The Lord before me, the world behind me …
… there can only be “no turning back”
This series of Bible studies seeks to retell the stories of women who were divinely called and empowered to do great things. Many of them rose to the occasion, and a few very famously did not. Often, the tragedies and triumphs in their lives are missed, and their stories are told from perspectives other than with the honor and dignity they deserve.
After excavating their narratives from millennia of obfuscation, now meet the freshly restored, valiant, vivid (and sometimes villainous) women of the Bible.
The Wife of Lot
In the story, Lot’s wife was most likely a native of Sodom, as she is first mentioned after Lot chose to settle his tents and herds among the people of the plains.
All five cities of the plain, according to thousands of cuneiform tablets discovered back in the 1970s, date to about 2,700 BC. At that time the Dead Sea had fresh water flowing into it, making the surrounding area fertile enough to sustain fields and farms, and attractive enough to draw nomadic herdsmen such as Lot and his caravan.
The wife of Lot, raised in the verdant Valley of Siddim amid a time of peace and prosperity of every kind, was living her dream.
Married to a wealthy and important man, the matriarch of her home, both of her daughters arranged in marriage, she was a highly respected member of the most powerful city of the region.
What Happened in the Valley of Siddim?
This thirty-page book includes the retelling of the story of Lot’s wife, a fifteen-question Bible study, and link to a twenty-minute multi-media presentation of the account concerning the tragic tale of the Wife of Lot, when her life took two sudden turns, both as warnings and invitations from the Lord God
… which she chose not to heed.
Some scientists have suggested the cities of the plain were destroyed by lightning, setting fire to the tar pits that had saturated the area. Concurrent earthquakes would have caused violent explosions, causing fire and brimstone to literally rain down all over the plain.
A number of archaeologists believe the discovery of ruins lying today under the waters of the Dead Sea are the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah and the rest of the plain cities.
Interestingly, very near this area is a range of hills comprised mostly of salt, in Arabic called the “Mountain of Sodom.” On both the Israeli side and the Jordanian side, tourists are shown a pillar of salt the size and general shape of a woman … Lot’s wife.
This month’s free Bible study on a woman in the scriptures is available through signing up to the newsletter below. What’s included:
- Access to all the Bible studies that have been made available so far.
- One new study each month.
- Early announcement of new books, published by the author.
