"Why are you standing like a pillar of s alt?!" This angry exclamation has long been firmly entrenched in the speech of many. Where did the phrase "pillar of s alt" come from? From the Bible. And today we will remember this biblical parable. Let's answer the question of why the Lord punished Lot's wife. And along the way, we will find out if a person can become a pillar of s alt.
A bit of real history
There is a mountain on the coast of the Dead Sea. It extends for several kilometers above it. And this mountain is called Sodom. This is a symbol of the city destroyed by the Lord several thousand years ago.
As we remember, Sodom and Gomorrah are two ancient cities. They are mentioned in the Bible. The inhabitants of these cities were more like cattle than people. Of course, their behavior, not their appearance. They wallowed in debauchery and shamelessness. Sex between men flourished in Sodom and Gomorrah. The degree of depravity was so great that the Lord decided to wipe these cities off the face of the earth.
It is known that now at the bottom of the Dead Sea are the ruins of these cities. The said mountainjust bears the name of one of them.
There are a lot of s alt pillars on the mountain. And one of them resembles a female figure dressed in a cloak. This pillar is called "Lot's Wife". Of course, this is not the same woman. If only because the pillar reaches a height of 12 meters. But this phenomenon makes you think about something.
Turn to the Bible
Let's remember the parable of Lot's wife turning into a pillar of s alt. As mentioned above, the Lord decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, Lot's uncle, tried to save the inhabitants, asking God to have mercy on the cities. And the Lord agreed if at least ten righteous people were found in them.
There were none. Then God, with the help of angels, warned the righteous Lot about the coming punishment of the cities. Lot was told to leave. And didn't look back.
The righteous man himself, his two daughters and his wife left Sodom. But Lot's wife could not stand it. She looked back. And immediately Lot's wife turned into a pillar of s alt.
Why did this happen? And why did the Lord forbid the righteous man and his loved ones to look back? Let's figure it out.
Leaving - go away
The wife of righteous Lot turned into a pillar of s alt. Why? Why?
The fact is that when the angels led the family out of the city, one of them ordered not to look back: "Save your soul, do not look back." That is, Lot and his family were given a test command to make it clear whether they were tied to Sodom or not. Lot and his daughters wentforward without looking back. And the wife of the righteous man violated the commandment given by the angel. She wanted to say goodbye to the city. And the woman turned, throwing a parting glance at him. And froze forever, becoming a pillar of s alt…
It turns out that the mother of the family felt sympathy. The question is - to whom? To corrupted people, mired in their own sins? To those whom the Lord himself did not spare and destroyed? Where there is sympathy, there is affection. The soul of Lot's wife remained in the city, she was tied to Sodom.
Even now, these days, we say don't look back. Why? Because the past interferes with the present. It prevents you from moving forward, pulling a person to itself. And the person remains attached to what has passed. Lives, in fact, illusions. And this cannot be done. Where there is a link to the past, there is no development and a sober feeling of being here and now.
A believer should not have a past and a future. In monastic circles, they say that yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet come. Is there today? So live for today.
What does science say?
Is the transformation of a person into a pillar of s alt real? Thirty years ago, in 1988, an American scientist proved that this is real. Lot's wife was killed by the greenhouse effect. And it happened instantly.
How did everything happen? From the fire that destroyed Sodom, there was a very strong flow of hot air. And the content of carbon dioxide in it just rolled over. Calcium has been combined with carbon dioxide. And Lot's wife turned into a pillar of s alt. In fact, he representsthe result of instantaneous crystallization of calcites.
We know from the Bible that fire and brimstone came down on the city. And here, too, it is a little unclear. How so? Fire came down from the sky… In our time, given certain types of weapons, this is still real. But we are talking about ancient people.
Science provides an explanation for this fact. The fact is that Sodom and Gomorrah were at the junction of tectonic plates. There was a powerful earthquake, the plates parted. And under them were "reserves" of methane. He had the ability to burst out of pillars from the ground. Accordingly, when the crust was broken, methane simply “flyed” upwards. And it turned out deadly fireworks. By the way, sulfur balls - the consequences of it - can still be found on the territory where the dead cities once were.
Conclusion
In the article, we remembered the parable from the Bible about the pillar of s alt, which became the wife of Lot. Find out why she suffered such a fate. And finally, we discussed whether, from a scientific point of view, such a transformation is possible. It is real, as it turns out. Which once again proves the truth of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
