Lot’s Wife — A Salted Example

This article is taken from Ray Comfort’s upcoming book, Idiotic Things People Did in the Bible. Please subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be the first to receive its release date!

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

What She Did

As God was mercifully rescuing her from the destruction of Sodom, she disobeyed a direct order not to look back.

Why It Was Idiotic

She had angels guiding her out of a burning city still couldn’t resist turning her head. Her heart was still in Sodom—and she paid the price with her life. She stands forever as a salty monument to foolishness.

Here’s the Scoop

Lot was the nephew of Abraham and lived in the wicked city of Sodom. Because of the people’s great sin, God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But out of mercy for Abraham, God sent two angels to warn Lot and his family to flee the city. The perverted men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house, demanding the visitors be brought out to them, but the angels struck them with blindness. The angels urged Lot to take his wife and two daughters and leave immediately, warning them not to look back or stay anywhere in the plain. At dawn, they were led out of the city. As they fled, God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, utterly destroying them. Despite the warning, Lot’s wife looked back—obviously with a longing for what she was leaving behind—and she became a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters escaped to a small town called Zoar, spared from the destruction. ***

Jesus was never short of words. But there were a number of times in our English Bibles when He used only three-word sentences—very pointed sentences with massive implications:

• “I am willing.” (Matthew 8:3) The most important thing in this life is to know that whatever we do, we have His smile.
• “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39) This has little meaning until we are in one of life’s terrifying storms, threatening to take away our lives.
• “It is finished!” (John 19:30) When Jesus said these three words on the cross, the Greek word He used was tetelestai, which means to bring to completion, fulfill, or accomplish. It’s like when we have receipts that say “paid in full.” He was declaring, “The debt of sin has been completely paid. My mission is fulfilled. The work of redemption is done—forever.” Because His work was completed, death has lost its sting. Everlasting life is now a free gift (see Ephesians 2:8–9).

Jesus had only three words to say about this woman who is never named in Scripture—only referred to as “Lot’s wife.” His instruction was simple:

“Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32)

These three words also have huge implications. It would therefore be wise for us to look back at the whole story of what happened to her. She did something so foolish that Jesus not only pointed to her as an example but told us not to forget her. Let’s therefore look a little closer at what happened.

In Genesis 19:1–26, we are told that two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening and were met by Lot at the city gate. He insisted they stay in his home rather than sleep in the open square. That night, the men of Sodom surrounded the house and demanded Lot hand over the visitors so they could sexually abuse them. Lot pleaded with the mob, but they grew violent. The angels pulled Lot inside, struck the men with blindness, and warned that God was about to destroy the city.

“To remember Lot’s wife is to shudder at the very thought of looking longingly back at this sinful world. Instead, we are to reckon ourselves dead to it. And we do this by the light of the cross.”

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Lot tried to convince his sons-in-law to flee, but they thought he was joking. At dawn, the angels urged Lot to take his wife and daughters and escape quickly. As he hesitated, they grabbed their hands and led them out, commanding them not to look back. Lot pleaded to flee to a small city called Zoar instead of the mountains, and the angels agreed. As Lot reached Zoar, God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, completely destroying them. But Lot’s wife disobeyed the command, looked back longingly, and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Did she become a literal pillar of salt? It seems clear that she did. This may be insulting to a proud, godless heart. However, those who know the Lord, understand that nothing is too difficult for God. He opens the Red Sea, shuts the mouths of lions, speaks through a donkey, raises the dead, heals the sick, walks on water, and stills storms with three words. So it is child’s-play for Him to turn her into a pillar of salt. But why salt?

1. Salt Was a Symbol of Judgment
   In the ancient world, especially in the Middle East, salt was used to destroy land. Conquerors would sometimes salt the earth of a defeated city to ensure it remained barren. So her turning into salt was a symbolic form of judgment—a visual reminder of barrenness and ruin, like the city she longed for.
2. Salt Can Symbolize Preservation—But She Became Permanently Preserved in Rebellion
   Salt preserves things. Ironically, Lot’s wife was “preserved,” not in righteousness, but in rebellion. She was frozen in the moment of her sin. Her backward glance was more than curiosity—it was a longing for the sexual wickedness she was leaving. Her heart never left Sodom, so God left her there in judgment.
3. A Warning to Us (Luke 17:32)
   Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife.” He didn’t say, “Remember Sodom,” but to remember her—because she was close to salvation but looked back. That salt pillar became a memorial of divided loyalty.
4. Salt Was Valuable—But Useless Salt Was Thrown Out
   Jesus also said, “…but if the salt loses its flavor … It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men”(Matthew 5:13). Lot’s wife may have appeared outwardly “valuable” as part of the righteous family, but inwardly, her heart was with the corrupt. Like tasteless salt, she was discarded.

Look at how Scripture contrasts her husband:

and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds) (2 Peter 2:7–8, LSB)

To remember Lot’s wife is to shudder at the very thought of looking longingly back at this sinful world. Instead, we are to reckon ourselves dead to it. And we do this by the light of the cross. Jesus said,

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)

When lust grabs our eye and tries to turn our head, we say, “I will not look back. I will not, because it cost God the life of His Son so that I could be saved from wrath.” When greed, pride, or sinful jealousy secretly whisper to our hearts, we must refuse to hear their evil voices. The foolishness of Lot’s wife’s is engraved in our hearts as a sobering reminder that God’s patience can wear thin, as it did with this foolish woman:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

This article is taken from Ray Comfort’s upcoming book, Idiotic Things People Did in the Bible. Please subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be the first to receive its release date!