Genesis 20.14-18-Abimelech's Fear of God
Tuesday February 21, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 20:14-16-Abimelech’s Fear of God
Lesson # 103
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 20:1.
This evening we will study Genesis 20:14-16, which gives us the record of Abimelech obeying God and restoring Sarah to Abraham motivated out of fear of being killed by God if he did not do so.
In Genesis 20:1-2, we saw that Abraham told a half-lie to Abimelech saying that Sarah was his sister, which she was, but a half-sister.
As we noted, Abraham fails to tell Abimelech that Sarah is his wife and fails to do this because he is afraid that Abimelech will kill him in order to secure Sarah for himself.
This half-truth endangers not only Sarah but also Abimelech.
Although, he is not mentioned in the passage, Satan is the invisible enemy of God’s people who is behind the scenes influencing Abraham and tempting him to enter into fear, worry and anxiety.
Satan’s purpose for doing this is so that he can prevent the birth of Christ by preventing the birth of Isaac who was to be in the line of Christ.
Genesis 20:1, “Now Abraham journeyed from there (oaks of Mamre in Hebron; see Genesis 18:1) toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.”
Genesis 20:2, “Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.”
Genesis 20:3-7 records God overruling Abraham’s bad decision by warning Abimelech in a dream of his impending death if he did not release Sarah from his harem.
God’s intervention stopped Satan’s attempt to prevent the birth of Isaac and ultimately, the birth of the human nature of Jesus Christ who would come from the line of Isaac.
Genesis 20:3, “But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.’”
Genesis 20:4, “Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, ‘Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?’”
Genesis 20:5, “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.”
Genesis 20:6, “Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.’”
Genesis 20:7, “Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
Genesis 20:8-13 records Abraham giving three excuses to Abimelech as to why he lied to him and said that Sarah was his sister and not his wife.
Genesis 20:8, “So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened.”
Genesis 20:9, “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 on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.’”
Genesis 20:10, “And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?’”
Genesis 20:11, “Abraham said, ‘Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’”
Satan is behind the scenes manipulating Abraham to enter into fear of being killed by Abimelech.
Satan uses the fear of death to manipulate the human race to not trust God and serve him.
Hebrews 2:14, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Hebrews 2:15, “and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Instead of entering into fear and saying that Sarah was his sister, Abraham should have prayed to the Lord for protection.
Fear is a result of unbelief and unbelief is failure to trust that God will protect and provide for us.
The apostle Paul taught the Philippian believers to pray to the Father rather than entering into fear.
Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayers for protection from God fill the Bible.
Psalm 59:1-2, “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who do iniquity and save me from men of bloodshed.”
Psalm 140:1-3, “Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men who devise evil things in their hearts; They continually stir up wars. They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.”
Psalm 140:4-5, “Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men who have purposed to trip up my feet. The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set snares for me. Selah.”
The Bible teaches that fear, worry and anxiety are a sin because it calls into question the perfect immutable character and integrity of God or in other words, His love for the believer.
Matthew 6:19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:20, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”
Matthew 6:21, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:22, “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”
Matthew 6:23, “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Matthew 6:25, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
Matthew 6:27, “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”
Matthew 6:28, “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin.”
Matthew 6:29, “yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”
Matthew 6:30, “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”
Matthew 6:31, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’”
Matthew 6:32, “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:34, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
The apostle Peter instructed believers to cast all anxiety upon the Lord in prayer.
1 Peter 5:1, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.”
1 Peter 5:2, “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.”
1 Peter 5:3, “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
1 Peter 5:4, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
1 Peter 5:5, “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”
1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:9, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
1 Peter 5:10, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:11, “To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Trusting in God to keep His promises will protect the believer’s soul from stress, fear, worry and anxiety.
Abraham’s fear of being killed by Abimelech was a total lack of faith or in other words, a total lack of trust and confidence in God’s ability to protect him.
Psalm 56:11, “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Since God is faithful, He will protect us from Satan and the kingdom of darkness.
2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Genesis 20:12, “Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.”
Genesis 20:13, “and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’”
Genesis 20:14-16 records Abimelech honoring God by giving gifts to Abraham and Sarah resulting in the vindication of Sarah.
Genesis 20:14, “Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.”
Abimelech obeyed God and restore Sarah to Abraham “not” because he loved God but because he lived in fear that he would be killed by God as God threatened to do to him if he had sexual intercourse with Sarah as recorded in Genesis 20:3.
His obedience was based upon fear of judgment rather than love and respect.
Abimelech was an unbeliever and of course Sarah was a believer.
God prohibits the marriage and sexual unions of believers with unbelievers.
2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
2 Corinthians 6:15, “Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”
God was protecting Sarah from getting pregnant through this heathen king and by doing so God was insuring the fulfillment of His promise of the birth of Isaac who would continue the line of the human nature of the Promised Seed (see Genesis 3:15).
Satan wanted to prevent the birth of the Promised Seed, Jesus Christ and therefore desired to see Abimelech take Sarah as his wife.
So we see God intervening and protecting Sarah and insuring that Isaac would be born through the sexual union of Abraham and Sarah.
Genesis 20:15, “Abimelech said, ‘Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.’”
Abimelech also gave Abraham permission to stay wherever he wanted in Gerar’s territory without any treaty or compensation since he knew that Abraham was a representative of the Lord.
Genesis 20:16, “To Sarah he said, ‘Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.’”
Social convention demands that Abimelech present his gift for Sarah through Abraham who is the male head of the family.
Abimelech offered Abraham and Sarah restitution because of fear that Abraham’s God would destroy him and his kingdom and not out of repentance.
Because of this fear of being destroyed by Abraham’s God, restitution was made.
First, Sarah was given back to her husband Abraham along with sheep, oxen, and servants (verse 14).
Then, to Abraham the invitation was extended for him to settle in the land wherever he chose (verse 15).
Finally, a thousand pieces of silver were given to Abraham, which was a tremendous amount of money in those days and served as a symbol of Sarah’s vindication.
Abimelech gave this gift of the thousand shekels as a compensation for the offense against Sarah, so that she was fully vindicated as not having sinned in the sight of everyone and her household would recognize this.