Quote:

Matter-eater Man said:
"Bargaining" was a poor choice on my part. I do think that part of Genesis does show Abraham trying to get those towns spared in his conversation with God.



Whether the word choice is "bargaining", "negotiating", "appealing" to God, or another word-choice, your point is clear and well made, MEM.
That God ordered the destruction of whole cities, or in the case of the Canaanites, the destruction of an entire civilization (A Canaan civilization which was deeply entrenched in evil for generations, including the occult, human sacrifices and the drinking of human blood. And similarly, Sodom and Gommorah).

On a minor point, it was Abraham (not Lot) who appealed to God to spare Sodom and Gommorah. God began offering that if there were 50 righteous people in the city, he would spare it from destruction. Abraham appealed repeatedly, and God in his mercy said that if there were even only 10 righteous there, he would spare the city.
As it turned out, there were not even 10, and God sent two angels, appearing as men, went into Sodom and safely brought out Lot and his wife and daughters before Sodom's destruction.





So yes, God ordered the destruction of cities full of people in the Old Testament.

But... not without benign purpose, and the desire of God to stay his hand, if the civilization marked for destruction would only turn from evil.
God only ordered destruction of cities and civilizations, after generations of their not turning from evil.



It was not extermination born of hate, or lack of ability for these people to prevent their own destruction.

It was God reluctantly destroying those he created, with a desire at every point to give foregiveness and spare even the most evil individuals, if they turned from evil.





Even the most prominent figures in the Bible, such as Moses, Jacob, Job, David, Jonah, Mary Magdalin, the apostle Paul, and the apostle Peter, for example, were clearly described in the Bible as flawed and guilty of sinful acts.
But they served God, and later saw the wisdom of obeying God.