“Genesis 20:1-7”

Monday, December 16, 2019

“Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 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.’ Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? 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 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. 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.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now Abraham journeyed from there…” (verse 1) The text does not tell us why Abraham chose to depart from his encampment at Hebron near the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1). But he journeyed “toward the land of the Negev,” that is to say, the southland, to the southernmost reaches of Canaan in the vicinity of Beersheba, “and settled between Kadesh and Shur,” near the border of Egypt. “Then he journeyed” back northward into the Philistine land of “Gerar.”

“Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’” (verse 2) For all of Abraham’s godliness and righteousness, he still was a flawed human being like we all are. Like his nephew Lot, he was driven by fear into self-preservation mode, at least while outside the confines of the Promised Land. Just as he had done with Pharaoh in Egypt (chapter 12), Abraham lied to Abimelech to save his own hide instead of just trusting in God to deliver on His promises. “The story is strongly reminiscent of the couple’s earlier encounter with Pharaoh in Egypt. Here it serves to complete a literary framework. The first kidnapping of Sarah occurred after receiving the initial divine promise of posterity. The second takes place after the last such promise.” (Nahum Sarna)

“So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.” (verse 2) It is amazing to think that Sarah was now nearly 90 years old and monarchs still desired to take her into their harems! Some have opined that Sarah had long outlived her beauty at this point in her life, and that this arrangement was entered into by Abimelech purely for political benefits of aligning himself with an influential person such as Abraham. I personally believe that since the Lord had to intervene to not allow the king to “touch her” (verse 6) that strongly suggests she was still a very beautiful woman to behold. Just like two plus decades earlier in Egypt, Abraham likely feared that he would be killed if anyone knew that Sarah was his wife, and she would be taken because she was “a beautiful woman” (Genesis 12:12-13) Besides, Abraham told Abimelech the reason for his “half-truth” was “because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.(verse 11)

“'Abimelech'…was a common Philistine designation, having significance, not as a personal name, but as a title used by Philistine kings. Incidentally, there are three ancient kingly titles that all have the same meaning: Abimelech, meaning 'Father-king,' (Philistine), Padi-shah, meaning 'Father-king,' (Persian), Pharaoh, meaning 'Father-king,' (Egyptian)." (James Burton Coffman)

“The chapter as a whole is closely connected with the preceding…the maltreatment of the alien, characteristic of the Sodomites, is feared to prevail at Gerar as well; the willingness to trade a close female relative in desperate bid for physical safety is a motif common to both stories; the questioning of the nature of divine justice is the theme of Abimelech’s dialogue with God as it was with Abraham’s. And, just as Lot was saved by the merit of Abraham, so is the king of Gerar. The Patriarch plays the role of intercessor in both narratives.” (Nahum Sarna)

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night...” (verse 3) Sometimes our dreams can really deceive us. They can seem so realistic and often either very thrilling or extremely disturbing, and only upon awakening do we come to realize that it was only a dream and nothing more. I can't tell you how many times I've had horribly upsetting dreams and was so very relieved to wake up and discover that none of it had actually happened! But it was obvious to Abimelech that this dream was genuine, direct communication from Almighty God and not merely another upsetting dream disturbing his mind and his sleep.

“Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken...” Verse 17 says that “God healed Abimelech” because of Abraham's intercessory prayers on his behalf. It may be, then, that the Lord had already stricken him with some deadly plague or disease that made him “as good as dead” already. Or Abimelech was only “a dead man” if he laid a hand on Sarah, and whatever the Lord had stricken the king and his household with only affected their ability for bearing children (verses 17-18).

“For she is married.” (verse 3) Notice now, Abimelech was near unto “sinning against” God (verse 6) and a “dead man” because Sarah was married. Not just because she was married to Abraham. Not just because God would soon bless Abraham and Sarah with the child of promise. Not just because it would be through Sarah that the Lord would bless the whole world through Abraham's Seed, Jesus the Christ. The Lord was appalled at the prospect of another man taking Sarah as his wife because she was married! Period! If only the Lord's people could understand how holy and sacred He has made this sacred covenant and the sanctity that He has placed upon that holy bonds of marriage! “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6) Or violate! Or invalidate (sabotage, undermine)!

“Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless?” (verse 4) As Abraham had done before the destruction of Sodom, Abilelech called into question the justice of the Lord. He feared for the welfare of his whole nation if the royal family suffered an untimely doom. “He probably referred to the late destruction of Sodom and the cities of the plain, which, no doubt, must have caused great consternation, if not also some degree of reformation, in that neighbourhood. As Abimelech’s plea was not rejected by the Lord, there is reason to hope that both he and his subjects were not only free from the abominations of Sodom, and from the reigning idolatries of Canaan, but that the fear of God, and some remains of true religion, were found among them.” (Benson's Commentary)

“In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” (verse 5) Abimelech's defense was that Abraham had deceived him into believing that Sarah was only his sister, and that he had not touched her in any manner that might be construed as sinful. The Lord informed the frightened, affected, defensive petitioner that He actually prevented that from happening. “I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.” (verse 6) Friends, when we mistreat, coerce, deceive or exploit another human being, we actually sin against the Lord himself. He takes a thing like that very personally!

“Now therefore, restore the man’s wife...” (verse 7) The proof of Abimelech's “integrity” and “innocence” would be positively demonstrated by returning Abraham's wife to him promptly and unscathed. The remedy for his household's afflictions would not only be to “restore the man's wife,” but also to have Abraham “pray for” him. “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16) Abraham was not a perfect man, he sometimes demonstrated himself to be a weak and misguided and fearful man. But in God's eyes he was still a righteous man because he lived his life in accordance with the Lord's desires and directives in trusting, loving, obedient faith.

“For he is a prophet...” (verse 7) “Hebrew navi' is used here in the Bible for the first time... The form navi' in Hebrew could either signify 'one who receives the (divine) call;' or 'one who proclaims,' a 'spokesman.' The last meaning is favored by such texts as Exodus 4:15f. And 7:1, and generally by the prophetic role as described in the Bible. The prophet is the spokesman for God to man; but intercession before God in favor of man is also an indispensable aspect of his function. Moses frequently acts in this capacity, and so do Samuel, Amos, and Jeremiah. It is primarily in this sense that Abraham is here designated 'a prophet' (cf. Pss. 105:15). He has already demonstrated his intercessory role in the case of Sodom. In addition, like the later prophets, he has been made privy to God's purposes (18:17ff.; cf. Amos 3:7).

Please read Genesis 20:8-13 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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