A look at Ado, Lot's Wife, of the Bible. |
Ado, Lot’s Wife Most know Lot’s wife from the story of Sodom. She is set up as an example of disobedience, as she looked back at the city’s destruction against the angel’s instruction and is turned into a pillar of salt which many claim still exists today. In fact, in the Bible, this is the only time she is specifically mentioned. With some extracurricular reading, we discover that she is mentioned in the Book of Jasher as well. Ado, as she is called, was a mom who tried her best to bring her daughters up in the Lord in a world of great sin. To know about her life, we must take a closer look at her husband, Lot. Lot’s life is closely tied with that of his uncle, Abram, whose early life we discover in the Book of Jasher. Lot was raised for the most part by his grandfather, Terah, who sent Abram away with his mother to grow up with Noah (yes, the aforementioned Noah) and his son Shem in the way of the Lord after his life was threatened by King Nimrod. As such, Lot never met his uncle until Abram was 58 and he returned to his father’s house. Lot was actually a year older than his uncle and had been living with his grandfather, Terah, for the past 8 years after the death of his father, Haran, Abram’s older half-brother. When Abram came to his father’s house, he found a godless house with many idols that had been set up and idolized. Neither book mentions how long Terah and Lot had been worshiping false gods, but Abram never stopped preaching and teaching about God his entire life, and so Lot was exposed to the word of truth. Eventually, they all left Ur Casdim, otherwise known as Jasher, and went to Haran, where they settled. The Bible specifically mentions Abrams’ wife, Sarai, going with them, but there is no mention of any wives of Lot at the time. While there, Abram continued to teach about God to all who would listen. Then, God sent Abram to Canaan, and Lot remained behind. During the 15 years Abram was away, there were many wars, Sodom and Gomorrah revolted, and Kings Nimrod and Chedorlaomer went to war. Lot and his family were caught right in the middle. Abram returned to his family and stayed for five years before returning to Canaan, this time with Lot. For Lot to have followed Abram, he must have been converted, believing in God and choosing to turn from a life of sin. During a famine, Abram and Lot went to Egypt, which is a whole story in and of itself centered around Abram. Both uncle and nephew had large groups of people following them after they left Egypt and arrived in Bethel. The Bible describes how both camps split up and went their separate ways. Lot’s encampment settled on the plain of Jordan, near Sodom. A short time later, his camp and all his belongings were captured by foreign kings when they were victorious against Sodom and Gomorrah. One of his servants was able to escape and inform Abram, who in turn came to rescue him. Now, the Bible only says that he rescued Lot’s belongings, but Jasher talks about how Lot’s wives and their little ones were also rescued. This is the only time that more than one wife is mentioned. We don’t know what happens to the others that aren’t turned into salt, but with all the sin and evil they were surrounded by, I doubt they survived for long. Our highlighted mom was most likely one of them, though. After their rescue, Lot and his family return to Sodom, and Abram returns to Hebron, where he has settled. Sodom goes to war with Elan, and again Abram has to rescue Lot. According to Jasher, it was during this rescue that Lot’s wife gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Paltith. Paltith’s story gives us a glimpse into what kind of mom Ado must have been. Jasher describes in detail the evil doings of Sodom, and they were truly despicable. One of the things that the city did was to ignore those who were starving and living on the streets and would deliberately watch them as they starved. Palith came across such a man. Having a heart for him, she would give him food and water each day in secret. The people of Sodom would watch the man and keep wondering why he was not dying. They finally caught Palith in the act. As an example of their evilness, they brought Palith before the judges of the city, and she was burned to death. Palith’s kindness was a testament to Ado’s mothering. She brought her daughter up to be kind and respect others. As close as Lot and Abram were, I do believe that Ado was God-fearing and tried to impart that on her children, despite the evil of Sodom that surrounded them. By the time this happened to Palith, the family was living within Sodom’s walls. This is most likely due to their having been captured twice in their tent cities, as they were directly in the path of invading armies, and at Sodom they had the protection of its walls. After another unnamed lady was persecuted by a bee sting for being kind, like Palith, God decided Sodom and Gomorrah were too wicked to allow them to continue to exist. He sent angels into the city, and they were accosted by its inhabitants. Lot interfered and saved them. In return, they warned him of Sodom’s imminent destruction. Apparently, Lot and Ado only had daughters, as the Bible mentions that they had daughters and son-in-laws who reused God’s warning and decided to stay in the city. In the end, only Lot, Ado, and two of their daughters managed to escape. Worried for the daughters who were left behind, Ado looked back at the city against orders and was turned into a pillar of salt. Ado’s story isn’t about disobedience, however. Her story is about how she stayed true to God through raising her daughters to be kind, gentle women and having enough faith to believe the words of two angels as to the immanent destruction of her home. Her circumstances are so much like our own. Like Ado, we are trying to raise our children to be kind-hearted, God-fearing people despite the evil in the world around us. You see it every day in the news: what is going on in the world at large and even in our own backyard. God seems to have been forgotten or pushed aside as sin runs rampant. It is impossible to protect our children from all these evil influences. The aim is to teach them to recognize right from wrong and how to turn to God for guidance and knowledge of what is from God. There is a great article on www.todayschristianwoman.com called Preparing Your Children for an Evil World. The author, Alana Terry, gives six pieces of advice on how to talk to your children about the bad things that happen around them. Answer questions honestly. Let them hear it from you. Don’t be silent. Talk through scenarios before they happen. Talk to your children about bad guys. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. While she goes into much detail about each of these points, I believe that it is important not to constantly dwell on the bad. However, it is going to come up, and it is good to know how to react to it. My son Ben, at about 5 years old, went through a phase where he didn’t think he had to be careful and stay with me. He would run off. I would tell him that he would get lost, or someone might take him. His answer? The police would find him, so he could do whatever he wanted. The very idea that he might get hurt in the process didn’t even occur to him. At the time, I tried to explain that it might take a long time until they found him, but at that age, I didn’t want to tell him of the true dangers that lie ahead for those kidnapped. One day, in the near future, I know that he is going to hear about something bad happening and question it. He already got upset just at the idea of the house burning down and didn’t want to fall asleep. Not because he was worried that he would get hurt, but because he was worried my husband and I wouldn’t wake up. When dealing with the different doomsday scenarios, I find it important to not only answer his concerns honestly but also to take them seriously. He is truly fearful of those situations happening. Giving him things that he can do to prevent bad case scenarios or ways to react if they happen will help give him peace of mind and a sense of control. You don’t want to ignore your children when they voice their concerns about what they hear or imagine. This will only increase their fears. Regardless of how ridiculous things may appear to us at times, they are very real to them.I think the hard part is talking about the fact that there truly are bad guys. Right now, Ben thinks bad guys are people who speed too fast or litter. I know, though, that he is going to realize that bad guys are capable of much worse. I don’t want him to be afraid of every stranger that he meets, but it is important that he not take everyone at face value and use caution when meeting someone new until he has a chance to get to know them. Not making promises we can’t keep is also important. I can’t promise that the house will never burn down. Accidents happen. All these doomsday scenarios are out of my control. I can’t prevent every hurt, whether physical or mental. What we can do, however, is give our children the tools to help them cope with what happens. Their strongest tool is God. Prayer and belief in him will help give them hope and put them in the middle of what is happening. Knowing that God is with them, even when they feel alone, gives them comfort. Like Ado, we are raising our children in a world fraught with strife. Living in America, our wars are more spiritual and psychological, but the violence is still here. We need to give our children a firm foundation of support and love, encouraging them to show that support and love to their friends and even strangers that they meet on the street who are in need. Imagine what the world would be like if this next generation all grew up knowing God loved them and was with them no matter what happened; that he is always willing to help and give comfort when they need it. That is a world worth fighting for, and it starts with helping our children stay positive and not fall into the evilness that surrounds them. |