“Now
Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between
Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,” (Genesis 20:1, NIV)
“The Sodom and Gomorrah narrative places Abraham in
Mamre—Hebron. The Negeb is the desert area between Canaan and Egypt, southward
toward the Sinai Peninsula. Shur was the location of a defensive wall in the
eastern Nile delta. The city of Gerar was in the western Negeb, west or northwest
of Beer-sheba.”[1] “and there Abraham said of his wife
Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took
her.” (Genesis 20:2,
NIV). “The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham.”[2]
If this story sounds familiar, it is. We encountered a similar event in Chapter
12:11-13. “There is
also no mention of Sarah’s beauty, and we already know that she is well past
childbearing age (18:11 and note). It is possible that the goal of taking Sarah
in marriage would be to form an alliance with Abraham, a man of great wealth
and reputation.”[3] “On the brink of Isaac’s conception (18:10–14; 21:1, 2), the program of
redemption through the seed of Abraham was placed in jeopardy.”[4]
“But God
came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead
because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” Now Abimelek had
not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?”
(Genesis 20:3–4, NIV)
Abimelech know he had not yet done a wrong; and God knew
that (v6). God told him to return Sarah
to Abraham and if he didn’t he and his family would be destroyed. Verses 8 and following detail the
conversation between Abimelech and Abraham.
Abraham explained why it was right that he call her his sister. He explained to the king that he did it out
of fear. In Genesis 20:11 (NIV), we read:
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in
this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Abraham not
only exercised a lack of faith in God but we prejudicially judged the nation,
as if they had no moral standards. That’s not the sense that we get when we read
the words of Abimelek, “What
have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great
guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be
done.”” (Genesis
20:9, NIV).
We not only learn in this passage of the amazing care that
God showered on Sarah in spite of her husband’s failure; but we learn that God
does not stand by idly when His purposes and plans are in jeopardy. We’ve heard the saying that God is a
gentleman and will not force you to do anything you don’t want. There is some truth to that, but the reality
is that God will do whatever it takes to get you to do what He wants. This story is an example of that. Lastly we learn that our lack of faith – our
sin – will always hurt others. People
are affected by our unbelief.
Father, how gracious
you are when you willingly step in and see to it that we don’t sin! I know that
You don’t do that all the time. But when
You do it is an obvious expression of Your great mercy. Today as we seek to serve You and make much
of You, I pray that fear of man will not be an excuse to sin. Grant me holy boldness to do what is right –
to do what fulfills Your plans for my life; for Your Church and for the glory
of Jesus. Amen!
Nile delta The
northernmost region of Egypt where the Nile River divides into channels that feed into the
Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the most fertile regions in Egypt.
[1]
Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., &
Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study
Bible (Ge 20:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[2]
Easton, M. G. (1893). Easton’s Bible
dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
[3]
Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., &
Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study
Bible (Ge 20:2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[4]
Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the
light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Ge 20:2).
Nashville: T. Nelson.
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