Have you ever considered how God is with us even when we are afraid? Our latest episode walks through Genesis 20, where Abraham's dread of danger leads him to deceive Abimelech, the king of Gerar, by presenting Sarah as his sister. As we unravel the narritive, we find ourselves face to face with Abraham's imperfections and the extraordinary ways in which the LORD is faithful in spite of Abraham's weekness. The narrative becomes a canvas, painting a vivid picture of how Abraham, despite his flaws, is recognized as a prophet by King Abimelech.
Listen closely as we explore the potent impact of Abraham's prayer on behalf of Abimelech's household. It's a striking story that displays the power of the prayers of a righteous man , resulting in healing and the restoration of fertility to Abimelech's family. This episode isn't just a retelling of ancient events; it's a reflection on the enduring themes of righteousness, the efficacy of prayer, and the boundless nature of God's mercy. Join us for a profound journey into these sacred texts and discover the layers of faith and humanity.
Have you ever considered how God is with us even when we are afraid? Our latest episode walks through Genesis 20, where Abraham's dread of danger leads him to deceive Abimelech, the king of Gerar, by presenting Sarah as his sister. As we unravel the narritive, we find ourselves face to face with Abraham's imperfections and the extraordinary ways in which the LORD is faithful in spite of Abraham's weekness. The narrative becomes a canvas, painting a vivid picture of how Abraham, despite his flaws, is recognized as a prophet by King Abimelech.
Listen closely as we explore the potent impact of Abraham's prayer on behalf of Abimelech's household. It's a striking story that displays the power of the prayers of a righteous man , resulting in healing and the restoration of fertility to Abimelech's family. This episode isn't just a retelling of ancient events; it's a reflection on the enduring themes of righteousness, the efficacy of prayer, and the boundless nature of God's mercy. Join us for a profound journey into these sacred texts and discover the layers of faith and humanity.
Welcome again to the mysteries of God's Word. Today we are in Genesis, chapter 20, and we are going to read about Abraham sojourning into the territory of the Philistines, starting at verse 1. 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 a bimalic king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. In these first two verses we see that Abraham began his journey from there. From there refers to the Oaks of Mamir. That's where he was. And now he's journeying southwest into the land of the Philistines towards the city of Gerar. Now Gerar was a town located in the western Negev between today's Gaza and Bir Sheba. It's about 10 miles south of Gaza. Genesis also speaks of a valley of Gerar and the Table of Nations in Genesis 1019 identifies this area as Canaanite, although we see in the patriarchal stories, including our story today, that this area is Philistine and it's historically known as Philistine territory. And in verse 2 we see Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, that she is my sister. Now Sarah was a beautiful woman and one of Abraham's deepest fears was that other men would kill him to get to her. He learned that back in Genesis 1212, when Abraham did this very same thing when he entered the land of Egypt. Now it's 25 years after Abraham was forcibly kicked out of Egypt for doing this very same thing, and while it had seemed that Abraham learned his lesson and even made an oath to God that he would not do this kind of thing again, 25 years later now, abraham is falling back into that same kind of fear, and in a similar fashion to what happened in Egypt. Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, saw Sarah's beauty and took Sarah from Abraham's camp and into his harem. Abimelech was the king of Gerar, as we learn here, and he reigned for many years during the age of the patriarchs. He reigned during the destruction of the cities of the plains, sodom and Gomorrah. He reigned through Abraham's life and even up into Isaac's adulthood.
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In verse 3 we read but God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman you have taken, for she is a man's wife. Now, abimalek 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 and all who are yours. Back in verse 3 we again see but God Praise God again for his intervention in the life of Sarah when Abraham was faithless to protect her. And the Lord intervenes with Abimalek in a way that Abimalek will respond to.
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Many of the ancients put a great deal of stock in their dreams, believing that their dreams were sent to them by the gods. The Lord spoke to the king in a dream, threatening his very life, and God declared to him that Sarah was another man's wife. And we see in verse 4 that Abimalek had not yet approached Sarah to sleep with her. And in his dream, abimalek communicates with God, defending himself and his people to God. He believes that God will hold the entire nation accountable for his sin, very likely because of what God had just done to Sodom and the cities of the plains. Abimalek submits to God's authority, pleading with God about his own integrity and how he had been lied to by Abraham and Sarah. While local laws and local customs may have allowed Abimalek to take any woman he wanted into his kingdom as a wife, he was far from being innocent because of his lusts for multiple women, and God responds to Abimalek, telling Abimalek that he has kept him from sinning. God acknowledges the truth that Abimalek has not intentionally taken a married woman and therefore his heart is clear from such a crime. However, while Abimalek is pleading with God that he didn't know any better because he'd been lied to, god makes it clear that he would have sinned if he had slept with Sarah, and it is God that's kept him from this. God also makes it clear that if he does not return her, there will be consequences for not obeying what God has said Abimalek and all of his kingdom will perish.
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The Lord also mentions to Abimalek that Abraham is a prophet. This is the first time in Scripture the word prophet is used, although we know that Scripture speaks of men that acted as prophets before this, such as Enoch and Noah. The common definition of a prophet is someone who understands the mysteries of God and speaks to others on behalf of God. However, here Abraham is acknowledged by God as someone who can come to God on behalf of Abimalek. This may be explained because in ancient times, a prophet was thought to be closer to a magician than a man of purity, and Abimalek may have considered a prophet to be someone able to bend the will of God rather than one who followed it.
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In verse 8 we read so Abimalek rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all of these things. And the men were very much afraid. Then Abimalek 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 Abimalek 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 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 for me At every place that we come to say of me he is my brother. So we see that after the dream that Abimalek had with the Lord, he rose early in the morning.
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Getting Sarah back to Abraham became priority number one in the whole Philistine kingdom. There was no time wasted, as the king rose immediately and called an emergency meeting of every servant he had and informed them of the pressing issue of the day. And the men were very much afraid. This great fear that comes over every servant gives further evidence of the recent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and that that news has reached the Philistine kingdom. Abimalek summons Abraham and says what have you done to us? These are things that ought not to be done. Abimalek rebukes Abraham for what he's done. The tone and the nature of Abimalek's words here show that he understands, at least to some point, the seriousness of taking another man's wife. Furthermore, this heathen king is humiliating the prophet Abraham publicly for his lack of integrity in protecting Sarah and in deceiving him. And Abraham's reply was that there's no fear of God in this place.
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Abraham at some level misjudged the city of Gerar and assumed that they would be as far gone in their sin as Sodom and Gomorrah. The Philistine kingdom came from the line of Egypt and they were not believers in the Messiah. They tended to be a very superstitious people believing in multiple gods. And we see at this point that the king had some regard for marriage between a man and a woman and that he was willing to at least submit to the threat on his life by the Lord when approached in a dream. And we also see how Abraham had a deep fear, perhaps even paranoia, of being killed by other men for the sake of his wife, because Sarah was so beautiful.
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And then Abraham goes in trying to justify his sin of lying and hiding his marriage by comforting himself with a half-truth about Sarah. She was in fact his half-sister through his father. Just a notation on that prior to the law of Moses, the genetic pool of mankind still maintained enough of the original purity found in Adam and Eve that intimate relationships with close relatives didn't create deformities. In today's world we would call this incest, but in the original creation there would have been no problems with this. As we look back through history, the closer we get to Adam and Eve, the fewer genetic mistakes people would have. It would have been safer for close relatives to marry and have children, coming up again in verse 14,. 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.
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When we read these verses, perhaps our first thought is likely that Abraham is at it again. He's using Sarah to manipulate this wicked king, just like he did to the king in Egypt. However, we see that the outcome is quite different. When he was in Egypt, he was kicked out for his ruse and then, after Abraham said he took an oath to God and refused to take anything from the king of Sodom. However, as we look further into the circumstances surrounding this Philistine king, abimelech, we begin to see that they're quite different than that of either the king of Egypt or the king of Sodom. It has been God that's been working on the heart of Abimelech, not a manipulation of Abraham or Sarah. We see that Abimelech is responding in fear of the Lord, and now he's looking for a blessing from God and his prophet Abraham.
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In spite of Abraham's deception, abimelech has respect for the power of Abraham's God and for Abraham as a prophet of God. While we don't see that Abimelech's lavish gifts are a sign of genuine repentance and trust in the Lord, the God of heaven and earth alone they seem to be more of a political attempt to gain favor with the people. We do see that he has a genuine respect for the God of heaven and earth. Abimelech is showing publicly that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and that Abraham has been compensated or justified for his trouble. Abimelech the king is giving Abraham gifts fit for a king. His herds are growing larger and he's gaining even more servants to help tend the herds. A thousand shekels of silver was a great deal of money at this time. We'll find out later, when Sarah dies, that Abraham was able to buy a field and a cave for four hundred shekels of silver.
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Then we read in verse 17,.
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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.
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We see, in spite of Abraham's unfaithful behavior in deceiving Abimelech, god still counts Abraham a righteous man before him, because God knows the future. God knows Abraham will repent of this behavior. Abraham is a genuine believer in the coming Messiah and Abraham has forsaken all other gods. Here God displays his own faithfulness to Abraham, and the prayers of Abraham, the prophet, heal the household of Abimelech. This is an amazing example of how the prayer of a righteous man through faith has great power. And we see that the Lord had closed all the wombs. There was no one in the entire house of Abimelech that was able to get pregnant during the time that Sarah was in his harem. This tells us Abraham and Sarah had been in the city of Gerar for some time. Sarah must have been in the harem of Abimelech for at least a few months, if not longer, for this to be known, but through the prayers of Abraham, abimelech's whole lineage was healed. Join me next week as we look at the birth of Isaac, and God bless you this week.