Abraham in Gerar

Genesis 20

English Standard Version Chapter 20

20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 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.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 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 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. 7 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.”

8 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. 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 my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 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.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 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.” ’ ”

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 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.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

English Standard Version Chapter 20

20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

Previously, the chapter before, God had judged Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed the city because of the evil and wickedness of the city. He spared lot and his wife and 2 children but God told them not to look back when Sodom and Gomorrah were being destroyed but his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. So Lot and his 2 daughters were the only survivors.

Now we come back to Abraham’s story and we see him sojourning in Gerar. There is a King there who Abraham fears, just like he did Pharoah previously, so he responds the same way as before. Sarah is beautiful and he fears for his life and says, she is my sister which is a half truth and she says he is my brother. He fears for his life and in the process, he does not trust God and His promise for him and potentially jeopardizes God’s promise for him. God said next year Abraham would have a son but by saying this is his sister, he is giving his wife to another that can now be a father to the promised son. We as the readers see all this by reading the scripture but this man is living it. He doesn’t know that God will protect Him. Not in this manner. but we will see different. Who wouldn’t be scared in this situation? Kings took what they wanted and if your wife was in the sight of the king, you would be killed. David kills Uriah for his wife because lust and want, coveting another persons wife. So for Abraham to assume that would be the case is rational. But to see God work previously, and for him to communicate with God personally and still not believe in God’s provision to protect and keep his promise is human error. We can all relate. Why is this in the bible? Because we are like Abraham. God promises to never leave us or forsake us, He guides our steps and gives us the Holy Spirit to know His will for our lives and we make mistakes in following him. I’ve been preaching here since May and I just had 2 weeks of no preaching. It felt like the old times of pulpit supply and even though I was encouraged at family camp, the old me was saying, maybe its better to preach less and have more time on your hand. Or i was questioning is this your true calling. We second guess God because of the fears of the world and self doubt and self condemnation. That’s why fellowship and scripture is so important. We need reminders, this is my calling. God brought me here for a reason. We fall and hurt but then get back up. It will be hard at times and fear can take over our faith or we question our calling but God will come through. He always does. He is always the same and He has a perfect track record. Read the Bible and find out. The more we feed ourselves things that are good, the harder it is for condemnation to come into our lives. Hardship in life can deter our calling but remaining in Him leads us to bear fruit John 15:5

English Standard Version Chapter 15

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We will bear fruit and continue to bear fruit. We need God all the time. We need Jesus all the time and we need encouragement all the time. Thank God i married a Godly wife. She encourages me to turn back to God, spend time with God, and look to God. My natural tendencies are to look at self, be selfish and stagnant. We need fellowship. We need each other. We need the body. Just like Abraham needed someone at this moment. We need God.

English Standard Version Chapter 20

3 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.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 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 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. 7 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.”

God takes matters into His own hand. Dreams were important and meant things in the Ancient Near East. We see that in Joseph and his dreams and him interpreting others dreams. So for God to speak to Abimelech, he takes it seriously because he knew God was speaking to him. He didn’t just dismiss the dream but took it to heart. Abraham messes up by not trusting God, but God made a promise and He is going to keep that promise. He is faithful even when Abraham is not. And we also see that even though Abraham had followed God for 24 years, he still has trust issues and messes up but God is still faithful to him. He doesn’t just leave him in his own mistakes. He intervenes and has grace. He does what only He can do. Make kings obey and protects Abraham and Sarah from their own mistakes. God saves Abraham and God saves us. He doesn’t leave us alone to continue in the path of destruction but saves us and turns us back to Him. I’m not saying that you are never going to mess up even in your obedience to God’s calling but that

Psalm 37:23-26

English Standard Version Psalm 37

23  The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

when he delights in his way;

24  though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the LORD upholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging for bread.

26  He is ever lending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

God takes care of us, His children. Come back when you hear His voice.

English Standard Version Chapter 20

8 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. 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 my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 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.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 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.” ’ ”

We see Abimelech confronting Abraham for this sin. Abraham is not only looking to save himself but because of his actions, he almost made someone else sin and a whole nation to sin and perish. The king is angry and rightfully so, and Abraham is truthful and gives the cause of his actions but sin is sin. It has consequences and this could have been bad, had not God intervened.

English Standard Version Chapter 20

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 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.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Abimelech blesses Abraham and also proves Sarah’s innocence by the gift in front of all the people and Abraham prays for the people as God had mentioned and God opens the wombs of all the kings house. We see God closing and opening the womb. God is serious with His warnings and He protects Abraham and Sarah and keeps His promise to them. We see the original promise God made to Abraham come true. Those who bless Abraham are blesses and those who curse Him are cursed. Abraham prays for the people and they are healed. God protects Abraham, even though Abraham makes a mistake. He is there.

In his book Angels, Billy Graham relates the story told by Reverend John G. Paton, a trail-blazing missionary in the South Pacific in the New Hebrides Islands.  The story illustrates how God provides angels to protect and care for His believers. 

One night Paton and his wife found themselves threatened by hostile natives who surrounded their mission headquarters.  The Patons thought for sure that the natives would burn down the headquarters and kill them both.  They prayed throughout the night asking God to protect them from harm.  The next morning they were astonished when they realized that the natives had gone away.  They had no idea where or why they had left.  The missionaries again prayed and thanked the Lord for saving them.

About a year later, the chief of the native tribe who had threatened them became a Christian.  He came to visit the Patons.  When he was asked about the incident of that night of terror, the chief told the Patons that he and his men were too fearful to carry out their plans of attack.  They had seen an army of giant men in “shining garments with drawn swords in their hands” surrounding the mission grounds.  Paton and the chief agreed that there was no explanation other than that God had sent angels to keep the missionaries from harm.

2 Kings 6:8-23

English Standard Version Chapter 6

8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.

Abraham is a man and he fails but God is faithful. We are people and fail but God is faithful. No matter if were 24 years in the faith or more, we fail but God is faithful and true and is a good Father who wants what’s best for us. He protects us and guides us from spiritual destruction. Don’t harden your heart but obey and turn back when He calls.