Do You Remember Lot's Wife?

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 
The Lord Jesus said in Luke 17:32, "Remember Lot's wife." What a strange command. He was in the midst of warning His disciples in Luke 17:22-37 of the way the world would be prior to His return. Remembering Lot's wife is an interesting observation. The Lord likened the world condition just prior to His return when He said,  "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Then a couple of verses later Jesus admonished us to, "remember Lot's wife!"

Do you remember how it used to be? I do. I remember as a child in the late 40s and early 50s there used to be prayer in public schools. I remember distinctly when the United States of America put  the phrase, "under God," in the pledge of allegiance.  But now, in the year 2014, we have excluded the concept of God from our nation's vocabulary as being not politically correct. There have been those who would have that phrase removed. As I recall it was during the decade of the 60s that American society began to be sexually liberated. When I turned to God in 1965 at age 23 it seemed bad and today more than 49 years later things have only gotten worse. 

Why should we remember Lot's wife other than because the Lord told us to? One reason, I believe, is that judgment is soon to come upon this world. It is not time to look back with longing, either for the things of this world or for loved ones who have refused the mercy of God. Lot had more family than just his wife and two daughters. The angels that were sent by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah said to Lot in Genesis 19:12-14, "... Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law." Lot seemed to his sons-in-law "as one that mocked."

Remember Abraham's entreaty to the LORD on the Plains of Mamre in Genesis 18:23-33?  Abraham had asked if 50 righteous were in the cities would God destroy them? The answer was no. Then Abraham asked, and I paraphrase, "what about 45, what about 40, then 30, then 20 then 10?" God said He wouldn't destroy even for ten righteous people. The Bible says, "And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place." This is my personal view that Lot had three married daughters and who knows how many if any grandchildren abiding in Sodom. If Lot, his wife and two unmarried daughters, three married daughters and their husbands equals ten people, that may also be why Abraham stopped at ten. That also may be why Lot's wife looked back. The Bible doesn't say. What the Bible does say is that Abraham stopped at ten "and Abraham returned unto his place." But as we read in the preceding paragraph, Lot seemed to his sons-in-law "as one that mocked."

Oh friend of mine, God's judgment is coming on this world. "Remember Lot's wife." If you have turned towards the Lord Jesus, don't look back! If you have never repented of your sins, do so today. God commands it! (See Acts 17:30) If you have never been baptized in the only name that can save, the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, find someone that will baptize you today. (See Acts 2:38 and 4:12) If you will obey the scriptures, God has promised to give you the baptism of the Holy Ghost, just like He gave the apostles and early believers on the Day of Pentecost. (See Acts 2:1-4 and John 7:37-39)