July 9th, 2026
Last week, we talked about the emphasis the Bible puts on considering the right things. We’re to focus our hearts on Jesus and the truth of God’s Word to guard our hearts and minds in peace. Scripture also gives us many things we’re to remember, as well as many things we’re to forget. It would be powerful to look at everything the Word of God tells us to remember and forget, but this week, I’ve been thinking about one particular story in the Word of God. It’s not a long story, and it’s not a pleasant one, but Jesus very specifically told us to remember it in a teaching about the last days. Luke 17:28-33 says,
“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
Jesus, in this lesson on what life would be like at His second coming, referenced the destruction of Sodom, but didn’t tell the details of the story. He assumed His listeners would know.
Remember Lot’s wife.
Her story is a grave one, but if Jesus says we’re to remember it, specifically in the context of the last days, it’s worth our time!
The full story is found in Genesis 18 and 19. Lot was Abraham’s nephew and he lived with his family in the wicked city of Sodom. Two angels came to Lot’s home, and after experiencing firsthand the wickedness of the city they said to Lot in Genesis 19:12,
“Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.”
The story goes on in Genesis 19:16-17, saying,
‘At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them. As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”’
Their instructions were clear. The city was to be destroyed, and they had to run and not look back. These were simple instructions, with serious implications. They were given the command for a reason and as they would see, disobedience would have consequences.
Genesis 19:26 gives us one small sentence regarding Lot’s wife. It says,
“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Scholars speculate whether her body was literally changed to salt or if the shower of fire and brimstone that destroyed the cities encased her body in a salty crust, but regardless, she received the same judgment as the wicked cities. God, in His mercy, tried to save her, but she looked back when she should have obeyed and run forward. Jesus warned us to remember her tragic tale. Look again at what He said in Luke 17:32-33:
“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” As we talked about last week, Isaiah 43:18-19 says,
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Philippians 3:13-14 says,
“…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Our call as believers is to look forward, not back! We are called to run toward Jesus with a devotion that eclipses anything we’ve left behind. We are to flee sin and anything that would hinder us from running our race with endurance. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”
We can’t run our kingdom race if our eyes are focused on the past, or inferior things. I don’t believe Lot’s wife just glanced back at her home. It had to symbolize the state of her heart for her to receive such judgment. She was longing for the wickedness she should have been running from!
Where we look matters, because our hearts always follow our gaze.
Proverbs 4:23-27 says,
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.”
This verse reminds us to guard our hearts diligently and connects it to the power of our gaze. We must keep our eyes fixed directly in front of us, on Jesus, or we will veer from the straight path God has for us! If our eyes are fixed on Him, we won’t be tempted to look behind us. We can’t love the things God loves and long for things of the past. We can’t put our hand to the “plow” of the kingdom and look back at the life we left behind (Luke 9:62). God will always do a new thing in our lives. He’s the Good Shepherd, the best Father, and the perfect provider. If we try to “keep” our lives, we will lose them, but if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything we need will be given to us (Matthew 6:33)!
“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
Jesus, in this lesson on what life would be like at His second coming, referenced the destruction of Sodom, but didn’t tell the details of the story. He assumed His listeners would know.
Remember Lot’s wife.
Her story is a grave one, but if Jesus says we’re to remember it, specifically in the context of the last days, it’s worth our time!
The full story is found in Genesis 18 and 19. Lot was Abraham’s nephew and he lived with his family in the wicked city of Sodom. Two angels came to Lot’s home, and after experiencing firsthand the wickedness of the city they said to Lot in Genesis 19:12,
“Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.”
The story goes on in Genesis 19:16-17, saying,
‘At daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them. As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”’
Their instructions were clear. The city was to be destroyed, and they had to run and not look back. These were simple instructions, with serious implications. They were given the command for a reason and as they would see, disobedience would have consequences.
Genesis 19:26 gives us one small sentence regarding Lot’s wife. It says,
“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Scholars speculate whether her body was literally changed to salt or if the shower of fire and brimstone that destroyed the cities encased her body in a salty crust, but regardless, she received the same judgment as the wicked cities. God, in His mercy, tried to save her, but she looked back when she should have obeyed and run forward. Jesus warned us to remember her tragic tale. Look again at what He said in Luke 17:32-33:
“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” As we talked about last week, Isaiah 43:18-19 says,
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Philippians 3:13-14 says,
“…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Our call as believers is to look forward, not back! We are called to run toward Jesus with a devotion that eclipses anything we’ve left behind. We are to flee sin and anything that would hinder us from running our race with endurance. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”
We can’t run our kingdom race if our eyes are focused on the past, or inferior things. I don’t believe Lot’s wife just glanced back at her home. It had to symbolize the state of her heart for her to receive such judgment. She was longing for the wickedness she should have been running from!
Where we look matters, because our hearts always follow our gaze.
Proverbs 4:23-27 says,
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.”
This verse reminds us to guard our hearts diligently and connects it to the power of our gaze. We must keep our eyes fixed directly in front of us, on Jesus, or we will veer from the straight path God has for us! If our eyes are fixed on Him, we won’t be tempted to look behind us. We can’t love the things God loves and long for things of the past. We can’t put our hand to the “plow” of the kingdom and look back at the life we left behind (Luke 9:62). God will always do a new thing in our lives. He’s the Good Shepherd, the best Father, and the perfect provider. If we try to “keep” our lives, we will lose them, but if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything we need will be given to us (Matthew 6:33)!
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