Lot's Wife

Day 1
Her Character: She was a prosperous women who may have been more attached to the good life than was good for her. Though there is no indication she participated in the sin of Sodom, her story implies she had learned to tolerate it and that her heart had become divided as a result.
Her Tragedy: That her heart's choice led to judgement rather than mercy, and that she ultimately refused God's attempts to save her.
Key Scriptures: Genesis 18:16 - 19:29; Luke 17:28-33
Genesis 19
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." 3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry [ a] his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them 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!"
18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, [ b] please! 19 Your [ c] servant has found favor in your [ d] eyes, and you [e] have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."
21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. [f] )
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Day 2
Genesis 19:1-3
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.

1. Lot invited these men to stay in his home without even consulting his wife. What sort of home do you think Lot's wife must have made for him and his children?
2. How do you respond when someone you live with invites a guest over unexpectedly? Are you gracious? Frazzled? Antagonized?

Genesis 19: 4-8
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

3. What do you think of Lot's suggestion that he give his daughters the raiders rather than his guests? What reaction do you think Lot's wife might have had?
4. Why would Lot offer such a thing? Keep in mind that, according to ancient culture, in opening his house to these guests he guaranteed not only their comfort but their safety.
5. Do you think the time we are living in is more or less degenerate than the times recorded here? Why?

Day 3
Jesus urged his followers to remember Lot's wife: "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." (Luke 17:30-33)

Genesis 19: 15-16
With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

1. Why do you think Lot hesitated? What might he have been thinking?
2. When have you hesitated to do something you knew God wanted you to do? Why did you hesitate? What happened?

Genesis: 19: 17, 26
17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them 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!" ...... 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

3. Even though warned not to do so, Lot's wife couldn't resist looking back. Why do you think she turned? Was she sad? Scared? Curious?
4. In Lot's wife, we can see ourselves looking back, regretting decisions made, mourning lost opportunities, yearning for ended relationships. Because we're looking behind us, we can't see what is before us. We may not turn into a pillar of salt, but we'll end up stuck in one place. Do you spend a lot of time looking back? How can you leave the past behind, enjoy the present, and plan for the future?

Day 4
Earlier, God had promised Abraham he would spare the city of Sodom if he could find only ten righteous people in it, but not even 10 could be found. So God sent his angels to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family (Genesis 18) from the destruction. Hesitant to the last minute, the angels had to take Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and lead them out of the city. Did God know Abraham was thinking of Lot when he begged for the cities to be spared if fifty, forty-five, thirty, twenty, only ten righteous people could be found? Was God's mercy extended to Lot for love of Lot or for love of Abraham? We don't know. But we do know God's mercy was available for Lot and his family. And his mercy is available to you as well, even in the worst of times, the most difficult situations, the hardest of circumstances. He's there, stretching out his hand to lead you to safety.
Promises in Scripture
Genesis 19:16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. Deuteronomy 13:17 he will show you mercy, have compassion on you
Psalm 25:6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Jeremiah 3:12 'I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the LORD, 'I will not be angry forever.

Day 5
Reflect on: Genesis 19:1-26
Praise God: That though he hates sin he also loves mercy.
Offer Thanks: For ways that God has shown mercy to you and members of your family.
Confess: Any tendency to ignore God's voice because you prefer to go your own way.
Ask God: For the grace to never become rigid because of your attachments or your sin.
Lift your Heart:
In a society like ours, it's rare to find someone who isn't attached to creature comforts. Test your own level of attachment by taking a week-long retreat from television, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and shopping malls. Instead, carve out a time and place in your home, if it's only a few minutes, for silent prayer and praise. Ask God to reveal any disordered attachments or rigidity that may have developed in your own spirit. Tell him you want to be a women who is free and flexible enough to respond quickly to his direction.

Lord, you call us to live in the world without embracing the ways of the world. Help us to live in a way that preserves my freedom to follow you wherever and however you lead. If I should leave behind a monument, may it be a reminder to others of faith and not foolishness.