Creative Worship: Don't Look Back

Have you heard the saying, "Don't look back, you're not going that way"? When I was reading the account of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, this saying popped in my head in relation to Lot's wife. The sad end to Lot's wife is summed up in one short sentence in Genesis 19:26,

"But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

We all know the story, right? Two angels came to Lot's family in Sodom and instructed them to flee before the Lord destroyed the city. The angels had simple instructions - escape and don't look behind! Once Lot, his wife, and his two daughters were safely removed, God rained fire and brimstone down on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their egregious sins against Him. He completely destroyed the entire area so that it went from a lush, fruitful valley to completely uninhabitable by man or animal, and it remains so to this day.

Some researchers say that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was an unsurpassed act of divine judgment in which God literally rained great chunks of fire and brimstone down on the entire region. Others say that God caused volcanic activity to erupt at that specific moment in time and used the earth's natural resources to bring about the destruction of the two cities. Either way, I think we can all agree it would have been an awesome, terrifying sight to behold.

I've always been a little curious about the story of Lot's wife. In all honesty, I thought her harsh judgement a bit unfair. I mean, her home and entire city were being destroyed by a miraculous display of God's mighty power and she couldn't just sneak a peek? I would be curious. I would want to look. I would want to see. Wouldn't you?

So I had to do some digging. And in my digging I realized that her punishment was not for sneaking a peek at God's mighty display of power. No, her punishment (and why it was so harsh) was because her heart and her devotion still lay in Sodom, not in God.

Here is what David Guzik's commentary has to say:

"The word looked back has the connotation of looking intently. It might possibly be rendered lagged back, or maybe even returned back. In referring to the end times, Jesus uttered some almost cryptic words in Luke 17:3: Remember Lot's wife. In other words, no Christian should have a heart like Lot's wife as we see the end of the age, a heart that loves the world and will in some sense, regret the judgment God will bring on it. We need to look forward to our deliverance, not back at a world passing away and ripe for judgment."

Matthew Henry's commentary says this:

"She disobeyed an express command, and so sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, which ruined us all. Her looking back evinced an inclination to go back; and therefore our Savior uses it as a warning against apostasy from our Christian profession. we have all renounced the world and the flesh, and have set our faces heaven-ward; we are in the plain, upon our probation; and it is at our peril if we return into the interests we profess to have abandoned. She was struck dead in the place; yet her body did not fall down, but stood fixed and erect like a pillar, or monument... which would last perpetually."

It wasn't the look, it was the intent behind the look. At that moment, the look showed what was in her heart. Her punishment was immediate and she became a monument to her love for Sodom over God.

How does this relate to us today? Well, it reminds us that God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. He knows where your true devotion lies. But it also reminds us not to look back. Don't look back on your former life, what God has called you out of. You're not going that way. You're going forward to what God has called you to be, where He has called you to go, to do what He intends for you to do. The story of Lot's wife is tragic (and really, the story of Lot's entire life is tragic), but it is a reminder to us all to guard our hearts, to set our sights on God and His plan, to follow Him and never look back.

Page Details

I used clear gesso, Distress Oxides, stamps, and a Zig writer marker/pen to create this page. I first used two layers of clear gesso to protect the page and make the inks easier to blend. Once dried, I blended three different colors of Distress Oxides, splattered with water, dried, and then stamped my title. I journaled my notes, stamped the date, and added a bow paperclip and called it good. :)