Genesis 19:25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
Lot’s wife, who is given no name in the Bible, looks back as she is fleeing from Sodom, and because of that (the angels tell her not to, it’s true), she is turned to a pillar of salt. Because she is such a widely used cautionary tale, it bothers me that she has no name. Because I, too, have the propensity for looking back, it bothers me that she was turned to salt for that reason.
Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Commentary says she was turned to salt because looking back indicated something about the state of her heart, that she had a heart for Sodom, its people, and its ways. But those of us who have a hard time with change look back even at the difficult situations, sort of an acknowledgment of what was and what we learned as we move to what’s next.
Genesis 19:27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
Precious Savior, You know I don’t love change. You know I look back as I process and move forward. I know that You are not mean or spiteful. There’s more to what happened with Lot’s wife than I understand because You would not destroy her if her looking back was a step in her moving forward. Thank You that I understand Your character enough to know I must be missing something. Thank You for Your love and compassion. Amen.
Genesis 19:28 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.
Have a blessed day.