(Genesis 20:1-18) Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 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.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? 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.” 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. 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.”
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. 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.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” 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. 12 Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; 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.”’” 14 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” 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.” 17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Ugh! It would seem that Abraham had not asked God what to do in these situations, and still did not trust that God would protect him from being killed because of his wife... and so... he lied AGAIN about Sarah being his sister. Although in this scenario, we see him try to justify his lie by explaining that she was indeed a half-sister. So that part was true-ISH.
The point is, Abraham had lied by omission about Sarah being his wife. And apparently, they were both in on this plan right from the very beginning of their relationship. What they didn't do was, once God was in their lives, they didn't bring God into their relationship issues to figure out a new plan and a new way. If only they had done this, they would not have had to live apart for any amount of time. and they would not have upset yet another king. Maybe after this incident, they learned their lesson???
As for king Abimelech, it was a sin for him to take another man's wife, whether he was aware of the fact or not, but God still considered the integrity of his heart. Therefore the (earthly) consequences were not as severe. God had protected Abimelech from himself - by (somehow) not allowing him to touch Sarah. God had also closed the wombs of all the women in Abimelech's household as a consequence of him taking Sarah from Abraham. This could have included Sarah's womb, which then protected God's promise for her to (only) have a baby with Abraham.
Sin is sin, whether we are aware of it or not. But God is fair. And better yet, when we become children of God, He forgives all our sin - past, present and future. God delivers us from it all! Then, as we grow in our faith, God brings things to light about what we need to be confessing and changing in our lives. We just need to remember to go to Him for guidance, and to be open to hearing His wisdom and understanding His will!!!...
No comments:
Post a Comment