Why We Should Remember Lot’s Wife (Luke 17:32 and Genesis 19:26)

Jesus told us to remember Lot’s wife as a warning against turning back when God calls us to obey. In Genesis 19:26, she looked back while escaping Sodom and became a pillar of salt. In Luke 17:31-33, Jesus applies her example to the danger of clinging to possessions and earthly life instead of trusting Him.

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Two Striking Calls to Remember in Luke

Luke records two striking calls from Jesus to remember: His instruction at the Lord’s Supper and His warning about Lot’s wife. These are not the Bible’s only commands to remember people; Hebrews 13:7, for example, tells us to remember faithful leaders. Consider first Jesus’s words about Himself:

Luke 22:19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Another striking call is to remember Lot’s wife. If I were choosing a biblical example to remember, I might first think of Abraham, David, or Daniel for two reasons:

1. Their godliness – I could imagine Jesus telling us to remember one of these men, because of how godly they were and how much there is to learn from them.
2. Their content – I could imagine Jesus telling us to remember one of these men, because of how much is written about them in Scripture.

Why It’s Surprising We’re Told to Remember Lot’s Wife

Lot’s wife wouldn’t even make the list for the opposite of these two reasons:

1. Her ungodliness
2. The lack of content about her

Genesis 19 mentions Lot’s wife during the warning and rescue in verses 15-16, as well as in the account of her judgment in verse 26. The best-known statement is this:

Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Jesus tells us to remember Lot’s wife, but we know almost nothing about her:

• We don’t know when she was born
• We don’t know where she was born
• We don’t know who she was born to; we don’t know her parents
• We don’t even know her name

Genesis tells us much about the origins and families of God’s people, yet it leaves Lot’s wife unnamed. We do not need to know her full biography to understand Jesus’s warning. What matters here is her response when she was told to escape.

Let’s look at the previous verse for context:

Luke 17:31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.

Jesus describes someone on a housetop whose possessions are inside the house. The instruction is urgent: do not go back for them. He gives the same warning to the person working in the field.

Don’t Look Back!

The context is the Second Coming in Luke 17:22-30. I understand this as Christ returning in judgment and establishing His kingdom on earth. This is not the time to turn back for possessions. Looking back longingly would reveal:

• a focus on the earthly versus the heavenly
• that this life is more important than the next life

So, this is a warning to people who

• are obsessed with the physical instead of the spiritual
• cling to their earthly lives despite all that heaven offers
• are tempted to confuse the enjoyments of the world with the eternal life that could await them

When Jesus returns, true believers will not be concerned about what is in the house. They will be concerned with what is in heaven. The end of the verse says “not [to] turn back.” Then Jesus provides the premier example of looking back and suffering as a result:

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.

Let’s consider what we can learn from her example…

Lot’s Wife Shows the Lord Knows How to Rescue the Godly and Punish the Unrighteous

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

Sodom and Gomorrah are supposed to serve as “an example.” God sent an unmistakable message to all future generations, including us, that wickedness results in judgment. But I don’t think people have learned from this example.

2 Peter 2:7 and if he rescued RIGHTEOUS Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that RIGHTEOUS man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his RIGHTEOUS soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

Three times in two verses, Lot is called righteous. His serious failures should not make us ignore Peter’s description. We are justified, or declared righteous, by grace through faith. Peter also describes Lot’s distress over the wickedness around him; righteousness here is not an endorsement of everything Lot did.

2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

This is Peter’s point in the verses. God can rescue the godly from trials:

• That would be Noah and his family
• That would be Lot, whom Peter specifically calls righteous

And God can keep the unrighteous under punishment:

• That would be those drowned by the flood
• That would be the inhabitants of Sodom destroyed by the fire and sulfur

Lot’s wife had been brought outside Sodom, but she still came under judgment when she looked back. Her example shows that being near people who are delivered, or sharing their outward privileges, is not the same as personally responding to God in faith.

Lot’s Wife Disregarded God’s Grace

Lot was Abraham’s nephew and traveled with him when Abraham left Haran for Canaan:

Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

Lot belonged to Abraham’s family and shared in his travels. That connection helps us see the spiritual privileges surrounding Lot’s household.

Genesis 13:5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,

Lot had large flocks and herds. His wealth helps explain why he and Abraham separated: the land could not support their livestock together. Lot then moved toward Sodom:

Genesis 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Genesis describes Lot moving toward Sodom and later living there with his wife. It does not identify her birthplace or establish that they met in Sodom.

The Bible leaves her name unrecorded, but Jesus makes her choice unforgettable. He directs our attention to her response: she looked back despite the command to escape without doing so.

Sodom was defeated in battle. The people were captured, including Lot, and Abraham saved him:

Genesis 14:16 Then [Abraham] brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and THE WOMEN AND THE PEOPLE.

The passage identifies Lot among those Abraham rescued. It does not identify Lot’s wife or daughters among the captives, so we cannot be certain whether they shared in that rescue.

The Grace Lot’s Wife Received

Her experience of mercy is explicit in Genesis 19:16: the angels took her by the hand with Lot and their daughters and led them out. This is one of the examples of God’s mercy in the Bible.

God sent angels to Lot’s household before judgment fell. Their visit brought a warning and a way of escape. Another grace of God.

When the men of the city threatened Lot’s household, the angels struck the attackers with blindness and protected those inside. Lot’s wife was among the household being warned and delivered. Another grace of God.

When the angels dramatically delivered Lot and his family from Sodom, she was delivered as well. Another grace of God.

Finally, Lot was a flawed man, but three times he was called righteous. She was married to a righteous man, which made her the beneficiary of Lot’s righteousness and faith:

1 Corinthians 7:14 The unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.

This doesn’t mean Lot’s wife was saved by being married to Lot, but holy means set apart. She was set apart for a special spiritual work because she was married to a believer. More than likely, she heard Lot pray, and heard stories about Lot’s uncle, Abraham, and the God of Abraham, and the way Abraham was called out of his country and brought Lot with him. If Lot was greatly distressed and tormented by Sodom’s wickedness, he probably shared that with her. It was another grace to be shown how evil these people were and how much they needed to repent.

Lot’s wife was able to become a member of Abraham’s family, which means:

• She was part of the family of the father of faith.
• She was part of the family of one of the greatest men in the Old Testament.

But she despised all these graces.

As we remember Lot’s wife, we should think about God’s graces in our lives and consider whether we despise any of them by our actions.

Lot’s Wife Disobeyed Divine Commands

Genesis 19:12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

These men were angels. They were God’s representatives who spoke for God. They said God was going to destroy the city.

Genesis 19:15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

More than likely Lot’s wife heard they were to leave the city.

Genesis 19:17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. DO NOT LOOK BACK or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

Finally, the strongest command, specifically telling them “not [to] look back.” But she had no regard for God’s commands.

As we remember Lot’s wife, are there any commands we disobey?

Lot’s Wife Loved the World

Genesis 19:16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

Genesis 19:16 says Lot lingered and that the angels took him, his wife, and their daughters by the hand. The whole family needed to be led out. Lot’s hesitation does not cancel Peter’s description of him as righteous; the rescue emphasizes how much he and his household needed the Lord’s mercy.

Why Lot’s Wife Wanted to Remain in Sodom

Genesis 19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

The gate of the city is where the leaders spent their time because this is where business was conducted. Think of the description of the Virtuous Wife:

Proverbs 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.

Proverbs 31 shows a husband respected among the elders alongside the portrait of a faithful wife. A godly wife can be a great help to her husband. Married couples should ask whether their choices encourage faithfulness to God or deepen their attachment to the sinful world.

Lot was wealthy, and his place at the gate may suggest prominence. Genesis does not give him an official title or explain how his wife regarded that position. Wealth, status, and familiar surroundings can all make it difficult for people to leave what God calls them to leave.

Jesus’s warning in Luke 17 connects her example with the danger of turning back for earthly possessions. I understand her backward look as revealing an attachment to Sodom that took priority over obedience to God.

Sodom Is a Type or Shadow of the World

Sodom is a type or shadow of the world in that:

• The world is enticing like Sodom…it drew in Lot and kept his wife from fleeing
• The world is filled with evil people like Sodom
• The world is going to be judged…like Sodom…

Second Peter 3:10-13 describes the unexpected arrival of the Lord’s day, the destruction of the present heavens, and the exposure of the earth’s works. Peter calls us to holiness as we await God’s promised new heavens and new earth.

Sodom’s destruction is an example of judgment, while 2 Peter 3 describes judgment on a far greater scale. The comparison warns us against loving a world opposed to God. I understand Jesus’s use of Lot’s wife as a warning that outward escape is not the same as a heart turned toward Him:

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

John contrasts the passing world and its desires with the lasting life of the person who does God’s will. The question for us is whether our loyalty rests with God or with what is passing away.

This perfectly describes Lot’s wife. She perished with Sodom, which is to say she perished with the world, because she loved the world.

As we remember Lot’s wife, let’s think about any ways we might love the world.

Lot’s Wife Was Close to Salvation

Other passages give related warnings that help us apply her example. They do not name Lot’s wife, but they warn against drawing back from faith and following Christ with divided loyalty:

Hebrews 10:38 My righteous one shall live by faith, and if HE SHRINKS BACK, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Lot’s wife left the city but looked back. Her example illustrates the danger of turning back after receiving God’s warning.

Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Her backward look illustrates the danger of divided loyalty when God calls us to follow Him.

What Should We Remember About Lot’s Wife?

Her death was a serious judgment, not an ordinary detail to pass over. What makes the warning especially sobering is that she had already been led out of the city. Here, being close to salvation means being close to physical deliverance; it does not mean she was already spiritually saved and then lost her salvation. Consider what she had received:

• The inhabitants of Sodom did not make it out of the city, but she did
• She had the city and judgment and destruction behind her
• She had her husband and children at her side
• She had life with a righteous man in front of her

From the outside, she might have appeared safe. Yet being brought out of Sodom did not guarantee her final deliverance. That is a warning to us: we can be close to believers, hear God’s Word, and receive many privileges without personally trusting and obeying Him.

Charles Spurgeon applied this warning to people who come close to the things of God without leaving their attachment to sin. He pictured the tragedy this way: “To have lived with God’s people, to have been numbered with them, to have been joined to them by ties of blood, and then after all to perish, will be horrible indeed!”

Examine Yourself

Consider the following as you remember Lot’s wife:

• Lot’s wife shows we could be recipients of much of God’s grace, but not be saved.
• Lot’s wife shows we could be married to a righteous believer, but not be saved.
• Lot’s wife shows we could witness the supernatural like she did with the angels, but not be saved.
• Lot’s wife shows we could be close to salvation, even looking like we have been delivered from the wrath to come, but not be saved.

When Lot and his family were commanded to leave Sodom, the urgency of the departure was emphasized:

Genesis 19:17 [The angel] said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

The same urgency applies to us, so let’s take advantage of this gracious opportunity God has given us to examine ourselves and be sure that we are not disregarding God’s grace and the divine command to repent and believe.