Luke 17:32

Luke 17:32

 Remember Lot's wife.

a. NLT: Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: Remember Lot’s wife! [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. YLT: remember the wife of Lot. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.] 

d. Amplified Bible: Remember Lot’s wife! [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Worrell Translation: Remember Lot’s wife. [Copyright 1904 by A.S. Worrell. Copyright assigned to the Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO. This edition was published 1980 by the Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, MO 65802. Printed in the U.S.A.]

1. “Remember Lot’s wife.”

a. remember [3421 * mnemoneuo] [Strong: from a derivative of 3420; to exercise memory, i.e. recollect; by implication, to punish; also to rehearse:--make mention; be mindful, remember.]

b. Lot’s [3091 * Lot] [Strong: of Hebrew origin (3876); Lot, a patriarch:--Lot.]

c. [Strong: 3588. [tēs] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēs] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn,ta, tēs,tois, tō, tōn, hé  hē ]

d. wife [1135 * gune] [Strong: probably from the base of 1096; a woman; specially, a wife:--wife, woman.]

1). Although she is only mentioned three scant times in Scripture, Jesus said very specifically that we should remember her. She is mentioned twice in Genesis 19 and once in Luke.

a). Genesis 19:15, 16 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

b). Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

c). Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife.

2). We must go a little deeper to find out why Jesus said it. It is a fact that Lot was not married when he separated from Abram.

a). Genesis 13:5-11 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

3). This means that Lot met and married his wife after he moved to the Sodom area. In fact, Jewish tradition teaches that Lot’s wife was a native of Sodom, raised there and perhaps even born there. In all of the references to Lot previous to his going to Sodom there is no mention of a wife or children, the first mention of Lot’s wife is Genesis 19:15, 16. There is mention of his daughters, his sons in law earlier in Genesis 19 but his wife is not mentioned until verse 15. The evidence about her being a native of Sodom is intriguing, and because of that the facts surrounding her demise must be studied closer to find out more. I estimate that Lot lived in the Sodom area for about 20 or 21 years. 

a). Abraham came into the land at age 75 (Genesis 12:4). Then there was the mistake of moving to Egypt to escape the famine and the fiasco over Sarai which took months if not a year (Genesis 12:10-20). The whole group moves back to the Bethel area and the strife begins between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot (Genesis 13:5-7). It is not stated how much time went by before they decided to separate. It is my guess that Abraham was about 78 or 79 when they separated, Lot moving to the Sodom area and Abraham to Mamre. The next event that takes place is the invasion of Canaan by the four Mesopotamian kings. The only time marker we have is Genesis 14:4, 5 and the mention of the length of servitude by the cities of the plain, when they rebelled and how long it took for the Mesopotamian kings to respond, this was a year at least and maybe two. Abraham rescues his nephew and all the prisoners from the four cities of the plain. In Genesis 15 we have the cutting of the covenant and then in Genesis 16 we have the mistake of Abraham and Sarah forcing Hagar to have Abraham’s child. There is a 13 year gap between the birth of Ishmael and the next time God appears to Abraham (Genesis 16:16-Genesis 17:1). God again appears to Abraham and Sarah about a few weeks or a month later (Genesis 18:1-15). The cities of the plain were destroyed the next morning, the evening the angels came into Sodom was the same day as the meal Abraham had with the Lord and the angels (Genesis 19:1-28). Right after the destruction of the cities of the plain Abraham moves from Mamre to Gerar. Approximately 20 or 21 years. Lot lived in the Sodom area for over twenty years.

b). C.I. Scofield estimates 22 years. 

4). Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

a). The note in the Amplified Bible says the following:  Note in Amplified Bible: Lot’s wife not only “looked back” to where her heart’s interests were, but she lingered behind; and probably overtaken by the fire and brimstone, her dead body became incrusted with salt, which, in that salt-packed area now the Dead Sea, grew larger with more incrustations—a veritable “pillar of salt.” In fact, at the southern end of the Dead Sea there is a mountain of table salt called Jebel Usdum, “Mount of Sodom.” It is about six miles long, three miles wide, and 1,000 feet high. It is covered with a crust of earth several feet thick, but the rest of the mountain is said to be solid salt (George T. B. Davis, Rebuilding Palestine According to Prophecy). Somewhere in this area Lot’s wife looked back to where her treasures and her heart were, and “she became a pillar of salt.” Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).

5). When the Amplified Bible note says  “…Lot’s wife not only “looked back” to where her heart’s interests were, but she lingered behind; and probably overtaken by the fire and brimstone, her dead body became incrusted with salt…”, there is good evidence to support it. The destruction of the cities of the plain did not happen until Lot was in the next town. Look carefully at this passage. 

a). Genesis 19:23-26 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

b). The evidence suggests that Lot’s wife was not just about ten feet behind him and she just turned around and became a pillar of salt because she turned around. It suggests that when the destruction began Lot and his daughters were in the next town and she was close enough to the destruction she was engulfed in it. Lot’s wife was not with the rest of the family. Notice the context where Jesus said theses words.

(1) Luke 17:28-32 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

17:31 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.

17:32 Remember Lot's wife.

(2) Looking at the words of Jesus it is easy to see the implication that she did not just linger but began to return. Because of Jesus warning it seems to suggest that she returned for her material things. Personally I don’t believe it was just material things that caused her to return but also family ties. Luke 17:33 causes me to believe that family ties blinded her to the fact she would be destroyed along with Sodom if she returned.

6). Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

a). These words are at the end of a warning of Jesus he gave concerning escaping with our physical life at the expense of our material things would being destroyed. Jesus gave these very words in a discourse concerning our relationship with Him and the relationship with our families.

(1) Matthew 10:34-39 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

b). I may be wrong but I believe that Lot’s wife was blinded, not only by material loss but also by family and emotional ties that caused her to ignore the clear warning from God which resulted in her death. She chose family above the word of God. I do not know what the spiritual condition of Lot’s wife was, but the fact is she ignored God’s warning to leave in order to “save” her life in Sodom, and she lost everything. It is God who created the earthly family to be a blessing to mankind, but God’s word clearly sets the boundaries of family and it says our relationship with Him must be a higher priority than with our earthly family. The truth is, only after we put Him first can we love our family the way God intended. Only through spiritual rebirth is that possible, as Jesus said, “We must be born again.” For those of us who have family members who are not believers, we must pray for them to be saved, walking in love before them, standing on the Word that it is God’s will for them not to perish but have everlasting life. It is a very comforting thought that God wants my family members in relationship with Him more than I do, and when I pray for them, standing on His Word, there is a resounding “Yes, we are in agreement” that comes from the throne of God!

c). The warning of Jesus to Remember Lot’s wife is pertinent to the contemporary issue over homosexuality because it surrounds the judgment of Sodom, of those who engage in same sex behavior and their supporters. How many families in America are fractured over what the Bible says about homosexuality and other Biblical truths? The truth of God’s word has divided families because some in those families are not Christians and they have believed the lies that culture has fed them for 50 years and put personal experience or family relationship or belief in a false science above God. Although Lot’s family were expressly warned, “look not behind thee,” Lot’s wife “looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt.” In Luke 17:32, 33 Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” I don’t think it is a coincidence that when Jesus was speaking about not wavering in our commitment to him, he spoke of family relationships. It is probable that here is the key to the tragedy of Lot’s wife. Jesus said in Matthew 10:37 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” The fact that some of her family remained and refused to leave the city Sodom, could have caused her to waver in her obedience to the command to not look back and resulted in her being consumed in the destruction.