Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife.
When Yeshua (Jesus) was describing the societal atmosphere of His return, he said these peculiar words … “Remember Lot’s Wife.” It was a warning … especially to the generation of believers just before His return.
In Genesis 19, we read of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and specifically of how Lot’s wife turned to look at the destruction and was turned into a pillar of salt. [Genesis 19:26]
She turned around … and the warning to us is … don’t look back!
This past Tuesday, the United States witnessed a historic election, with Donald Trump winning the presidential race by a landslide. He launched his political career with the slogan, “Make America Great Again!”
This powerful slogan, reminding many Americans of the nation’s dramatic decline since their youth, inspired them to vote in hope of witnessing a restoration of former glory. For some, this was a nostalgic longing; for others, a passion for something that seemed almost irretrievably lost. However one recalls or defines it, America’s greatness does seem to be irrevocably fading, and our view is that looking back and longing for its recovery is looking in the wrong direction.
While some call this nation modern “Babylon” or even “Sodom,” what we see is a nation of paradox, full of tremendous blessings and, sadly, real wickedness. But however you view her, we believe it is unwise and even dangerous to look back to America’s past in hope of that kind of restoration. Since the “Days of Noah” are again upon us, we’re not expecting or focused on political solutions but looking toward the Kingdom that is soon coming!
When I worked for the Christian Coalition, I began to realize that the real issues America faces could not be remedied by politics. Political realities simply reflect a nation’s and its people’s internal moral and cultural climate. In their drive for power, most politicians are simply responding to or manipulating the current passions of the populace. Laws can be changed, but they will reflect the mores of the people, shaped by media, music, art, and culture. Those influences reveal a nation’s true soul. While some leaders are morally superior to others and may seem to offer hope, the real problems which plague society are internal and reflect the deeply rooted sin in human nature. The Gospel of Yeshua, the Messiah (Jesus Christ), is the only path and hope for any degree of national restoration. Anyone who has studied revivals can see this.
So nostalgically looking at the past with a view toward political transformation might not turn you into a pillar of salt but may seriously deflect us from the real hope and task of transformation: the Gospel, which points to the coming Kingdom and the coming King. Any reclamation of greatness, individual or national, will depend utterly on the transforming power of the Messiah and the profound inner work of His Holy Spirit.
Let’s not look back as Lot’s wife did toward whatever the “good life” was in Sodom or America; [Luke 9:62]. Any “greatness” that’s worth regaining will come from looking UP, not back! Our calling is to make disciples, anticipating the coming Kingdom where politics will not be “as usual” but everlasting righteousness in the presence of our King Yeshua.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Elul is unlike any other month. As we mentioned yesterday, it is the 12th month on the civil calendar and the 6th on the prophetic calendar. This dual position gives Elul a unique character — it both closes a cycle and prepares for a new one. That is why the shofar sounds each day during Elul: it is a wake-up call, reminding us to reflect, repent, and return to the Lord before the great and awesome days of the Fall Feasts.
This begins a very special season on God’s calendar — the month of preparation before the Fall Feasts. The month of Elul is unique: it is the 12th month on the civil calendar and the 6th month on the prophetic/biblical calendar. Each day of Elul is marked by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet call that awakens the soul. These daily blasts prepare our hearts for Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah) and ultimately for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
We have come to the final meditation in this journey through the Z’roah, the Arm of the LORD. From the Arm that redeemed Israel out of Egypt, to the Arm that pierced the dragon, to the Arm that is coming with reward — all of these revelations lead us here: the Arm that brings His people into rest.
Isaiah’s vision looks ahead — not only to the Arm of the LORD revealed in the Exodus or even in the cross, but to the day when that same Arm will come again in glory. This is not a picture of brute force but of purposeful arrival. The Z’roah — the Arm of the LORD — comes clothed with strength to establish His rule, and He does not come empty-handed. His reward is with Him, and His work is before Him. The promise is sure: He is coming, and He is rewarding.
Isaiah recalls the Exodus as the supreme display of God’s Z’roah, His Arm of glory. Though the people saw Moses raise his staff over the Red Sea, it was not Moses’ power that split the waters. Behind the prophet’s hand was the Arm of the LORD — majestic, glorious, and unstoppable. The sea parted not to honor Moses, but to exalt the Name of the God who sent him. The Red Sea became a stage for God to reveal His glory, so that His Name would echo through generations as the Deliverer of His people.
Jeremiah uttered these words when everything around him looked hopeless. Babylon’s armies surrounded Jerusalem, the city was on the brink of destruction, and yet God told Jeremiah to buy a field as a prophetic sign that restoration would come. The prophet responded in awe: the God who created the heavens and the earth by His outstretched arm (bizroa netuyah) is not bound by human circumstances. The same God who set galaxies in place and boundaries for the seas is the God who still moves to redeem His people. Truly, nothing is too hard for Him.
Isaiah’s words summon one of the most dramatic images of God’s saving power: the Z’roah — the Arm of the LORD — cutting Rahab in pieces and piercing the dragon.
Here, Rahab is not the woman of Jericho but a poetic name for Egypt (Psalm 87:4), often symbolizing arrogant nations and the dark spiritual powers behind them. In Hebrew poetry, Rahab also evokes the sea monster of chaos, a stand-in for the forces that oppose God’s order. To say the Arm “cut Rahab in pieces” is to recall how God shattered Egypt’s pride and broke the grip of the powers that enslaved His people.