A Hard Read

I’ve been intrigued lately by the story of Lot’s wife. 

In case you don’t know it, the brief version is this:  God warned Lot and his wife to leave the wicked city in which they lived, and to not look back.  Lot’s wife looked back and she turned to a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19 is a hard read. 

Two angels arrive at Lot’s house, and Lot bowed his head to the ground and asked them to spend the night at his house.  In fact, he insisted that they do so.  

He fed them a nice meal, and later in the evening some wicked men surrounded Lot’s house, because they saw these angels (who looked like men) arrive and they wanted to have sex with them.  The men asked Lot to bring them out, and here is Lot’s response:

He called what the men wanted to do “wicked” but offered his daughters to them instead.

One reason this story is so sickening, right from the beginning is that Lot recognized the angels as being from God, invited them into his house, yet threw his daughters to the wolves.

My first thought is how many times we attend church, recognize the presence of God among us, yet when we’re back at home we throw our families out to be devoured?  Not a pretty picture.

Faith and recognition of God aren't enough. 

We must protect, provide for, and honor those with whom we live daily under one roof.