Genesis Chapter 20

A Lesson Relearned

Genesis 19 is so important that Jesus refers to this time and it’s lessons on several occasions. This type of Judgement will be repeated upon a future ‘Babylon’ See Isaiah 13:19 and Jeremiah 50:40. Keep in mind that God can and does forgive all type and manner of sin, when, and IF, the person sincerely repents of their actions. Note that Jesus said that IF the miracles He did in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, the people would have repented! Then Jesus tells us that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment than for those in Capernaum who were rejecting Him. See Matthew 11:23-24. This important Truth tells us that there will be degrees of judgment and punishment for all eternity!! Luke 12:48 tells us “To whom much is given, much will be required.” How have we responded to all the riches of material wealth and Bible Truth and information God has given us?? It may be time to do some deep soul searching.

20:1

We again see Abraham moving from that area, which is now adjacent to the horrible destruction and devastation of the entire valley; toward the South Country, the Negeb, between Kadesh and Shur; living temporarily in Gerar.

20:2

We can hardly believe what we read! Again Abraham fears king Abimelech, who is king of Gerar, and lies about Sarah being his sister, rather than telling the truth, that she is his wife! So, again, the local king, called Abimelech, which is a Title, much like Pharaoh in Egypt; sends for and takes the beautiful Sarah to be his wife. Have we ever repeated a lie and made the very same mistake all over again, even after we swore we would not commit that sin again?

20:3-5

Immediately God comes to Abimelech in a dream telling him ‘you’re as good as dead, for you have taken another man’s wife!” God acted quickly and strongly, before Abimelech could even come near to Sarah, and Abimelech says to God “Lord, will you slay a people who are just and innocent? (As he had not yet even come near to Sarah) For the man told me, ‘she is my sister,’ and even she said ‘he is my brother’, in the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I took her.” It is very interesting that this Abimelech knows who is speaking to him in the dream, and calls God “Lord”. He also speaks the truth, that he took Sarah out of innocence, not realizing she was another man’s wife.

20:6-7

God clearly tells Abimelech in the dream, that He was the one that kept Abimelech from touching the other man’s wife and sinning against Him. I, God, gave you no chance to even touch her. God tells him to promptly restore the wife to the man, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her to him, know for certain that you shall surely die, you and all those who are yours! There is absolutely no way that Abimelech could misunderstand these clear and strong commands and God’s warning of death if he disobeyed God. God considers adultery a capital offense, worthy of death!

20:8

The Bible tells us that Abimelech rose early in the morning. We can probably assume that the minute he awoke he jumped out of bed and called together ALL his servants and probably his entire household, and told them all that God had spoken to him. All the people were exceedingly filled with reverence for God and great fear.

20:9-10

Abimelech then immediately goes to Abraham and confronts him regarding his lie that nearly cost he and his household their lives; saying that Abraham did an evil thing to them. Then he demands to know how he justified doing such an evil thing! We can surmise that Abimelech feared God and yet was justifiably angry with Abraham for his lie.

20:11-13

Now Abraham has to admit that he feared that no one knew or feared God in the land and that they would kill him for his wife. Keep in mind that he is in the land of the Philistines, with Gerar actually being the capital colony. (12. – 13.) Abraham tries to justify his deceit, by claiming that Sarah is technically his sister, as she is his half-sister, yet he ends by admitting that she is indeed his wife. He goes on to admit that he told Sarah to always say of himself that ‘he is my brother’ to avoid the possibility of anyone trying to kill him. He also reveals that God had caused him to wander from his father’s house. This added information would probably cause Abimelech to remember that God had told him that Abraham was a prophet and his prayers would save Abimelech’s life.

20:14-16

Since Abimelech does not deny that Abraham’s fears were justified, we might assume that he may have tried to have Abraham killed in order to get Sarah. Yet Abimelech then gives sheep, oxen, and slaves to Abraham and restored Sarah to him. In addition, he states that his land is available for Abraham to live wherever he wishes. He also tells Sarah that he has given ‘her brother’ and additional thousand pieces of silver to compensate her for all that has happened and to vindicate her honor before all the people who are with them; thus she is now cleared and compensated in full. This was a way of telling Sarah that he, Abimelech, had generously compensated them, even though he was not at fault for the situation. It was a rebuke to both Abraham and to Sarah.

20:17

As soon as Abraham prays to God on behalf of Abimelech and his wife and maidservants, they were all healed. They could then bare children. We are then told that God had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. We don’t know the exact nature of their inability to become pregnant, but obviously all of them needed healing.

What lessons for us about letting FEAR cause us to NOT TRUST GOD and rely on our own lying ways to try to resolve some perceived problem. Remember our acronym for FEAR: FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. This always leads us to NOT Trust in God, but instead to scheme and plot outside of God’s Will (which always results in sin) instead of Trusting God for our needs. We show we Trust God by praying and seeking His Wisdom and Guidance in all situations. Note that just because we thought we learned a lesson in a similar situation, doesn’t mean that we can’t fall into the same trap of FEAR.

The answer for us is simple: Praying God’s Word into our lives: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you, do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your ways. Be not wise in your own eyes, revere and worship the Lord and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:6-7.
List other verses God reveals to you to pray into your life!