Righteous Lot or Sarcastic Peter?

A brief look at Lot.

Do you remember Lot?  What do you think of when you think of him?  Maybe Sodom and Gomorrah.  Maybe sodomy.  Maybe his greediness and poor judgment of choosing the fair green pastures of the big city.  Perhaps you think of his valor trying to rescue the two angels (whom he perceived at first to be only men) from the homosexual assault of the townsmen…and just as you’re thinking he really was a pretty good guy, you remember that he offered his virgin daughters up as sacrificial lambs in place of the angels.  I am guessing that most of you don’t think, “Righteous,” when you think of Lot.

So what do we make of 2 Peter 2:7-9?  “And if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment…”

I have heard many sermons about Righteous Lot.  Invariably the preacher has to spend copious amounts of time explaining how even though Lot may not have acted righteous he really was righteous (James Vs. Paul).  In the end they affirm that Lot was a godly man who put himself in the wrong place and became severely calloused to the wickedness around him…and then they go on to tell us that we need to be careful about out selection of friends, etc.  This makes a great sermon for youth. 

The only problem I have with this treatment of Lot is that I think it is wrong.  It pays no attention to the original story, and pays little or no attention to the context of this passage.  All because we cannot accept Peter being sarcastic.

I do not think we have to reinterpret the OT story of Lot, found in Genesis 19, to fit Peter’s words in this passage.  The OT story is very clear that Lot is not righteous.  Nothing that we see him do or say has any ring of righteousness to it.  Even his defense of the angels is almost certainly performed as a result of the cultural expectation that you care for those who take refuge under your roof…and don’t forget the offering of his daughters to the crowd.  No Lot was not righteous.  In fact, Genesis 19:29 affirms that it was for Abraham’s sake that Lot was saved, “Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.”

So, what do we make of Peter?  Is he old and forgetful?  Is he taking liberties with the original story?  I don’t think so.  No, I think his treatment of God’s saving power in this passage is brilliant.  Notice Lot’s parallel, Noah.  What happened to Noah?  Noah lived in the midst of wickedness, but found favor in God’s eyes because of his righteousness (Genesis 7:1).  Noah and his family were saved because of his merits.  Lot is set over against this.  I think Peter is being sarcastic in his application of the word righteous to Lot, thus, “Do you remember “righteous” Lot?  God could save even him.”  The point is, God can save those who seem to merit it (Noah), and those who definitely do not (Lot).  At issue in this passage is not the righteousness or unrighteousness of man, but the incredible power of God.  I for one am glad that God could save Lot.  It gives me a little hope.

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