Ben Glupker was in town during New Year's weekend and I told him that I miss having deep conversations with him about biblical topics. He's back in Kentucky now, so I though I would pose a question from my reading in Genesis to the bloggers (if Ben had a blog he could participate).
So I'm reading about Abraham and Lot in Genesis 18-20. Abraham had three visitors. According to the text it appears that one was the Lord and two were angels. Abraham pleads for Sodom asking the Lord six times if He would save Sodom if there were only at the end ten righteous people. Abraham must have know that there were not many righteous people in Sodom and most likely was trying to save Lot and his family.
So when the angels go Sodom they don't find ten righteous people, but they do get Lot and his wife and two daughters out of the city. Then they destroy the city.
Okay, here's my question. Did the Lord get Lot and his family out of Sodom because they were righteous? The reason for this question is that if you read on about Lot and his family several unrighteous acting things happen to them. Lot's wife disobeys God's words shortly after leaving the city and turns to a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters commit incestuous acts with their father shortly after leaving the city. Lot gets drunk to allow this. So again were Lot and his family spared because they were righteous? Or was it Abraham's righteousness that spared them? Or was it something else.
I'm looking for some opinions on this topic. I know this is not my normal blog style, but I'm enjoying the challenges that God is sending to my thoughts through His Word.