Genesis 19:24-26 – Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
As promised, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family barely made it out of town in time as God rained down burning sulfur (literally burning asphalt), killing all the people, and destroying their land much like in the days of Noah.
Lot’s wife looked back in sinful unbelief, pining for their old life in the world rather than trusting God to save her in faith according to Jesus in Luke 17:32-33. We know nothing of Lot’s wife, but she may have been from Sodom, or at least agreed with the lifestyle there. This would explain why Lot settled there and why she looked back as they fled, regretting their departure as she may have been a very vile woman. When she was asked not to look back, she did anyway and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ends by stating that Abraham stood off to witness the smoke rise from the former cities and that Lot and his family were spared only because God blessed them for being associated with Abraham who prayed for Lot in Genesis 18:16-33. We are told that God remembered Abraham as He had Noah (Genesis 8:1, 18:29).
Today, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is under great revision by progressive people claiming to be Christians but preaching tolerance of sin rather than repentance of sin. These people seek to teach that God sanctions and blesses sex outside of marriage (including homosexual sex), which directly contradicts Scripture (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-11; I Timothy 1:9-10; Jude 17). They even go so far as to teach that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for reasons other than sexual sin, often stating that God was angry because of the Sodomites’ inhospitality to the two “men” who were visiting the city.
Such twisted interpretations are simply evidence that God has handed them over to their sin and their minds have become so corrupted that they cannot see the truth, as Paul clearly states in Romans 1:18-27. And, while God can and does forgive repentant sinners (heterosexual and homosexual alike), the Bible is clear that all sexual sin outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage is deplorable to God who made us male and female, married us male and female, and intends sexual contact to only occur between one married male and his female wife.
Have you ever wanted to look back on your old life before God saved you? Thank Him for saving you from death and destruction.
To help you study the book of Genesis with us, check out the second of three free e-book study guides here.
To get daily devos sent texted to you Monday-Friday, text DEVOTIONS to 99383. Click here to find the sermon series that accompanies this devotional series.