t believe him, in fact, they thought he was joking. Maybe Lot was just a good old boy with a great sense of humor. Why didn’t they believe him? Had Lot so compromised his values that they couldn’t believe him.
At dawn, the angels said (v15) HURRY, take your wife and 2 daughters or you will be swept away. Why would anyone hesitate with that command? But, Lot did! (v16). Why? Didn’t he see them strike the men with blindness? Maybe, Lot didn’t want to leave everything he owned there in Sodom. What about Mrs. Lot? Would she have been willing to leave if most of the city were leaving? But to take a stand for God and morality with just her family? Can you hear her say, “but Lot, honey, no one else is leaving…. So why should we have to?”
Many people will follow a crowd. God wants people who are willing to follow HIM not a crowd. The apostle Paul wrote “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, & I will receive you. (2 Cor. 6:16-17, NIV)
The angels grabbed Lot’s, Mrs. Lot’s & their 2 daughters’ hands and basically dragged them out of Sodom. With urgency & judgment, the angel said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere in the plain.” Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
Once more, Lot asks for a change in destination and, surprisingly, the angel agrees to let them go to Zoar and they arrive just at the time burning sulfur fell on Sodom and Gomorrah.
By now, you may be wondering “What does all this have to do with Lot’s wife? Remember Lot’s wife was probably a native of Sodom, she was probably a pagan, a non-believer in Jehovah God. That means Lot was unequally yoked in marriage contrary to God’s plan. What does it mean to be unequally yoked? A Yoke is a wooden harness for 2 or more animals so they can pull a plow or wagon together. If one of the animals was sick, dead, or didn’t pull in the same direction, the plow would not move in the right direction. Unequally yoked means that a believer (with a new, living nature, alive in Christ) is yoked with an unbeliever (with an old dead nature, dead in their trespasses and sins). What’s the big deal, preacher? So a believer marries an unbeliever! It should be enough that God warns “don’t do it.” But, secondly, if a believer marries an unbeliever, more often than not the unbeliever will drag the believer down to their level of faith commitment. In addition, it’s like trying to run 1 marriage by two sets of rules: the believer lives by the law of God and the unbeliever lives by their law. In computer terminology, you need to use the same language or you will have difficulty opening the file!
At one time, maybe Lot opposed the blatant homosexuality and perversion in Sodom. Maybe, Mrs. Lot said, “if you’re going to get along in this city, you’re going to have to lighten up.” Maybe she said, “have a little fun”, “don’t take everything so seriously”, or “it’s only a harmless little sex”. Maybe Lot heard that often enough that it caused him to lighten up & compromise his principles. James says, “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” Friendship with world places us in opposition to a holy God because this world is under the control of Satan. That’s a very serious statement. Friendship with the world makes one an enemy of God.
3. She couldn’t go forward, when she looked backward.
At the insistence of the angels, Lot, Mrs. Lot, and their 2 daughters left Sodom. Would they have left if the angels gave them a choice?
As they left, what passed through their minds? Remember, Lot was quite wealthy & probably quite prominent in town. They walked out with just the clothes on their backs: no photo albums, memorabilia, trophies, extra clothing, or any thing else - all left behind.
As they traveled across the plain, and just about reached Zoar, (v26) Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Why did she do that? Can you hear him yell as he saw her turn around - NOOOOOOO” - too late?
Mrs. Lot was so close to being saved! With an angelic escort, she had escaped the fire & brimstone of Sodom that her friends & family experienced, only to be turned into a pillar of salt because turned back and looked. What did she expect to see? If by some chance the city had not been destroyed, I think she would have returned to Sodom because her heart was still there. She deliberately DISOBEDYED the angels and LOOKED when they said DON’T LOOK! What part of DON’T did she not understand? Was it curiosity? Was it pride? “Nothing surely will happen to us, we’ve had angels come to rescue us.” Maybe she thought that being married to Lot made her safe. There are people who believe that because they were born in a preacher or deacon family that they are OK with God. But, there are no “piggy back” rides into heaven, every one must give an account of themself before God.
Maybe, she didn’t want to go with Lot, maybe their marriage was on the rocks. Mrs. Lot lingered in Sodom and had to be forcibly led by the angels. Was she so concerned about material possessions that she was willing to sacrifice her eternal soul for them? Jesus said, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mt. 16:26, NIV)
Mrs. Lot perished even though she was the wife of a man who God loved enough to give another chance to. Mrs. Lot broke that one command DON’T LOOK! Why didn’t God give her a break? Remember, it only takes 1 sin to be sinner and disobedient to God. Adam and Eve took from the fruit of the tree when God said "Don’t". Have we gotten so accustomed to sin that we forget God means what He says? Have we become so corrupt we believe we can tell God how to be God?
Many people today, do not believe in the judgment of God because there is so much emphasis on God’s LOVE. Please remember that once you become God’s child by grace through faith that nothing can separate you from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, don’t ever get so comfortable with the love of God that you forget the judgment of God, too! What God says, He will do, whether we believe it or not.
4. Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife”. So what is the application for us today?
A. If you live with a divided heart, you will perish. Jesus said that the first greatest commandment is Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
A divided heart, a heart that loves & serves God only at times of our choosing, is not pleasing to God. You cannot love this world or things of the world & God at the same time. Jesus Christ will not share the throne of your heart with anyone or anything else. You must love HIM more than you love your life, your money, your future, even your family. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14: 26-27, NIV)
Does God literally mean hate? No, He means in comparison to the way you love Him, it will seem that you hate others. That may be a hard word to hear but God knows that we cannot serve Him with a divided heart. If you leave room in a corner of your heart for the things of this world, you open the door for the possibility of being like Mrs. Lot. When the moment comes, will you turn back or will you follow God? When that moment comes for you to witness, will you stand up for God or will your heart be drawn away to that which has so captured your mind, heart and soul? When that moment comes and you must make a life and death decision, who will you follow?
You cannot serve God with half a heart. Is your body here & your mind or heart somewhere else? Jesus said: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62, NIV)
B. Remember Lot’s Wife - You can avoid compromising your spiritual condition & principles!
How do you boil a frog? Just think about this! If you wanted to boil a frog, you don’t put him in a pot of boiling water, he’ll jump out. Put in pot of cold water, then turn up the heat to jacuzzi level and increase it a little at a time. Before he knows it, he’ll be boiled frog and won’t know what happened!
Most people do not set out with the ambition to be an alcoholic, drug addicts, sexual addict, prostitutes, thieves or murderers. How does someone end up like that? Like Lot, at some time, they pitched their tent near Sodom and the influence of Sodom rubbed off.
Someone said, “you get used to it after a while.”
How many things have you gotten used to? Do you remember the first time you saw a homosexual kiss on TV? Is it still as shocking? Do you remember the first time you saw nudity on the screen? Does it still shock you? Do you remember being shocked when you heard certain curse words? Does it still bother you? Do you still believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Way to heaven or have you been around some people who have caused you to consider if maybe Mormons, Moslems, Hindus, and maybe even good non-religious people are going to heaven?
COMPROMISE is very subtle. Compromise doesn’t wear a sign that says “I’m trying to sway you away from the things of God”. Compromise can be very appealing & very dangerous. When Lot first set up his tent outside Sodom, he was probably determined to stay different and NEVER become like them. In time, not only did he move into town, but he became a Sodomite in his thinking. After Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt, Lot and his 2 daughters lived in a cave and his 2 daughters concocted a plan to get him drunk so they could have sexual intercourse. They both were became pregnant. See how they became a product of Lot’s low standards.
The apostle Paul wrote: “Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Cor. 15:33, NIV) What about your friends? What about your weekly habits and places you go? Would you be ashamed of your friends, habits or places you go if Jesus returned when you were there? Jesus said, “REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE” - He is returning and will not give warning more than He’s already given in the Bible. One day, when you least expect it…. the Eastern Sky will split wide open and the trumpet will sound…. Are you ready? Will you be ready to go? You may be EATING, DRINKING, MARRYING, OR ANY OTHER THING - WITH NO WARNING - ARE YOU READY?
If you have been raised in a Christian home, pay special attention to this. Unless you stand firm in what you have been taught, alert to the lure of compromise, you may easily fall! You’ve been accustomed to the things of God & may have even taken those things for granted. You’ve been fortunate enough to be raised in a Christian home where
scriptural principles were taught & lived. Don’t think you can now live near sin & not be stained by it. Don’t start to compromise & think “I’m an adult” & can stay home from church or stop reading the Bible or stop praying. If you camp near sin, you will find it stains you very easily. We are different, not like everyone else. We are sanctified, set apart, God’s chosen ones, God’s holy vessels, dedicated unto God! Jesus Christ died for you, to not only forgive you but to make you holy, set apart to Him!
REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE is a warning and a promise! A promise becaue Lot was certainly less than perfect but following God’s Word, he was delivered from the judgment pronounced on Sodom. The warning because of what she could have been if God were first in her life!
To plow a furrow straight, you must focus on a goal in the distance & not focus on what’s behind you.
To get somewhere driving 70 mph - you must look ahead & be alert; you can’t focus on the rearview mirror & what’s behind you.
The Christian life is often compared to a Christian race. Greg Laurie gives 5 keys to finishing well (GREAT COMPROMISE, p. 196ff)
1. No compromise allowed - when you are preparing to run a race, nothing else gets in the way… You ARE going to run even if it’s raining or you’re a little sick, or no matter what comes up!
2. Take God at His Word - The race is scheduled for a time and a place and contestants just believe that.
3. Desire fellowship & communion with God - runners like talking about running and being with runners. There is a fellowship among runners that non-runners cannot understand. Christians who run the race - know that fellowship with God is absolutely essential for success in the Christian race.
4. Stay focused - on the finish line. During a race, the noise of the crowd, the weather, the condition of the track, looking behind to see who’s close, can distract. FOCUS on the finish line -
5. Run to win - Paul said, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:12-14)
Get up. Get going with with Jesus…. REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE.
