Abraham 8
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Abraham the troublemaker
Abraham the troublemaker
We usually think of Abraham as a man who was always performing great exploits of faith, and we forget that his daily life was somewhat routine.
He had to take care of a pregnant wife and a young son, and he needed to manage great flocks and herds and handle the business affairs of the camp.
Abraham and his chief steward were responsible for settling the daily disputes and making important decisions.
In addition, there were neighbors to deal with—like Abimelech, the king of Gerar.
In Abraham’s dealings with his neighbors, the patriarch is seen as a troublemaker.
As we study this experience, we can learn how to relate positively to those who are outside the faith and be better witnesses to them.
Abraham the Neighbor
Abraham the Neighbor
If you did not know who Abraham was, and you read this chapter for the first time, which of the two men would you say was the believer?
Surely not Abraham, the liar!
It was not Abraham who showed integrity, and it was not Abraham whom God kept from sinning.
What Abraham did was selfish, but Abimelech responded with generosity.
If anybody reveals excellent character, it is Abimelech and not Abraham, “the friend of God.”
But before you draw some unwarranted conclusions, take time to consider the facts revealed in this event.
Abraham’s failures were tragic, but from them we learn some valuable lessons to help us in our walk of faith.
Believers do sin.
Believers do sin.
This chapter would be an embarrassment to us except for one thing:
The Bible tells the truth about all people, and that includes God’s people.
It does not hide the fact that Noah got drunk and exposed himself, or that Moses lost his temper, or that David committed adultery and plotted the death of a valiant soldier.
Peter denied the Lord three times, and Barnabas lapsed into false doctrine.
These things are recorded, not to encourage us to sin, but to warn us to beware of sin.
After all, if these great men of faith disobeyed the Lord, then we “ordinary saints” had better be very careful!
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Why did Abraham sin?
Why did Abraham sin?
For one thing, though Abraham had a sinful nature, he had been justified by faith.
God gave him a new name (from “Abram” to “Abraham”), but that did not change his old nature.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16ff) and the work of Christ on the cross (Rom. 6), believers can have victory over the old nature; but this is not automatic.
We must walk in the Spirit if we hope to overcome temptation.
That leads to a second consideration: Abraham moved into “enemy territory.”
After living at Hebron (“fellowship”) for perhaps twenty years, he then decided to go to the land of the Philistines.
Gerar is just within Philistine country, but it was still a dangerous place to be.
Perhaps it was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that caused Abraham to want to move; but whatever his motive was, the decision was not a wise one.
True, Abraham did not go down to Egypt as he had done before (Gen. 12). He was still within the boundaries of the land God promised to give him, but his move put him in a dangerous position.
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
After arriving in Gerar, Abraham began to walk by sight and not by faith; for he began to be afraid
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
Fear of man and faith in God cannot dwell together in the same heart.
25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Abraham forgot that his God was “the Almighty God” (Gen. 17:1) who could do anything (18:14) and who had covenanted to bless Abraham and Sarah.
But the basic cause of Abraham’s failure was the sad fact that he and Sarah had failed to judge this sin when they had dealt with it in Egypt.
They had admitted their sin to Pharaoh and confessed it to God, but the fact that it surfaced again indicates that they did not judge the sin and forsake it.
In fact, the sin had grown worse; for now Sarah shared in telling the lie (Gen. 20:5).
A home kept together by a lie is in bad shape indeed.
A lighthearted admission of sin is not the same as a brokenhearted confession of sin
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
If our attitude is right, we will hate our sins, loathe ourselves for having sinned, and despise the very memory of our sins.
People who remember their sins with pleasure and “enjoy them again” in their minds have never judged their sins or seen how sinful their sins really are.
Abraham and Sarah had convinced themselves that they were not telling a lie at all.
It was only a “half-truth”, and half-truths are not supposed to be as wicked as outright lies.
They are worse!
A half-truth has just enough fact in it to make it plausible and just enough deception to make it dangerous.
So, believers do sin; but that does not disannul their faith or destroy their salvation, though it may discredit their testimony.
Abraham was still a child of God even though his witness for the Lord had been greatly weakened.
Abimelech was a man of integrity; and when God spoke to him, he obeyed. He had many fine qualities; but he was not a believer, and therefore he was a dead man.
How sad when a lost unbeliever shines a greater light than a saved saint.
When believers sin, they suffer.
When believers sin, they suffer.
Charles Spurgeon said, “God does not allow His children to sin successfully.”
When we deliberately disobey God, we suffer both from the consequences of our sins and from the chastening hand of God, unless we repent and submit.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
God in His grace will forgive our sins, but God in His sovereignty must allow sin to produce a sad harvest
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Read Psalms 32 and 51 to see what happened to David physically and spiritually because he would not repent and confess his sins to the Lord.
It took only a few seconds for Abraham to tell a lie, but that lie was more than sounds and puffs of breath in the air.
That lie became a seed that was planted and grew and brought forth bitter fruit.
God hates lies
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
He is a God of truth, the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and the Word is the Word of Truth.
What did this one lie cost Abraham?
What did this one lie cost Abraham?
To begin with, it cost him character.
To begin with, it cost him character.
God is not just “saving souls” and taking people to heaven.
Through the trials and testing of life, He is making saved people more like Jesus Christ and thereby glorifying Himself.
Abraham stopped asking “What is right?” and began asking “What is safe?” and this led to his downfall.
Once the salt has lost its taste, how do you restore it?
He also lost his testimony.
He also lost his testimony.
How could Abraham talk to his pagan neighbors about the God of truth when he himself had told a lie?
Lot lost his witness in Sodom, and Abraham lost his witness in Gerar.
Imagine how humiliated Abraham was when Abimelech called him in, confronted him, and rebuked him.
It is hard enough to submit to the rebuke of a Christian brother or sister, but to accept rebuke from an unsaved person demands a great deal of honesty and humility.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
Those words cut deep! Christians must be careful how they relate to those who are “outside”.
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
He lost his ministry;
He lost his ministry;
For instead of being a source of blessing, he was the cause of judgment.
No babies were born during Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar.
When a child of God gets out of the will of God, the discipline of God usually follows.
Jonah caused a storm that nearly wrecked the ship; Achan brought defeat to the army; and David brought sorrow to his family.
Abraham almost lost Sarah and Isaac.
Abraham almost lost Sarah and Isaac.
In that day, a king had the right to take into his harem any single woman who pleased him.
Abimelech thought Sarah was a single woman, so he took her; and were it not for the intervention of God, the king would have had normal relations with her.
What the king did threatened God’s great plan of salvation, so the Lord had to act to protect Sarah and Isaac.
Whenever we do something that forces God to intervene miraculously, we are tempting God; and tempting God is sin.
Perhaps one of the saddest consequences of Abraham’s sin was Isaac’s repetition of it years later (Gen. 26:7–11).
It is sad when our sins affect outsiders, but it is sadder still when our sins are duplicated in our own families.
In fact, Isaac’s lie was worse than his father’s because Sarah really was Abraham’s half sister, while Rebekah was only Isaac’s cousin.
When believers sin, they are disciplined by God until they come to a place of repentance and confession. This discipline is not enjoyable, but it is profitable; and in the end, it produces happiness and holiness to the glory of God.
Sinning believers can be forgiven and restored.
Sinning believers can be forgiven and restored.
While God did not defend Abraham’s sin, He did defend Abraham and so control circumstances that His servant was not completely defeated.
God does not reject His children when they sin any more than a parent rejects a disobedient son or daughter.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Abraham was justified by faith and had a righteous standing before God.
Justification does not change; we are accepted in Jesus Christ no matter what we are in ourselves.
Of course, the fact that we are justified before God means there will be a change in our lives; for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).
But our position in Christ (justification) is not altered by our practice on earth (sanctification).
The important thing is that we deal with our sins humbly and honestly, confess them to God, judge them and forsake them, and claim His promises of forgiveness.
Abraham and Sarah made a new beginning, and so can you.