When Abraham was bargaining with God’s angels for Sodom and
Gomorrah—pleading that God spare the 10 righteous people in the cities, if
there were any—the angels said there weren’t that many. In fact, there were
only 8 people who could have survived: Lot, his wife, two daughters and their
future husbands. Indeed, there were less than eight.
Lesser than 8
But sadly, the number dwindled down to 5. Lot’s future
sons-in-law just laughed off the matter about God’s angels destroying the wicked
cities. You may be righteous now in God’s sight by his grace, but if you fail
to pay attention even to the smallest detail of God’s now-Word—worse, laugh it
off—you’d end up among the wicked—suffering their fate.
Sodom and Gomorrah were progressive cities, so Lot’s
sons-in-law could not imagine how the cities were going to be destroyed. To
them the cities were impregnable—probably just like how people today deem
advanced cities in first world countries. “Hey, Lot, this is the life! Why be
bothered by negative speculations?”
Lot’s Wife
Worse of all was what happened to Lot’s wife. It was just a
matter of time—a few more steps to freedom—and she could have been saved. She
probably thought a last look wouldn’t hurt. She sighed at having to leave
behind all their life investments and life memories. It was in Sodom and
Gomorrah that she and Lot met and started their lives together. It was there
they raised up their children. And their lives in the cities were promising,
what with the prosperity gaining in them.
But you shouldn’t give wickedness even a last look. Instead,
you should disdain it altogether. You should be glad to be out of it all. You
should be desperately hurrying away from it. But not Lot’s wife. Not even Lot
himself. Lot was also reluctant to leave the prosperous cities. He wouldn’t
have escaped if not for Abraham. God remembered Abraham and in his faithfulness
saved his nephew.
One-Flesh Principle
Lot’s wife wouldn’t have any chance of being considered for
salvation if not for the one-flesh principle of God. She would have been saved
due to her believing husband [1Cor.7.14]. But God’s grace, in all its abundance
and limitless nature, is also purposefully limited by God himself. You can
never abuse it. God will never allow it. God’s grace serves your fallible but
desperate obedience in a limitless manner (where sin abound grace abounds all
the more), but not your reluctant compliance.
Yes, Lot’s wife had been righteous by grace at first due to
Lot (and ultimately due to God’s faithfulness to Abraham). But her regret of
losing her wicked past turned her into a pillar of salt.
