When the Past Refuses to Let Go

The Bible in a Year

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26)

As we continue our journey through Scripture, the brief and unsettling account of Lot’s wife arrests our attention precisely because of its simplicity. There is no long dialogue, no recorded defense, no explanation offered on her behalf. One sentence tells us everything we need to know, and perhaps more than we wish to admit. In the midst of divine mercy—angels leading Lot’s family out of Sodom—her story becomes a sober reminder that rescue does not eliminate responsibility. God’s deliverance was underway, but obedience was still required.

The command given earlier could not have been clearer: “Escape for your life; do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain” (Genesis 19:17, italics added). This was not a cryptic instruction nor a symbolic riddle. It was plain, direct, and urgent. The tragedy of Lot’s wife is not that she misunderstood God, but that she disregarded Him. Scripture consistently reveals that humanity’s greatest struggles with sin are rarely rooted in confusion. They are rooted in resistance. From Eden onward, God’s commands are often clear; our hearts, however, are divided. We look back not because we are ignorant, but because something behind us still holds our affection.

Looking back toward Sodom was more than a physical glance. It was an inward turn of longing, attachment, and unresolved allegiance. Jesus later referenced this very moment when He warned, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). He did so in the context of discipleship and readiness for the kingdom of God. The issue was not curiosity; it was clinging. The Hebrew narrative implies hesitation—a heart torn between what God was rescuing her from and what she was being called to leave behind. Sin often works this way, disguising itself as nostalgia or hesitation while quietly undermining obedience.

The consequence of her disobedience is stark: she became a pillar of salt. Scripture presents this as both judgment and revelation. Salt, in itself, is valuable—used for preservation, seasoning, and covenant symbolism elsewhere in the Bible. But a pillar of salt is inert, immobile, and useless. Her doom involved demotion. She was no longer able to serve her family or participate in the future God was opening before them. Sin has a way of doing this to us. It does not merely break rules; it diminishes capacity. It narrows our usefulness, erodes our witness, and slowly immobilizes our spiritual life.

There is also dishonor in her fate. The pillar of salt became a silent memorial—not of grace received, but of opportunity lost. John Calvin once observed that her story stands as “a perpetual example to admonish us that we must not hesitate, when God commands, but press forward with alacrity.” Disobedience, Scripture reminds us, never leads to dignity. While obedience may be mocked in the moment, it is obedience that leads to lasting honor before God. “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 15:33).

For those of us reading this account today, the question is not whether we will ever be tempted to look back, but when. The pull of former comforts, identities, habits, or securities can be powerful—especially when following God leads into uncertainty. Yet Genesis 19 reminds us that delayed obedience is still disobedience. Partial obedience is still resistance. God’s call to move forward is not merely about physical direction but about spiritual orientation. Faith requires a decisive break with what God has judged and a wholehearted trust in what He has promised.

As part of our year-long walk through Scripture, Lot’s wife teaches us that salvation is not passive. God acts decisively to rescue, but we are called to respond decisively in trust. Looking back freezes us in place. Moving forward, even trembling, keeps us aligned with God’s redemptive work. The past may explain us, but it must not govern us. God’s mercy always points forward.

For additional insight into this passage and its relevance, see this thoughtful article from GotQuestions.org:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Lots-wife.html

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