WAS LOT A RIGHTEOUS MAN? (II PETER 2:7-8)

Among the many flawed human beings in the Old Testament, Abraham's nephew Lot stands out. Perhaps that is why most of the biblical references to him outside of his appearances in Genesis are simply to his descendants (Deuteronomy 2:9,19; Psalms 83:8) and to his times (Luke 17:28-32). The one strange exception is found in II Peter 2:7-8, where he is called righteous. It seems unusual because the Genesis portrait of him is by no means flattering.

As Grogan points out, “Flaws in his character first appear when he selfishly chose the well-watered Jordan valley (Gn. xiii. 8-13).” That left the less desirable land to his uncle Abraham.

In addition, Coogan notes: “Throughout these stories, Lot is portrayed as a less that heroic figure, who has no respect for his own family (Gen 19.14), is hesitant (19.16), and is tricked by his daughters.”

“In Gen. 19:7 Lot calls the Sodomites brothers...Here we see the transference of brothers from a physical to spiritual relationship.” (Gunther)

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery says, “Although Lot is judged by God to be the only righteous man there, his misguided desire for the security of the city is again reflected in his appeal to the angels as they lead him away...Within the context of the story and as evidence of the ironic attachment of Lot to a wicked and civilized lifestyle in which he lives with a bad conscience, Lot whimpers that he cannot conceive of life without at least a little 'sin city' [Zoar] as his residence.... Also, his drunken behavior after the escape demonstrates that what The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery says concerning his daughters applies just as well to Lot himself, namely, “although one can take one's children out of Sodom, one cannot take Sodom out of one's children.”

Green: “He appears simply as a man of the world (Gn. 13:10-14; 19:16) who had strayed a long way from the God of his fathers. Though hospitable (19:1f.), he was weak (19:6), morally depraved (19:8), and drunken (19:33, 35). His heart was so deeply embedded in Sodom that he had to be positively dragged out (19:16, 19). Time and again it is emphasized that his rescue was entirely due to the unmerited favor of God, which he shows to men because of what he is, not because of what they are (e.g. 19:16, 19).”

“Twice the angels command him to flee the imminent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:17), but Lot negotiates escape to an nearby city rather than over the hills (vv. 19-20, 22).” (Hubbard)

Carson rightly critiques Morschauser's attempt to characterize Lot 'as a righteous man who acts honorably throughout' the episode in Sodom. Carson instead says, “At the very least he is living a terribly compromised existence even before the events of Gen 19...even if in consequence Lot appears more righteous than he otherwise would, he remains a flawed figure.”

But despite this overwhelmingly negative portrait given of Lot in the OT, here is what we read in the NT: “And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds)...” (II Peter 2:7-8, RSV)

Obviously, the author believed that Lot was a righteous man, in light of the three-fold repetition of that word in these two verses. But how can that statement be justified in light of what the OT says about him? Below are several explanations given by scholarly commentators:

    1. “2 Pet. ii. 7f emphatically asserts his righteousness. It is probable that Peter is here deliberately alluding to Abraham's prayer for the 'righteous' in Sodom.” (Grogan)

This is also one of the factors that R. Harvey feels points to Lot's righteousness, “indicated by the fact that Abraham pleads for Sodom not on the grounds of having a relative there but on the grounds of the presence of righteous persons there, suggesting that in Abraham's mind Lot is one of those righteous persons to be discovered by the Lord.”

Green notes that “Jewish tradition saw Abraham's prayer for the righteous in Sodom as particularly applying to Lot, which says much for the power of intercessory prayer.”

    2. A second factor in Lot's favor includes the righteous deeds done by Lot while in Sodom. Regarding the coming of the angels to town, Ellul says, “Not only does he take them in as such, not only does he protect them with his own life and by offering his daughters' virginity, but he also blindly believes everything they say. He recognizes them (but not distinctly or explicitly) as messengers from God. He senses in them Yahweh's power on the march, and he treats and defends them as such...He was not particularly virtuous by nature – the rest of the story leaves no doubt to this effect – but he recognized the angel of the Lord, and accepted his judgment and the risks that were included in such a decision against the world, against the city.”

Reicke comments that “Christians ought likewise to stand up against the tendencies of the seducers toward ungodly, violent, and lawless living.” In a similar vein, Green adds, “It is customary for Christians today, living in a secularized society, no longer to be shocked by sinful things which they see and hear. They will, for example, without protest sit through a television program presenting material which a generation ago they would never have contemplated watching at a theater or cinema. But when a man's conscience becomes dulled to sin, and apathetic about moral standards, he is no longer willing to look to the Lord for deliverance.”

    3. Various English translations realize the inherent problem with calling Lot righteous and take refuge by translating at least one of of the appearances of dikalon (“righteous”) in Peter's letter with a somewhat weaker word such as “good” or “just” instead. See The Living Bible, KJV, Phillips, NEB, and The Message. The Jerusalem Bible's rendering of this word as “holy” conveys totally the wrong impression for most readers.

    4. Closely related to the above approaches is that of those who reason that Lot's behavior at least stood out starkly in contrast to that of the Sodomites around him. We might say that if God grades on a curve rather than using an absolute basis, Lot would have been given an A. Thus, Neyrey says that when Peter “defends Lot's just judgment, which includes rewards to the righteous, he contrasts Lot with Sodom and Gomorrah.”

“It may be partly a matter of comparison with the men of Sodom, in which case NEB's 'a good man' (a decent fellow) may be near the mark.” (Green)

“In contrast to the other inhabitants of Sodom Lot's righteousness is revealed by his hospitality to the strangers who come to his town, and his attempts to protect them, an action cynically described by his neighbors as wanting to 'play the judge' (a jibe more and more frequently aimed at Christians today (Gen 19:1-29) and indeed his actions do judge the wickedness of the townspeople.”

    5. “Why then is he called righteous here? The answer may partly lie in extra-canonical tradition; thus he is called 'the just one' in Wisdom x. 6; xix. 17 [The Wisdom of Solomon is a book in the Apocrypha].” (Green)

    6. Finally, Green also notes that some of the best manuscripts omit the article “the” in verse 8 so that, with the Latin Vulgate, the meaning would then be that Lot was “upright in what he looked at and listened to.”

Conclusion

Carson provides some apt closing remarks touching on all the above factors, beginning with a comparison of Lot with other notable OT figures: “Abraham is a man of faith, beloved by God, but he is also a liar, and the latter does not undo the former. Despite his faith, he sleeps with Hagar because he cannot at that point see how God will provide him with the promised progeny by any other means.” A similar thing can be said regarding David, a man after Gods own heart. “Also Lot: he is sufficiently a man of faith, a righteous man, that he joins his uncle Abraham in following the Lord, leaving Ur to travel they known not where. Although he makes the flawed decision to settle in the cities of the plains despite their reputation, there is no evidence that he becomes morally indistinguishable from them, and two important pieces of evidence suggest that he maintains some God-centered and righteous distinctions: (1) he listens to the angelic visitors when he is told to flee; (2) when Abraham pleads for the cities (Gen 18) by appealing to the number of 'righteous' people who may still be there, clearly he is including Lot in their number.