When Faith Fails

Intro:

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Genesis 20 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.

Abraham again fails

once again, Sarah and Abraham revert back to the old “sister” routine

Abraham was afraid he would be killed and Sarah taken from him

We again see the imperfections of the heroes of the faith

What are some lessons we can learn? We first can see the danger of fear.

When Fear Assaults our Faith

Fear once again led to failure on Abraham’s part

Genesis 20:11 ESV

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.’

Gen 20:

He feared for his life

Fear of consequences often lead us to sin

It leads us to not do the things we should do.

Fear led to selfishness

He caused Sarah to lie and put her in jeopardy to save his own hide.

This was his wife

She was the one who was to have Isaac

This reveals he as totally focused on himself

When we get self-centered, we are in danger

More open to tempation

Put our needs ahead of others.

One man’s fear lead to many people suffering

Genesis 20:17–18 ESV

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.

Gen 20:17

God had caused all the women of Abimelech’s house be barren.

Sin has far reaching ripples

Many sins don’t just involve us

We lead others astray

We involve others in our sins

God’s Faithfulness

God judged sin

even though it was inadvertent, God held Abimelech accountable for taking Abraham’s wife.

Sin is sin whether we know it acknowledge it or not

God’s standards are universal

Even the human conscience acknowledges this

People still mostly don’t like liars, cheats, thieves, murderer’s etc.

They know in their heart it is wrong

In fact, this is a strong argument for the existence of God

God intervened with Abimelech

Genesis 20:3 ESV

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.”

Gen 20:

God kept Abibemelech from adultery

God kept Sarah safe as well

God forgives those who repent

Genesis 20:4–7 ESV

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.”

Gen 20:4-

Abimelech received forgiveness

even for his inadvertent sin

God forgives those who ask

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God Didn’t forsake Abraham and Sarah

He intervened to protect the covenent

He preserved the integrity of Sarah

He didn’t cast Abraham out even though his faith had failed.

God forgave them

God won’t forsake us

He remains faithful to this day

He continues to work His plan

Conclusion: