Lot

Overview

Lot traveled with his uncle Abraham from Ur to Canaan, and when their combined flocks grew too large for the land to support both households, Abraham graciously let Lot choose first. Lot chose the well-watered plain of Jordan and pitched his tent toward Sodom, a city already known for wickedness. Captured when four kings raided the region, Lot was rescued by Abraham's swift military action. Later, when God resolved to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, angels visited Lot's home and were nearly assaulted by the city's men, prompting the angels to hasten Lot's family out before judgment fell. Lot hesitated even as the city burned, and his wife, looking back, became a pillar of salt. Peter's epistle nonetheless calls Lot 'righteous,' vexed daily by the wickedness around him, showing that his compromise came from poor choices rather than approval of the sin surrounding him.