Pure Glory

by Apostle Gabriel Cross and Hazel Straub

“But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:29-33 KJV)

God decided to destroy Sodom, due to its wickedness and sent two angels to rescue Lot and his family. They were told to leave immediately and not to look back as Sodom faced immediate destruction. It was an urgent warning. Lot’s wife, however, valued the past more than God’s instructions. Her focus and attachment to her comfortable life in Sodom caused her disobedience to God. She went forward but her heart remained in Sodom and she looked back.  Her values were skewed, with the emphasis on fleshly desires and pride, not on the Spirit of God, who wanted to give her, life more abundantly. She turned into a pillar of salt.

In Ezekiel 16:48–50, God compares Jerusalem to Sodom, saying “Sodom never did what you and your daughters have done.” He explains that the sin of Sodom was: “She and her daughters were arrogant (smug), overfed (the spirit of too much) and unconcerned (apathy); they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.”

Meaning of Sodom – root meaning (Amos 4:11), to scorch; burnt (i.e. volcanic or bituminous) district; Sedom, a place near the Dead Sea:– Sodom.
Perhaps, from Strongs’ 5465; the idea of reducing the strength; difficult, i.e. dangerous, or (by implication) furious:–fierce, perilous. (This is the demon life or habitat of Sodom, Luke 17:29)
Also, from the base of Strongs’ 5490; to lower (as into a void):–let down, strike.

Smug – contentedly confident of one’s ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.

1.  Lot’s wife valued the past more than the present, allowing her flesh to rule her.
2. Her focus was on Sodom, her home, and comfort in the flesh, not on God.
3. She refused to value God and his instructions. This was a time of life or death. She chose death rather than life.
4.  She clung to the past, to which she could not return. Her heart was in the past, causing her to reject a new life.
5. She was disobedient to God’s instructions, reflecting her barren spiritual life. Due to her misperception of God, she was unwilling to obey and instead catered to her flesh.
6. This is a warning, the past is finished, leave it behind. However, Lot’s wife, full of pride was determined to have it her way and ignored the warnings.  Control of her own life was her goal, refusing to surrender to God or repent.
7. This is a clarion call, the last call. No more fatalism. Fatalism – one thinking it’s their fate and taking no responsibility or ownership. The acceptance of all things and events as inevitable; submission to fate: The spirit of apathy and smugness is in the family of fatalism.
8. Although Lot’s wife started leaving Sodom, walking into freedom and new life, she stopped going forward and looked backward. She was double-minded, hesitant and turned into a pillar of salt.
9. Her starting and stopping, connect to the spirit of Pharoah, his hard heart and the crocodile (which lived in the Nile River). The crocodile has more than a thousand teeth. In order to bite and sink its teeth into its prey to destroy them. This is a picture of pride and Leviathan spirits that Lot’s wife and Pharoah both embraced.
10. Her desire was to be God and she refused to let God rule. This pride leads to premature death and dying before one’s appointed time.

• Stop helping the devil destroy you.
• Stop being the devil’s advocate against yourself.
• Change your mind. Focus on the Lord and his Word over your life.

Doing what God says supersedes the rest. You will always be rewarded and you will be blessed. We are commanded in the word of God, to forget those things, which are behind us.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 KJV)

Forget, means to lose out of mind, to neglect, to be ignorant or unaware of (have amnesia over the detrimental).

Behind, means enclitic of direction, to the back, backwards.

“I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.” (Philippians 3:13-16 TPT)

© Crown of Glory International Ministries. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission, from this blog’s author and/or owner, is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Crown of Glory International Ministries, http://pureglory.net