23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

27 Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. 28 He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.   29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

Genesis 19:23 – 29 (NLT)

Fire & brimstone

Sodom and Gomorrah suffered annihilation under God’s wrath. All life was wiped out. Similar events occurred in the plagues of Egypt and the conquest of Canaan but not as dramatic.

These cities became a symbol of sin and execution of God’s wrath (c.f., Isaiah 1:9, Jeremiah 49:18, Lamentations 4:6, Amos 4:11). Even Jesus used them as a standard of destruction for wickedness in Matthew 10:15 and 11:23.

“Preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were referred to as “fire-and-brimstone preachers” during the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s.” (wikipedia.org) The term is less frequently used today as preachers change style and more, unfortunately, remove sin and judgment from the salvation message.

Don’t look back

Yesterday we read about the warning to not look back given by the angels. Today, we see that Lot’s wife did not heed the warning; she did not obey. Some good Christian commentators try to make this sound “more plausible” by saying things like the dust from the burning engulfed her in salt. I prefer to just take it for what it says: she became a pillar of salt. 

God does not mess around

When God says He will execute judgment, He’s not messing around. Abraham saw this firsthand. It must have left an indelible impression on him that changed his life forever. But he was probably wondering, “What happened to my nephew Lot”? 

Thankfully God does withhold judgment to give people time to repent. Remember the people in Noah’s time who had 120 years to repent before the flood? But judgment must come. God sent Jesus to take the judgment for all sin. Amen!

RЯeflection

• Have you repented from your sin and believed in Christ, that He took the judgment for sin on Himself? If not, click here.
• Christian, are you tempted to look back? Remember Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Consider this song recommended by my wife.