Lot's Wife

Many of the symbols we find in the scriptures have duel meanings. They are good for the godly and turn into evil for the sinful. For example, water is a symbol of purification, through washings and baptism, but water can also flood and destroy the land and a people as it did in Noah's day. Fire is a symbol of the Holy Ghost and like water a symbol of purification, but fire can also destroy as it did in Sodom and Gomorrah. In many places in the New Testament leaven is a symbol of corruption and decay and the spreading of evil, but in other places it is used to mean the expansion and spreading of something good. This dualism is also true with salt. Salt is necessary to sustain life, can preserve, purify, enhance, and is permanent. But too much salt can kill, make the land infertile, or cause health problems.

This is illustrated in the story of Lot's wife. When Lot and his family were commanded to leave Sodom and Gomorrah they were told not to look back, but for some reason not explained in the scriptures Lot's wife looked back and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt. (The picture above is of a woman shaped pillar of salt that to this day locals claim is Lot's wife.)

By looking back, Lot's wife disobeyed God, she broke her covenant to obey, and a broken covenant is the opposite of purifying and enhancing. Broken covenants destroy us. The condition we inherit from either keeping or breaking covenants is eternal--it is permanent. Thus the story of Lot's wife is a warning that rebellion and disobedience can lead to permanent, eternal conditions.