February 4 - Lot & his wife

February 4 - Lot & his wife

You know, sometimes I look at a couple and I think to myself, "That poor woman married him and is going to have to put up with him for a very long time. Do you think she'll ever figure it out?"

Just saying those words, "Lot's wife" gives everyone an image in their mind, whether they are religious or not. "Lots' wife" equals "pillar of salt" equals disobedient and stupid. But, I wonder about her choices in life.

Lot was the son of Abraham's brother, Haran (Genesis 11:31). It doesn't say that he was married when Terah left Ur for Canaan. It also doesn't say that he had a wife when Abram left his father at the Lord's request (Genesis 12:5).

We see in Genesis 13 that Abram and Lot were traveling together and that Abram had become wealthy. Lot had some flocks and herds and tents, but not nearly as much as his uncle. When it came time to separate, Abram offered him his choice of land. Lot looked out, saw the good stuff and chose that land. It just so happened that he chose the area that was home to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Things are not going to bode well for this young man. Abram took off the other way and settled down.

Genesis 14 tells us that four kings went to war against Sodom and Gomorrah. They won. They carried away goods and food as well as Lot and all his possessions. Abram had to go rescue him. This is definitely a man that needs a good wife.

The next time we see Lot, he is back in Sodom. He is surrounded by evil and as has been quite obvious, he doesn't handle choices well. Two angels show up in town and while Lot knows that they shouldn't be abused by the wicked men in the town, he doesn't quite get it right when he offers his daughters up to them. Their betrothed husbands are in the house and it doesn't say that they put up a fight either. (Genesis 19:1-11)

And what does it say about Lot's influence when the angels insist that he gather his family and leave town because the Lord is going to wipe it out, that the son-in-laws think he is joking and refuse to leave. Then, when the angels tell Lot to hurry, the man still hesitates! They have to grab him by the hand as well as his wife and daughters and lead them to safety. This man continues to make terrible choices. (Genesis 19:12-16)

The angels tell them not to look back and to run into the mountains. Lot continues to whine. If he had been my husband, I would definitely have kicked him in the behind by now. Stupid, stupid man. He didn't want to go into the mountains because the disaster would overtake him? (Genesis 19:19) That man just didn't want to deal with living outside of a city or village - he liked his conveniences too much.

But, that stupid, stupid wife couldn't even make it to the village of Zoar. She had to turn around and look back at the destruction of Sodom. God was raining down burning sulfur which destroyed the city, everyone living there and all of the vegetation. What in the world did Lot see as she turned into a pillar of salt.

Oh, but things don't get any better for this man. He's still afraid. He can't even stay in Zoar, though the angels promised they wouldn't destroy it. He hides in a cave. The daughters think the world is ending and there won't be any more men around, so they get him drunk and sleep with him. Both get pregnant. The first son was named Moab - father of the Moabites and the second son was named Ammi - father of the Ammonites. Those two tribes became enemies of the Israelites.

I see Lot as an idiot and his wife is simply that - the wife of an idiot. But, he had one thing going for him. In 2 Peter 2:17-19, Peter tells us that Lot was a righteous man. You see, even though he made terrible choices, he believed in God. We don't know that his wife and daughters carried that belief, but Lot did. Do you realize how important that is?