School Days (Lots Wife + Jacob)

Its been about a month since I started the first class in seminary. Im loving it though admittedly some of the materials talk over my head. Making things harder to hold onto in addition to being difficult to translate at times. But I am doing my best and the Holy Spirit is certainly lending a hand. I'd be lost without it im sure. Anyway, I have gained so much in the past few weeks that it is spilling out my ears, but today while listening to the lectures I felt an unwanted but obvious connection to Lots Wife. Specifically as Lots family ran from Sodom and she turned back, only to become a pillar of salt. It seems strange to me that I would be urge to see a connection such as this more so than with the others, but the way and the depth the lecturer spoke on her and that moment reached in and smacked me. Like I said...unwanted connection.

Still, a connection it is and I understand why. I recently have been doing a bit of backpeddling on an old issue. It certainly straightened me out to not just passivly notice the connection but instead be so forcefuly directed to it. The lecturer spoke about the reason she was salted and died as to the popular opinion which is that she died because God told her not to and she disobeyed. (Not that such an interperatation isnt true.) Instead he shifted the thought and explained that she had died not because God ran out of mercy for the group, but that she died because she hseitated on letting go of her sife in Sodom. In essense a life of destruction and sin. In that moment she became like one of those still within the city and was counted among them for it. She didn't look back simply to see the destruction of the city. She wanted it back and had the circumstances been different she would have taken it all back in.

A greivious error on her part and one that can easily become ours. Their will come a time when their is no "next time" or "tomorrow" to turn away from our wrongs. To give up our lives to God from the depths of our hearts. Though I do believe that day is on the horrizon, it need not be for the statement to be effective. You could die tomorrow and so can I. Be it my end or the worlds end their will come a day when I can't barter for another.

In addition to Lot's wifes mistakes I am feeling likeness to many other characters of the book of Genesis. Funny in that I have read the book several times and been apart of studies on it, but never have I known the characters so intimatly. The lecturer points out and links so many things I would have never put together on my own which allows the view of the characters to become more clear. Suddenly the characters that I felt vague similarities to I now feel very close to at times. Jacob, brother of Esau, is another whom I feel a certain likeness to as I listen to the speaker. It doesn't supprise me that I see similarities to them it suprises me how much the characters seem to change when looking at them from this more intense perspective.