Genesis 20:1-18
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Background
Last week we saw the wrath of God come down upon Sodom and Gomorrah because the outcry of their sins had become so great. Lot had welcomed in the 2 angels sent by God to destroy the city, and they rescued him from the destruction of the city.
1 Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?
5 “Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
7 “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
At quick glance, you might be tempted to say that this has happened before, and indeed it has.
TIMELINE
TIMELINE
We can see that this takes place right after the destruction of Sodom. Abraham would have witnessed the burning of the valley, and decided to move on.
Abraham left his place within the oaks of Mamre and traveled southwest into Gerar and set up camp. We don’t know why.
As we’ve seen in the past, Abraham has told others that Sarah is her sister, not her wife.
10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
What’s the motivation? Fear. And fear ultimately reveals a lack of faith in God.
Particularly in this case since He’s promised much to Abraham and made a covenant with him.
42 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Abraham was not living according to the faith he had in God.
Those who believe in God ought to live according to their beliefs.
Those who believe in God ought to live according to their beliefs.
Sarah is taken into the harem of the king (again), at around 90 years old, but Scripture explicitly states that she was never touched.
This is important because Sarah’s womb is presumed to be opened at this point, as the son of promise would come through her.
God had to preserve the promises that He had made along the way.
God used a conversation within a dream to communicate to Abimelech and threaten him.
Abimelech would have been a pagan and not feared God like Abraham did.
Abimelech rightly recognized the gravity of the situation, and responded with his innocence and pure heart. God even says He had a hand in keeping Abimelech from sinning.
As we talked about last week, God knows every intention in our hearts.
He commands Abimelech to return Sarah, but also gives a threat that he most certainly could have fulfilled.
Before we move on, I’d like to recognize what is happening here.
God is revealing to Abimelech 2 possible futures (from his standpoint). This is called Middle Knowledge.
God is able to not only know what will take place in the future of everyone, but He can also see what could’ve been.
8 So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”
10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”
11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
12 “Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife;
13 and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
The household was rightly frightened at the real possibility of dying on the spot.
Abimelech takes it seriously and immediately takes action by summoning Abraham.
This was also a reproving for Sarah and Abraham. Abimelech was essentially telling them not to do this again. And this is in fact the last time in Scripture we see them use this ruse.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.
Abimelech’s questions seem justifiable, considering what has taken place.
Look at this interesting question: “what have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”
It presupposes that Abraham has a history of doing this.
We finally get to see what was Abraham’s motivation and reasoning.
He believes there is no fear of his God where he is.
He assumes he will be killed for his wife.
Likewise, he reveals Sarah as his half-sister.
Back in those days, it was not terribly uncommon for half-siblings to marry.
Abraham also reveals that this was something planned by them 25 years ago, the sibling story. He considered it a kindness done to him.
Not only Abraham, but what does this say about the culture and the state of mankind?
14 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.
15 Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.”
16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.”
17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children.
18 For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Once again, Abraham is blessed by the monarch who took his wife, given livestock and servants. Sarah was also restored to him.
In addition, Abimelech also allowed Abraham to settle anywhere he wanted to within their lands. It is presumed that this would come with protection from the king.
We also see Abimelech tell Sarah that he paid Abraham 1,000 pieces of silver as a vindication for her (restitution).
This was due to him kidnapping another man’s wife, which was a serious offense. Ignorance was not a defense.
These actions would have cleared Sarah and restored her honor.
Faithful to his charge, Abraham fulfilled his prophetic duty and prayed for healing over Abimelech and his household.
It’s unknown from what specifically they needed healing, but they certainly needed to be able to reproduce.
God moves within creation to effect His will for humanity.
God moves within creation to effect His will for humanity.
It’s entirely possible that God did this to protect Sarah from getting pregnant.
Some scholars think it was at this point that Sarah’s womb was also opened.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Those who believe in God ought to live according to their beliefs.
God moves within creation to effect His will for humanity.
Next week, we will continue the story of Abraham and see the birth of Isaac.
Communion: We practice open communion, which means if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may join the church in taking the Lord’s Supper. Communion is a practice of remembering what Christ has done by eating and drinking, and we are told that we must examine ourselves in the taking of communion, so that we do not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner. Take this time to examine yourself before we take communion together.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.