REMEMBER  LOT'S  WIFE

A Memorial Day Message

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up

to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife!  (Luke 17:26-32)

This year, we will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday May 29th by decorating the graves of those who gave their lives to ensure the continued liberty which we have obtained by their blood and the blood of our forefathers going back to the founding of this great democracy called America. It is also known as Decoration Day since on the first official Memorial day in 1868, the decorations of honor were placed on the graves of the soldiers who died in the Civil War, both Union and Confederate.  Since then, many multiplied thousands have added their names to the list of patriots who have made the supreme sacrifice for their country.  We honor them by the very act of "remembering".  With the emphasis today on redacting history to fit the philosophy of a politically correct minority, it behooves us to investigate our true history and to teach it to our children, lest they forget both the price of freedom, and the horror of bondage. 

Remembering is very important.  Every great cause points back to some event or figure to inspire its adherents to action.  Our war cries over the years are good examples and have included "Remember the Alamo!", "Remember the Maine!", and "Remember Pearl Harbor!".  These three mottos or slogans were used during the Mexican war of 1846, the Spanish American war of 1898 and World War II of 1914-18 respectively.  Remembering is important in the Bible also.  As a matter of fact, our account of Lot's wife would not even be in the Bible except that in Gen. 19:29, God "remembered" Abraham, and saved Lot and his family on Abraham's account.   And in Luke 17:32, Jesus commands us to "Remember Lot's Wife!"  We would do well to heed His Word in this generation, which so closely resembles the two periods that Jesus refers to in the context of His warning.  He says that the Day of the Revelation of the Son of man will be characterized by the attitude prevalent in the days of Noah and Lot. The common denominator for both ages and indeed for every age is the ignorance of the people concerning the urgency of the hour in which they live. In both scenarios Jesus represents the people as going about their business right to the catastrophic consummation of their environment. (Commentators on the Greek text have consistently pointed out that the ten verbs in Lk 17:27-28 indicate continuous action right to the end.) 

It may be sufficient for us to remember our heroes once a year on Memorial Day. But the point that our Lord would make in Luke 17 is that any day, yea, any moment may bring forth the sudden revelation and unfolding of events that are quite beyond our cognizance and full understanding in the days before they occur. It requires constant vigilance if we would keep focus upon those things that we are to remember, including their eternal value, and with a similar dedication to duty that was the hall mark of our national warrior heroes, count all else but loss that we might obtain the crown of  glory waiting for those who are found to be victorious. The problem with blessings of a material nature and the blessing of freedom is that complacency can set in, and we can forget who we are and how we got here. 

That is why God told the Israelites in Deut. 6:6-12 concerning the source of their blessings; to "teach them to your children" at all times of the day,  "Lest, thou forget Jehovah Who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."  In a similar vein, Jesus speaks to the Angel of the Church in Sardis to "Remember, therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

Lot was saved because of Abraham's favor with God, but his outcome was not too good.  His wife was turned to a pillar of salt when the magnetism of materialism forced her to look back. Lot also somewhat attached to Sodom, dared to ask for a "small city" in the very area targeted for destruction, and settled in Bela, thereafter called Zoar, i.e. "Little".  His degradation was complete when his daughters, apparently not knowing any better because of lack of instruction while living in the Cities of the Plain, brought forth incestuous children from union with their drunken father Lot.  Aside from a few references to Lot as father of  Moab and Ben-Ammi and as a type of impending doom by Jesus, Lot passes off the scene in ignoble fashion in Gen. 19, with not so much as his death being recorded.    (cf Deut. 2:9,19, Psm 83:8)

Remember Lot's wife my dear friend.  She began with every advantage.  Because she was a member of Lot's house, she was included in the deliverance.  She ended up no better off than the Sons-in-law that scoffed at the invitation to join the exodus from Sodom.  Just how much the loss of his wife at this time effected Lot's future life we can only speculate. But the lesson is clear.  This is no time for half hearted commitment to God.  A double minded person is standing on dangerous ground.  And the amazing thing is that the more blessing you receive, the more careful you must be that you handle it properly.  We may also have many chances during our life to make the mistake of misplacing our priorities, and God may wink at our failure to appreciate the "times and seasons".  But there is coming a time when the ultimate consummation interrupts our opportunity for repentance, either at death, or at the eschatological end of the present age.  It is towards these events that Jesus clearly refers when he says "Remember Lot's Wife !".  

Have a very blessed and happy Memorial Day.