Remembering Lot's Wife

I. Introduction
   A. Luke 17:32
      1. A very short verse, and terse
      2. Often placed underneath clocks in church buildings
      3. Why does Jesus intend for us to remember Lot's wife?
   B. Luke 17:28-33
      1. Jesus speaks further of the context of Lot's wife
      2. It is apparent that if we are going to understand Jesus' 
         meaning, we must understand the story behind it
      3. Let us look into the story of Lot and his wife

II. Lot and Sodom
   A. The story of Lot begins in Genesis 11:27-32
      1. Lot is the nephew of Abram/Abraham
      2. Lot goes with Abram when God calls the latter to go to Canaan 
         (Genesis 12:4)
   B. Lot, then, part of Abraham's family and travels with him
   C. Genesis 13
      1. As Abram and Lot are in Canaan, God blesses them (vv. 1-6)
      2. This begins to cause difficulty, because the land cannot 
         support both of their herds (vv. 6-8)
      3. Abram establishes that it is best to separate, gives Lot the 
         choice as to where to go (v. 9)
      4. Lot sees that the eastern area, where Sodom and Gomorrah are, 
         is good green land, and chooses it (vv. 10-12)
      5. We are warned about the wickedness of the Sodomites (v. 13)
   D. While Lot may have good land for his cattle, he suffers much on 
      account of his decision
      1. Gets caught up in warfare between Sodom and kings of the east, 
         is only delivered by Abram (Genesis 14:1-16)
      2. Compelled to move into Sodom itself
   E. Wickedness of Sodom
      1. Genesis 18:17-33: God intends to destroy Sodom on account of 
         its wickedness; Abraham haggles with God, God will not 
         destroy it if there are 10 righteous men there
      2. Divine visitors enter Sodom, Lot brings them into his house 
         (Genesis 19:1-3)
      3. Men of Sodom desire to "know" the visitors, Lot tries to fend 
         them off (vv. 4-9)
      4. Visitors blind the men, men still grope for door (vv. 10-11)
      5. Lot warned to leave on account of impending destruction 
         (vv. 12-23)
      6. Commanded to not look back (v. 17)
   F. God destroys Sodom (Genesis 19:24-25)
   G. Lot's wife
      1. Lot's wife is with him, but looks back
      2. She turns into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26)
   H. Abraham
      1. Returned to the place he was the previous day in Genesis 18
      2. Saw the smoke and destruction (Genesis 19:27-29)
   I. We have now seen the story of Lot and Sodom, and have seen what 
      happened to Lot's wife
   J. Why, however, does Jesus tell us to remember her?

III. Lot's Wife
   A. Jesus establishes that we are to "remember Lot's wife" 
      (Luke 17:32)
   B. We have seen that she is noted for looking back at Sodom and 
      becoming a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26)
   C. What are the reasons for which Jesus considers this important?
   D. Disobeying a direct command
      1. If we remember, in Genesis 19:17, the angels specifically 
         tell Lot and his family to not look back
      2. Lot's wife looks back, and receives the due penalty of her 
         error
   E. Why could they not look back?
      1. It is not as if simply looking at the destruction was 
         deadly-- after all, Abraham saw the destruction, and he did 
         not turn into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:27-29)
      2. There must be something more to it than simply looking back!
   F. Jesus provides an answer-- Luke 17
      1. The entire context of Luke 17:20-33 is a discussion of the 
         signs accompanying the coming of the Kingdom
      2. He brings up the illustrations of both Noah's day and Sodom 
         to show how His coming will be unexpected, as those calamities 
         were unexpected by most (vv. 26-30)
      3. He warns people to not turn back in verse 31!
      4. Then we have the need to remember Lot's wife!
      5. Jesus then establishes that the one who seeks his life will 
         lose it and vice versa (v. 33)
   G. A picture emerges of the second reason-- not just looking back, 
      but "yearning" back!
      1. Consider Luke 9:61-62
      2. Jesus expects His servants to not look back to the life they 
         once lived but look forward in Him
      3. The issue of looking back, then, is more about the wish to 
         return, or perhaps sorrow for those left behind, or some kind 
         of yearning for the way things were before
   H. Her actions are understandable!
      1. We can understand why Lot's wife would do such things!
      2. Many friends were perishing as she ran
      3. Her house, doubtless some of her possessions, much of what 
         she knew-- gone
      4. The looking back was not just to see what was going on, but 
         also a sign of mourning what was now gone  

IV. The Lesson Established
   A. Hopefully, Jesus' exhortation to remember Lot's wife is becoming 
      clearer
   B. Yes, we are to not disobey direct commands, as Lot's wife did
   C. The major point, however, is that as servants of the Lord, we 
      cannot look back!
      1. As He says, we cannot have our hand to the plow and look 
         backward
      2. The temptations are always there to return to the world of 
         sin
   D. Memories can distort reality
      1. Consider Israel-- they seemed to forget about their hard 
         service in Egypt, but remembered the food, and constantly 
         rejected God in the wilderness in Exodus and Numbers
      2. They are a warning so that we do not follow their example
         of disobedience (1 Corinthians 10:1-12)
      3. We might remember the "good old days" but forget the 
         difficulties therein!
   E. We must look forward
      1. Lot and his daughters looked forward and they did not die
      2. Lot's wife missed what she lost and she looked back and
         died
      3. We must remember Lot's wife, not look back to our previous 
         lives in sin, but continue forward in our faith in Christ 
         Jesus!
   F. Let us, then, remember Lot's wife, and let us press on to the 
      upward goal of the prize in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14)
   G. Invitation/songbook