Genesis 19 Lot's Wife

Question:

I have heard more than one interpretation and want to know what Unity's position is.

Comment:

Unity doesn't have a “position,” and even if it did, I would certainly not be qualified to define it. This is the culmination of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose behavior had long been deemed displeasing to God. The final straw was their collective refusal to extend the essential courtesy of hospitality to two strangers who were, in fact, spiritual beings. Since Lot and his family had, indeed, been hospitable, they were allowed to flee before the destruction. "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed" (Genesis 19:17). Later we read "But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26).   In one sense this story is interesting for the way in which it attributes divine intention to natural phenomena—as storytellers do in virtually every culture on the planet. Starting with the phenomenon of an earthquake, say, it is easy to assume that such an event must be an indication of divine displeasure, and to create a story about that. Similarly, salt formations in the Dead Sea area are strikingly odd; it's easy to believe that one must be a woman who disobediently looked back and was punished. Many other traditions include stories to “explain” natural phenomena of the area in which the tradition is rooted.   Metaphysically, it is always a valid spiritual teaching to keep our focus on the future, instead of looking back with longing (or morbid curiosity) to the past. To look back is to give energy to the negativity we're leaving behind as we move higher in consciousness and understanding. Generations later the Israelites would wander in the wilderness until they stopped looking back at the Egypt they had left behind, and started looking forward to the country they were about to claim. The strongest way to stop our forward spiritual progress is by allowing an attachment to the past to distract us from the power and promise of the present moment, and paralyze us into immobility.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed