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Genesis Chapter Twenty Preface This chapter in Genesis may seem incidental to the Bible student. There appears to be little major doctrine revealed in its 18 verses, and it certainly isn’t complementary of Abraham during this time in his life. Yet, for the believer in Jesus Christ, this chapter can be very comforting. The Christian life was never meant to be easy. Jesus said that He did not come into the world to bring peace (Matthew 10:34), and this is particularly true for the Christian who is trying to live for the glory of Christ. Not only must the dedicated Christian face the enemy (Satan and his demons) from without (1 Peter 5:8), but also from within in he must constantly deal with the cravings of his sin nature (Romans 7:14-24; Galatians 5:17). Even though Abraham was God’s chosen vessel from which to bring forth descendants who would be God’s chosen people (Israelites) and eventually produce the Seed (Christ) that would crush the serpents (Satan’s) head and even though Abraham is held up repeatedly as a strong example of faith in the New Testament, he was a very flawed servant of God and subject to sinful choices and actions on several occasions. Here in chapter 20 is another one of Abraham’s failings, but it is a chapter that also demonstrates the enduring faithfulness and mercy of God in spite of Abraham’s sinful and cowardly action. Every Christian who is truly trying to live a life committed to Jesus Christ understands that it is impossible to live a sin-free life (1 John 1:8) while remaining in his temporal body. Even the Apostle Paul expressed great difficulty in always doing the right thing (Romans 7:18, 19). Yet, every Christian may take heart in the faithfulness of God, knowing that He will never forget His child and knowing that God will always be there to intercede for the believer in accordance with His will. Genesis 20:1-7 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now 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, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” In Gerar, a city located in the southern extremity of the Canaanite settlement, and just as in Egypt before Pharaoh about 20 years earlier (Genesis 12:10-17), Abraham succumbed to fear of physical harm and in spiritual weakness he again passed off his wife Sarah as his sister. Although this may seem incredible to any Christian reading this account, it should not be. As stated in the preface, every Christian is confronted by Satan and his demons, not to mention his own sinful nature, on a continuing basis. The possibility of failing God in one’s spiritual life is always present. And the fact that this is actually the case in every believer’s life should make this passage about Abraham of particular interest and comfort to every Christian. To be clear, to fail God in any way is not condoned by God or this writer; but the fact still remains, every believer does it in varying degrees throughout his life. To fail God, even for the mighty in His sight, does not surprise God in any way. In fact, God knew about each Christian’s failures long before He created the universe. And still He carried out His plan for the universe and mankind. God realized that in the Garden of Eden man would disobey and sever the bond between (1) man and God—Genesis 3:8; (2) man and his fellowman—Genesis 3:12, 13; (3) man and nature—Genesis 3:17, 18; and (4) man and himself—instigating a perpetual feeling of emptiness and incompleteness. And God knew long before the beginning of the universe that all those who would eventually place their faith in Him would likewise spiritually fall from time-to-time. Such is the case with Abraham in this chapter, a reminder to every Christian that no matter what spiritual height one may achieve, the possibility of failing God is always an ever-present and real danger. But this is not the only lesson of this chapter. Even though Abraham was now experiencing a “spiritual low,” God remained faithful and stood by his side. After Abimelech (king of Gerar—an early Philistine inhabitant of Palestine) saw Sarah, who even at her advanced age must have retained her beauty, and assuming she was unmarried, took her for his own. But God intervened for His child Abraham by appearing in a dream to Abimelech. (God is more than just a spectator on the sidelines of history. He often overrules the evils of His people and protects them from themselves.) Upon learning that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and that he was under the threat of death by God’s hand, Abimelech actually acted more righteously than Abraham regarding the incident. He was brave enough to appeal to God’s justice by reminding God that he was totally unaware, from the testimonies of both Abraham and Sarah, that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. Furthermore, he reminded God that he had not as yet actually taken Sarah in marriage or physically touched her. To this God agreed and even clarified the matter. God informed Abimelech that He personally arranged circumstances so that Abimelech would not have the opportunity to violate Sarah, which would have been a sin against God. In this statement is the spiritual lesson that to sin against God’s child is a personal sin against God Himself. Actually, all sin is against God! Finally, God informed Abimelech that Abraham was a prophet and upon restoring Sarah to him, Abraham would pray for Abimelech and he would live. God also informed him to not follow God’s instruction would mean his certain death. Genesis 20:8-13 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.’” It is shameful when a believer has to be justly rebuked by a man of the world! When a half-truth is presented as the whole truth, it is an untruth. Abraham even tried to shift some of the blame onto God for making him “wander” in the first place. He would have been wiser to humbly acknowledge his guilt. Nevertheless, he was still God’s man. And so the Lord sent Abimelech to him so that Abraham would pray that his household be healed of it barrenness. (Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald) Genesis 20:14-18 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked. So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham and also gave Abraham one thousand pieces of silver and permission to settle anywhere within his domain. But before leaving he also rebuked Sarah for her duplicity in the action that brought God’s displeasure upon him. Then Abraham prayed to God for Abimelech, which resulted in God healing Abimelech and all within his household and allowing them to continue to bear children. Prior to leaving this chapter, the Bible student should know that this Abimelech was one of two who were kings of Gerar. Another king of Gerar in the time of Isaac was called Abimelech (Genesis 26:1, 6-17). Isaac’s experience was similar to that of his father Abraham. He too went to Gerar because of famine. Fearful of his life because of his wife’s beauty, Isaac also passed off his wife as his sister, which eventually resulted in him being rebuked by Abimelech once the truth was known. So, “the apple does not fall very far from the tree.” |