‘And Lot said to them, “Oh! Not so, my Lord. Look, your servant has found grace in your sight and you have magnified your mercy, which you have showed to me in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the mountain in case evil overtake me, and I die. See, now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape there, is it not a little one, and my soul shall live”.'
We must remember Lot's state of mind. He is not thinking straight. Events have overwhelmed him. He cannot bear the thought of going into the mountains. Perhaps he is aware of dangers lurking there from thieves and outcasts, and he has grown used to civilisation. He forgets that if Yahweh has protected him up to now He can continue to protect him. All his assurance has gone.
Yet even in his extremity his habits come through. In business he has always been used to treating his associates with great respect when dealing with them, flattering them and making them feel worthy (compare the business transaction in Genesis 23). Now he uses the same approach to Yahweh. ‘Your servant has found grace in your sight and you have magnified your mercy which you have shown to me --'. Yet it is also from the heart. He does know that God has been good to him.
He then pleads that Yahweh will spare a small city, probably more like a village, so that he can escape there. He stresses how small it is.
“Lot said to them ”. The angels are still standing there, but they have been joined by Yahweh. This time Lot's ‘my Lord' carries its full implication (compare Genesis 18:3 for the sudden move from plural to singular). He is speaking to the Lord of the earth. It is significant that the judgment on Sodom is in the angels' sphere, but the deliverance of Lot in accordance with God's covenant with Abraham is Yahweh's concern. That cannot be left to angels.