Remember Lot's Wife
"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; (29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. (30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (31) In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. (32) Remember Lot's wife. (33)Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." (Luke 17:28-33)
I clicked on the radio today in time to hear a Pastor talk about Lot's wife. He said that he believed that God judged her as He did because of her longing for the material things of Sodom. He said that she seems to be a type for us of those who cannot keep their eyes fully fixed on the Lord because of an ongoing love and desire for the material things of this world. This Pastor then went on to say that he thinks that many people (Christians) are going to be swept away by materialism in the end of this age and that they could forsake their divine inheritance in the process. For the most part, I agree with this man, and I feel that I should pass this on now as a bit of a warning, even though I have spoken about this sort of thing many times before.
To take this a little bit further (and in relation to the passage from Luke that is quoted above), it's a real good possibility that Lot's wife was not turned into a literal "pillar of salt," but rather, that phrase is more than likely used there as a metaphor like "scared stiff" or "petrified." Surely, viewing the destruction of a whole city like Sodom could be more than most men or women could bear, so again -- Lot's wife turning to stone or "salt" could well be a metaphor for the terror and overwhelming fear that she experienced because she did not get free in her heart from the things that she needed to get free from. Mineral pillars abounded in the region around Sodom and Gomorrah, and the origins of these strange pillars have been described in folktales and myths as individuals who were turned into "pillars of salt" when they saw a god. Whatever it is that happened to Lot's wife, it seems that scripture bears out that she did not continue on from there with Lot and his daughters.
Anyway, I've warned and warned people over and over again of the need to get free from the cares of the world and of the love for material things, for if they don't do that, they will be PETRIFIED WITH FEAR by the things that are ahead and they will be of no use to God in that day. You could say that these will be turned into "pillars of salt." I think that this is what Jesus was (is) warning us about in Luke 17.
Beloved, remember Lot's Wife...
Beloved, whatever it is that happened to Lot's wife, I don't know for sure, but I do know that both Lot and his wife are types of people in the church at the end of the age. Lot was vexed from living in Sodom, and so are most of us to a certain degree, therefore even as Lot, we too must come fully out of Sodom (Babylon) before God can rain down His judgment on it. God cannot judge the world for the things that His church is also still in bondage to. This is why judgment must start first IN GOD'S HOUSE!
Anyway, regarding Lot's wife, she disobeyed an express command of God to not "look back." I imagine that she did this because she so hankered after her house and the material goods of Sodom that she was loath to have to leave those things behind. Plain and simple, she seemed to have way too much regard for her stuff, so when she "looked back" to see it all going up in smoke she was turned into "a pillar of salt." Is this some kind of an analogy, or even an idiom for being scared stiff or petrified with fear? It could well be. I don't have much doubt that this is what Jesus was (and is) warning about in Luke 17. It seems to me that He was (and is) warning against the love for material things which can lead to apostasy from our Christian profession.
Beloved, God is preparing a people for a most awesome WITNESS to the world. This will be of those who walk in intimacy and unison with Him in a demonstration of the wisdom of the cross like it has never (corporately) been seen before. These will be the "torch bearers" (the wise virgins) in the Wedding procession that will lead us all more fully into Tabernacles. Please, dear ones, pray about these things.
D