Divine Judgment: Lot's Salty Wife and Scripture as a Weapon.
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: I, too am a pastor. I tell my people that no question is a dumb question. But for this one,
I cannot find an answer that I feel comfortable taking to the congregation. God allowed Lot
and his family to get out of the city before destroying it. All they had to do was keep their
eyes forward, since God said "don't look back or I will turn the you into a pillar of salt."
Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. The question is, "Why salt?"

A: God didn't threaten any particular punishment: He said, "Do not look back or stop anywhere
in the valley.... (Gen 19:17)" We find out about the salt as the Lord implements the penalty.

From the Church's early days, people have written about the incident. Prior to AD 100, Clement
of Rome commented in his First Epistle to the Corinthians that she was "made an example of, so
as to be a pillar of salt unto this day. This was done that all might know that those who are of a
double mind, and who distrust the power of God, bring down judgment on themselves and
become a sign to all succeeding generations." Clement of Alexandria, ca. AD 200, suggested that
God fixed her "not as a stupid and useless image, but to season and salt him who has the power of
spiritual perception." While many commentators have talked about the event, few have speculated
as to the reason that salt was chosen.

So when in doubt, hear Jesus. He reestablished her as an example (Lk 17:32-33): "Remember
Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it."
Our Lord is truly the Word Made Flesh. He is also the Master of Words. Choosing a verb with
the common meaning of "preservation," He likely gave intentional allusion to salt's preservative
nature. Additionally, the area surrounding the destroyed cities borders the Dead Sea. Due to
fluctuations in water level, much of the region contains bizarre salt formations. Thus the traveler
still sees visual reminders of the seriousness of God's Word and the totality of His judgment upon
those who turn away from Him. In the absence of anything else from the Lord, we do well to stop
speculation now.

Q: I'm 15 years old and my friend and I had an argument about lying. Someone said the
verse, "All liars go to Hell." He got offended because she "used the bible as a weapon."
How can I tell him that it means that all liars who aren't forgiven obviously don't believe,
will go to Hell. Also, how can I tell him that she wasn't using the Bible as a weapon, but
more as a witnessing guideline?

A: Revelation 21:8 says, "As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with
fire and sulfur, which is the second death." We know already that lying is a damnable sin, one
infecting all people: "All mankind are liars. (Ps 116:11)" Without forgiveness, Heaven would be
empty of all humankind, save the God-man Jesus Christ. The indictment is serious; lying is, in
God's eyes, every bit as bad as murder, sorcery, sexual sin, or faithlessness.

Witnessing includes the Law (condemnation of sin) as well as the Gospel (forgiveness). God's
Law crushes, inflicts pain, and is His weapon. While the young woman probably didn't have the
weapon in mind as her primary use of Scripture, without the wounds caused by the Law, there is
no true healing from the Gospel. Only those aware of their sins seek the forgiveness that's theirs
in Christ. God tells us that in His own mind, also, the Law isn't what He wants to wield: He
"desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:4)" Yet He
uses the destructive weapon of His Law (including the 10 Commandments) to prepare us for the
full healing of His Gospel. Even Jesus knows the fulness of this weapon, for it was His Father
who "wounded" Him, "crushed" Him, and laid the "stripes" across His back in wrath against the
sins that He took upon Himself; yet because the Father directed this weapon against the Son, by it
"we are healed. (Is 53:5)"

We must remember not to lash out with harsh Scriptures simply to hurt others. However, there
are certainly times when being true to the Faith means that we must use them as they are intended,
allowing God to fully use His Word. As the prophet called Israel, so God continually calls us:
"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down,
and he will bind us up. (Hos 6:1)"

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~<TM>,
© 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

Quotes from Clement of Rome and Clement of Alexandria are public domain.

Ask the Pastor © 2005 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer,
by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations
into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights,
as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.