The speaker is, again, a third-person outside perspective as is the reader. We have such a need of humility that God will go to seemingly extreme ends to make sure that we feel our dependence on Him. God honors that request, and Lot and his family are led to safety while the rest of the city burns. In the original Hebrew, not only does her name not appear in this verse; his name doesn’t either. Join the conversation by. This speaker would continue to think of Lot’s wife with compassion in her heart. But God commands them not to look back upon the city, and Lot’s wife disobeys that command and instantly turns into a pillar of salt. Before we can remember Lot’s wife, we must know her story first. The knowledge of God was confined to a few favored families. Consider the religious privileges which Lot's wife enjoyed. John 6:65-66 records such an occasion in Jesus' ministry: "And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' Still engaged in the thoughts of Lot’s wife, the reader is able to empathize with how she must have felt leaving behind the home where she “loved [her] husband” and where her “babes were born”. Live in the present. I think it was His way of saying that you can't save yourself, that the One passing judgment is the One you should listen to and obey if you want your life to be preserved. But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Men trailed by, overlooking it. What led to the utter destruction of this city in a way that no other has ever been destroyed on earth is arrogance, a false sense of security, spiritual apathy, and disdain. In the biblical account, Abraham and his wife Sarah are the central focus. T. Genesis 19:24-26 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. The speaker guides the reader outside of the thoughts of Lot’s wife by changing from italics back to regular font. It includes one's hopes, dreams, aspirations, traditions, attitudes, and relationships. In the final stanza, the speaker takes a step back and asks a question. That woman became cold, careless, and disobedient. I Samuel 15:22-23 says that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and . Thank you! She would remember her fondly when she thinks of this story, because Lot’s wife “for a single glance, gave up her life”. The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). She did not believe. The question requires each of us to answer individually. ‘Lot’s Wife’ by Anna Akhmatova has a significance behind its title. James corroborates exactly what the apostle Paul says: "Show me your faith without your works, and I will you show you my faith by my works. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Jesus therefore desires that we live there. Success in God's way requires following an awesome vision of future glory with devoted conviction. We call her “Lot’s Wife.” Like many characters, mostly women, she was not given a name in the Torah text. But God commands them not to look back upon the city, and Lot’s wife disobeys that command and instantly turns into a pillar of salt. It can be tricky when dealing with translations. In New Testament terms, they had backslid beyond the reach of repentance and forgiveness. Thus, when Lot's wife fled for little Zoar, her wealth, her house, and her social circle were not the only things on her mind. He will take away our jobs, our health, our possessions. Answer: Genesis 19 tells the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lived in Sodom with his family.His daughters were engaged to local men. The greater part of the inhabitants of the world were living in darkness, ignorance, superstition, and sin. Because God is just, there will be indicators and warnings. John W. Ritenbaugh . Obviously, Lot was a wealthy man who had enough livestock and servants to cause a problem while he lived with Abraham (Genesis 13:5-7). Without doubt, this will be one of the greatest tests of our spiritual lives. Any effort to reconcile God's love, character, or righteousness with a tolerance for sin must end with miserable failure. Those concerns were insignificant beside the certain death of her flesh and blood. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. I recently came across this poem. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. The poet can hear it. Scripture implies that when this occurs, our family might be spread all over the city, county, state, nation, or globe. It gives the reader the sense that the speaker does not necessarily side with the angel, although the speaker never blatantly disregards him. What's your thoughts? It means so much to God that we have a right perspective of ourselves in relation to Him because it establishes a right perspective of other people, of things, and of life itself. What happens when a Christian looks back with a measure of longing is similar to someone talking on a cell phone while driving his car. Lot and his wife seem nearly forgotten after their move to the city of Sodom. But Lot’s wife disobeyed. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. The points do not directly answer the questions on pages 26-27 of the text, but may help you in our discussion at the Saturday Bible Study 05/24/2014. (From Forerunner Commentary). He will do anything necessary in order to make us see our need—that every good gift flows from Him. What the Bible says about It is a solemn and a fearful thing for one to die quietly in his bed. She has always enjoyed writing, reading, and analysing literature. What might her lesson be? Most people assume that Lot had only two daughters, but this is not the case. Flee. God pictures Sodom as proud. In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19.The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom.She is not named in the Bible but is called "Ado" or "Edith" in some Jewish traditions.She is also referred to in the deuterocanonical books at Wisdom 10:7 and the New Testament at Luke 17:32. It does not even exist. Remember Lot's wife. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Men trailed by, overlooking it. Later, in verse 14, he "spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters," meaning he had other married daughters who were not virgins. Her pride turned her into a pillar of salt because she did not have faith in God. Every single person that visits PoemAnalysis.com has helped contribute, so thank you for your support. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. Lot and his daughters obeyed and ran away from Sodʹom. The problem was that she failed to take advantage of all the privileges that were given to her. It will either be God or the world. Why did she look back? He frequently drifts all over the road, swerving this way and that because, at best, his attention is split between conflicting priorities. Italics are used for the very thoughts of Lot’s wife, as the speaker portrays them, to allow the reader to feel her pain. In Judaism, Lot’s wife became a symbol for a rebellious unbeliever. Lot's wife synonyms, Lot's wife pronunciation, Lot's wife translation, English dictionary definition of Lot's wife. He says that she sought to save her life but lost it. Some non-biblical Jewish traditions (oral sources, rabbinical commentaries, even folk tales) refer to … Finally, the angels tell him, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here" (verse 15), implying he had daughters elsewhere. Do not look back. But she did. In the Book of Genesis, a disobedient woman whom God punished. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow" (verses 20-21). This poem gives the reader insight into what might possibly have been going through the mind of this woman, Lot’s wife, whose name we are never even given. With this line, the speaker implies that Lot’s wife was not merely foolish and unable to control herself, but that she made a conscious decision to give up her life for one final glance at the place she once called home. Even this, though, makes for an interesting comparison. He says to the Sodomites, "See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man" (Genesis 19:8). But to die suddenly in a moment, in the very act of a sin, by God's direct imposition is dreadful indeed. We must remember Lot's wife, for never has so much opportunity been given to really know God through His Word than has been given to the end-time church. This is why John warns in I John 2:15 to “love not the world.” The world is cosmos, a system apart from God, being organized and regulated upon false principles and false values. He said, "Remember Lot's wife," for it has particular application to those who are living at the time of the end, who are facing the destruction of the very society, the very nation, in which they live. b. We do not know the name of Lot’s wife. He said, "Remember Lot's wife," for it has particular application to those who are living at the time of the end, who are facing the destruction of the very society, the very nation, in which they live. ‘Lot’s Wife’ by Anna Akhmatova presents the sad story of Lot’s wife in an innovative manner. Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Jesus draws on the stories of Noah and Lot to warn that, even though life seems to be relatively normal, when God brings the judgment, it will be sudden and complete. Lot’s wife is one of the women characters in the Bible who doesn’t have a name. As a result, the angels “seized” them by the hand and took them out of the city. Maybe she just loved the ways of this world more than God. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. The story of Lot's wife is a dramatic illustration that the presence of one small act of willful disobedience can lead to eternal loss. Though this is not easy, the word of our Lord says, “Remember Lot's wife.”. The use of the word “hulking” seems almost contradictory to the “bright” descriptions usually used for angels. He will humble us. Lot's Wife The speaker imagines that Lot’s wife was filled with thoughts of her old life as their home burned behind them. When we are swept clean by God's forgiveness and His Holy Spirit, something must be done to keep it clean, holy, and separated from the world. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back" (Luke 17:31). The speaker describes her feel as being “rooted in the plain” when her “body grew” into “transparent salt”. Great analysis! That deceptively effortless way draws the person ever-further from salvation, and he grows steadily weaker as he loses contact with God. But Lot’s wife… Genesis 19:26. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Lot’s wife, perhaps feeling regret to be leaving Sodom behind and heading into the unknown, cast a last look behind her. Yet, when Christ asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). "She became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26). Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom, the area where financial and judicial transactions took place, when two angels came into town. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. The apostle Paul equates faith and obedience, or conversely, unbelief and disobedience. He will find faith if we take seriously His admonition to remember Lot's wife, who was totally unprepared because she had no faith. The speaker continues to engage the reader in empathy for Lot’s wife when she describes her decision to turn and look back as one that resulted in a “bitter view”. Then Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt. Perhaps this is why He reminds us to "remember Lot's wife." Like science, conversion tells us there cannot be a vacuum in life. Does she not seem, who suffered death because she chose to turn. In fact, the account reads like a historical document more than a story. For this reason, a person who has begun to fall away will most likely take the second step backwards with hardly a pause. This "looking back" is not merely reflecting to evaluate the progress made since one decided to leave the world. The title of this poem lets the reader know immediately that the poem will sympathize with Lot’s wife. It is that simple. She dropped the ball. She rebelled. Are we going to trust God that He will protect them and get them out, too? We are not to be anything but altogether followers of the Son of God. Remember: Lot’s wife perished, although she was a woman of great privilege. All through the years Lot had believed in God, he had prayed to Him and had worshipped Him, yet Mrs Lot remained outside, without a like faith in the Lord. Lot's wife is only mentioned three times in the Bible (Genesis 19:15-17, 26; Luke 17:32),… The speaker describes the angel as “hulking and bright”. Remember Lot's wife. Translate Lot's wife in English online and download now our free translator to use any time at no charge. Lot’s wife is particularly overlooked in this story, as she turns into a pillar of salt for disobeying the command of the angel, and is never spoken of again. If we are warned to flee, we dare not linger or look back, like Lot's wife. Her lonely statue still stands on the “black mountain”. Luke 17:28-32. It has made us what we are before God calls us, requiring our repentance and conversion. 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