When the World is More Godly Than the Church - Genesis 20

©Copyright May 26, 2019 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

One of the most devastating and stinging criticisms we can receive from outsiders is this: "Why should I be part of the church when those people are more messed up than I am?" Sometimes statements like this are followed up with examples of ways the people of the church acted just as unscrupulously or worse than the world. Such times wound our witness and give ammunition to those hostile to the gospel.

Let me state clearly: the people of the church are sinful people just like people of the world. We do not claim to have our "act together" more than the people of the world. The difference. between us and the world is that we are forgiven! This is a place where everyone is welcome because we are a hospital for sinners rather than a resort for saints!

HOWEVER, the people of God should also be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, a respite of hope in a world of despair. The people outside of Christ should look at the church and see a change taking place that draws them to the One who makes that change in us. We should reveal the ethics of Christ in the way we do things.

This morning we are going to look at an example of when the behavior of the world was more laudable than the behavior of the saints. On the surface it feels like we are watching a rerun. Just a few chapters ago Abraham did the exact same thing: He allowed a foreign King to take his wife as his own, in the hope it would save his own skin.

God had just promised Abraham and Sarah they were going to have a long-awaited child together. Now Abraham is giving his wife to Abimelech! What in the world is he thinking? It is a sad reality that people will do unthinkable things to try to save their own hides. If we do not decide ahead of time that we are going to serve the Lord . . . no matter what - we will compromise to

spare our life

get a job

be a starter on a team

gain a companion

make a profit

fit in with the crowd

Abraham's circumstances show that the only way God's promise was going to be fulfilled was if God was the one who brought it to pass! The Lord must intervene in a bad situation.

One of the first things we notice is Sarah must have actually used her membership to the gym. Abraham is concerned other men are going to want his 89-year-old wife enough that they would kill him to have her! Now in fairness, Sarah lived to be 127 so her age may have been more the equivalent of a woman in her 50's who had never had children and was still regal in appearance. So perhaps it is not as far-fetched as it seems.

But don't you wonder how these two incidents impacted the marriage of Abraham and Sarah? How easy it would be, if you were Sarah, to feel you were just a commodity to trade rather than a cherished spouse.

This morning we are not going to rehearse the foolishness of Abraham. You can go back and look at our sermons on Genesis 12 for that discussion. I want to draw your attention to the contrast in the ethics of Abraham of Abimelech.

Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

3But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”

4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

6In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

8Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done! 10Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”

11Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ 12And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. 13When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”

14Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.” 16And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”

17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. 18For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

There is nothing said here about an actual threat to Abraham! Abraham acted preemptively to deceive in case of a threat. There is no trust in God or His promise here. Since Sarah is "available" (he thinks) Abimelech takes Sarah as one of his wives. It is possible he did so because of his desire to enter into a treaty with Abraham who was becoming a powerful man.

We are told God spoke to Abimelech that night! The dream was pretty direct: Return Sarah to her husband or you are a dead man!! Abimelech pled his innocence. He said he didn't do anything wrong. He invited a woman, he believed to be single, to be one of his wives and hadn't even touched her!!

God told Abimelech to return Sarah to her husband and to ASK HIM TO PRAY FOR YOU BECAUSE HE IS A PROPHET. Now here is quite a discontinuity! The innocent man is to go to the deceptive man and ask for prayer! I believe the reason is simple: God was protecting Abraham from the vengeance he probably deserved!

Let's look at the contrasts.

Abimelech took God Seriously; Abraham Wavered

Abraham said he lied because Abimelech did not fear God. However, it is obvious that Abimelech did fear God while Abraham feared many things more than he feared God. Abimelech did not question God's authority or decide to test God. He heard and he obeyed! This, of course, is the true sign of trust. Who or what you fear is a true indication of who or what you really respect.

The most common command in the Bible is "Fear not." Now, obviously, there are times when fear protects us and makes us cautious (such as walking along a cliff or driving in a heavy fog) but most fear is a sign of a lack of faith. In the King James Version the phrase "Fear not" is used 70 times. It is often followed by the words, "for I am with you." The Bible tells us the only appropriate fear (for the one who trusts in Christ) is to fear God. Jesus said,

28“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

When we fear, we show we either do not believe God is with us or that He can't or won't help us. The counterpart to fear is faith. The more we trust God, the less we will fear things in the world. The more confidence we have in God's Word and in His character, fewer and fewer things will be able to frighten us. The way to keep from letting fear control your life is to walk closer to Jesus.

Abimelech Assumed the Best, Abraham assumed the worst

When Abraham came to Gerar he assumed people would be willing to kill him for his wife. He lied because he assumed the people were not trustworthy. Contrast this with Abimelech who assumed Abraham was telling him the truth. He assumed Abraham was a man of character.

There are both kinds of people in the world, aren't there? There are those who see the best in everyone and in every circumstance. Then there are those who are suspicious of everyone. This is where we sometimes get in trouble with our communication,

we assume someone meant something they said as a criticism. This has gotten much worse in this day of Social Media. Someone writes something and whether it is positive or negative depends on how we interpret what is being said.

we assume a veiled reference was about us

we read the worst possible of motives into things other people do

we think a pocket of people is likely talking about us!

We must be very careful with our words and in how we interpret the words of others. It is always a good idea to consider if there are other ways to interpret words that seem negative or even abusive. I remember the great quote: "It may help those of you are controlled by a fear of what people are thinking about you to remember that they are probably not thinking about you at all!" They are too busy thinking about themselves.

Abimelech Repented While Abraham Made Excuses

True repentance means turning and going in another direction. For example, the thief who keeps stealing has not really repented. It is one thing to have sorrow, it is yet another step to be repentant. Repentance is taking steps to move away from the sin and in some cases, make right the wrong that was done. Repentance shows that we are sorry for the right reasons (we have violated God's instructions which are best) and we want to get on the right path.

Abimelech showed his repentance by immediately returning Sarah and seeking to make any offense right by paying Abraham and loading him with gifts and also allowed him to take up residence in any part of the Kingdom. This is actually quite remarkable. Abraham's deception would have justified a strong negative response. He could have called Abraham a hypocrite and ridiculed his religion, but he did not. His only comment to Sarah was to never call herself Abraham's sister again. He took seriously a sin that we so often shrug off today - the sin of deception.

On the other hand, Abraham tried to justify himself. Instead of extending an apology for his deception, he tried to justify his actions by a technicality.

One cannot be healed and move forward until you are ready to take responsibility for your own actions. The more we dodge the issue, the less credibility we will have. We have seen in the world that committing a crime is a bad thing. However, covering (or attempting to cover up) what we have done is always viewed more negatively.

In my years of counseling I have noticed those who have messed up badly and admitted it right away have a much better chance of saving their relationship than those who make excuses. Those who repent in tears show genuine remorse. Once the wrong has been acknowledged and sorrow expressed, healing can begin.

Lessons We Can Draw

Let's draw some lessons from this text we can apply to our lives. First, Believers Sin. No matter how hard you look, you will not find a believer who is perfectly consistent. And by the same token, no matter how hard you work, you will not be a perfect Christian. I say this not so you can excuse your sin but so you will be a little less harsh with the sin of others. Every one of us gets frustrated, has bad days, gets discouraged and has the tendency to think only about themselves.

We should strive for consistency and when we miss the mark, we should quickly admit that we are wrong. People do not expect us to be perfect. They are looking to see integrity. They want to see how we handle failure, disappointment, and foolish sin. The person of integrity admits when they have messed up. The more we deny and excuse what has obviously happened, the less credibility we have with others.

Let's not forget that even though Abraham does not look very good here, he was called the "Father of the Faithful." He is lifted up by Paul as having the kind of faith we should have. As amazing as it is, God redeems, uses, and even blesses sinful people! Aren't you glad? This means God can use us and bless us as well. The key is admitting our sinfulness and turning from it.

To that end, we also are reminded Shading Truth is a Lie! We call them, "white lies," or technicalities, but when our intention is to keep someone from the truth it is wrong. Our God is a God of truth. He calls us, His followers to also be people of truth. To that end He tells us to let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no".

God calls us to care more about truth and integrity than we do with anything else. He wants us to trust that when we tell the truth we please Him, and when we please Him, we will be blessed in ways far greater than popularity. He doesn't want us to hide behind nuance or technicality. He doesn't want us to blast away at people, (we are still to conduct ourselves in love) but He wants us to tell the truth to others. And most of time, people who tell the truth are respected and have a greater sense of peace.

A failure in the past makes you more vulnerable to fail in that area. Abraham had already lied once and "got away with it." In fact, he prospered by it. That made it that much easier to default to deception again.

We are all "recovering sinners." One of the things you learn in Alcoholics Anonymous is that you are never a former alcoholic. You are a "recovering alcoholic." You must learn to accept the fact of your own weakness and never let your guard down. Just one drink will open the door to enslavement to alcohol again.

One is a fool who presumes upon the grace of God. We must not conclude that God will protect us from consequences simply because God protected Abraham. Abraham was especially chosen. God was protecting His promise more than Abraham. Most of the time we have to live with the consequences of our foolish choices. Abraham (or Sarah) was spared twice because of God's purpose to bring Isaac and to save us through His line.

To live as if God is always going to bail us out when we engage in foolish behavior or knowing sin, is to treat God as a push-over. And He is NOT a pushover.

With choices comes consequences. He has preserved us all at one time or another in the past. We are more frequently than we can comprehend been spared by His grace and mercy from the dangers and depravity that our own hearts exposed us to. But we must never presume upon that mercy.

A Judge may show mercy and grace to someone who comes before his court the first time. However, if that person comes back a second time for the same issue, mercy will give way to justice. The same is true for the Judge who reigns over all the earth.

Instead of presuming upon God's kindness we ought to bow in gratitude for it. And we should realize grace is a gift we must not treat as commonplace. Instead, we should take the pardon that He has given to us and, by His strength, live a better, more godly life.

If you have never done so, I invite you to take the opportunity today to get honest with God about your sin. Embrace the forgiveness God offers. Put your trust in the work of Jesus on your behalf and begin the journey today of walking with Christ. Let His mercy and grace wash over you and make you new.

Let's learn from Abraham's mistakes, and try to avoid making those same mistakes ourselves. The world will never take following Christ seriously, until they see that we do.