Do Others See Jesus in You?

Introduction

Tonight we are going to look at two separated stories that deal with the same people. The first is Genesis 20 where we see the second sister fib in the life of Abraham and the second is in Genesis 21.22-34 which shows us a treaty being made between Abraham and the king that he lies to in the first story.

Within this story it is interesting to see Abraham repeat his previous sins and even information that he may have done it more. It is also interesting to see how the people of God, Abraham and his family, interact with the other nations. The biggest thing that is seen by the other nation that is dealt with here is the recognition of the presence of God on Abraham.

Tonight that is what I want you to think about, do people recognize the presence of God on your life? Also think about this is God in my life at all? When God comes in you and saves you he also changes you. Have you been saved? Are you living the changed life?

Lets pray this evening and then begin to dive into these two passages.

The Second Sister Fib

Genesis 20:1–18 ESV

From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 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.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 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 my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ” Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The story begins with Abraham traveling to this land and saying that Sarah is his sister. Because he said this the king there took her to be his wife and immediately God comes and intervenes. Think about this, God has just given the biggest promises to them that Sarah would have a child and Abraham lets Abimelech take her. Gods comes in and says that he is a dead man because of what he has done but he pleads his case and God gives him the opportunity to return her since he had no idea what he had done.

Abimelech calls out Abraham for sinning and bringing sin upon him and his people. Abraham tries to cover though, he says that he didn’t think that they feared God and he says that it wasn’t technically a lie because she is his half sister. This was a common custom in this day to marry a close relative but by the time we get to Moses it is no longer allowed. Abraham then says that he may have done this more than what we see in Genesis because he tells him how Sarah was to say that at every place that they go!

In the end Abimelech gives Abraham money and livestock further increasing his wealth and then Abraham prays for him so that the plaguing him would go away. Abraham continues to dwell in the region.

So what is going on here in this story exactly? Well if we think back to chapter 12 God said that he will bless those who bless Abraham and he will curse those who curse him. Here Abraham is not trusting him to do this. It is not much different than the time that he took Hagar and had a child with her, he was not trusting God to fulfill his promises.

If Abraham was truly living life in light of these promises then he would have been walking around calling her his wife and if anyone tried to take her he would be saying “I wouldn’t do that if I were you”.

Abimelech soon recognizes that God is with Abraham and he responds accordingly. Even though Abraham is not living a life that reflects Gods presence with him the people still see that it is there.

In our lives we often do not live like we should, we are not good ambassadors for Christ. The thing though is that people still know of our association with Christ. If you identify as a Christian people see when you are not living like one. Now we are never going to completely escape sin in this life, but we must recognize that we are to live our lives worthy of the gospel and people see us.

Abimelech remembers this about Abraham and now we are going to skip down to 21.22-34 and see where this comes out.

The Treaty with Abimelech

Genesis 21:22–34 ESV

At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” And Abraham said, “I will swear.” When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Abimelech now wants to make a treaty with Abraham because it is obvious that God is with him. Possibly he recognizes God as the same God who destroyed Sodom and the other cities of the valley. Abimelech wants to protect himself and his people because he realizes that he would be helpless.

Abraham seizes this opportunity to resolve a conflict about a well of water and once again Abimelech is asking why he did not just tell him and he would take care of it. There is then a gift that stands as a witness to what has taken place.

Because of the presence of God on the life of Abraham Abimelech knew that he needed to respond to this.

In our lives we need to live with the presence of God reflecting from us. We need to live in a way that convicts others of their sins.

Conclusion

As we wrap up tonight I have a few points of application.

The first is to recognize God’s faithfulness despite our failures. What areas of your life do you struggle to trust God? Think about those right now. Now answer this, will God be faithful in that area of life? The answer for that one is yes he will be, even when you are failing in it. Now trust God in that area of life because you know that he will be faithful in it.

The second application is to be a witness of God’s presence. Even in the failure Abimelech recognized Gods presence with Abraham. Consider how your actions reflect God to others. Are you living in a way that draws people to God or a way that turns people away from him?

The biggest thing though is that you cannot reflect Gods presence if you do not have God’s presence. If you have not given your life to Christ.

We all fail like Abraham and we all have sin. This is the big problem that we see over and over again in the book of Genesis and this is the big problem that we all have today. To be forgiven and to be able to have the presence of God Jesus had to come and die for our sins. His sacrificial death made a way for forgiveness and a way back into God’s presence and this is by putting your faith in Jesus. If you have never put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and savior then do not wait any longer. That is the way to salvation. That is the way to be indwelt by the presence of God.

Abraham was a sinner. God still forgave him and granted him his presence. Abimelech saw this evident in his life. For you here today if you are not forgiven by God then accept the forgiveness that he offers. If you are forgiven then reflect the presence of God to the world and let them see Jesus in you.