Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 20:8-13”
Categories: Genesis“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. 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.’ And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?’ Abraham said, ‘Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; 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.’”’”
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“So Abimelech arose early in the morning…” (verse 8) We’ve all likely had nightmares that woke us up early and would not permit us to get back to sleep easily. When the terror-stricken king awoke from his dream, that was no mere dream but a direct, divine revelation from Almighty God, he jumped right out of bed and got busy. He “called all his servants” together “and told all the things” that had happened and that the Lord had told him would happen if things were not swiftly rectified. Understandably “the men were greatly frightened” at the prospect of an angry God with the power to close women’s wombs (verses 17-18), to kill the king and his family (verse 7), and even destroy their entire nation as He had done to Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the plain!
“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?” (verse 9) “Literally, ‘a great sin,’ a phrase that reflects ancient Near Eastern legal terminology found in Akkadian documents from Ugarit and in Egyptian marriage contracts. The ‘great sin’ is adultery. All four other biblical occurrences of the term appear in reference to idolatry (Exod. 32:21,30f; 2 Kings 17:21), for which the text often uses the metaphor of marital infidelity.” (Nahum Sarna) It is disgraceful that a heathen king exhibited higher moral standards than the paragon of biblical faith, at least in this instance. Even king Abimelech, who Abraham feared would have him murdered in order to “legally and morally” take his wife, understood that Abraham did “things that ought not to be done.”
“‘What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” (verse 10) Abimelech wanted to know exactly what led Abraham to believe that he needed to do such a despicable thing in order to find peace and safety within the boundaries of his dominion. “The meaning of this is ambiguous and uncertain. Unger thought he meant, ‘Did you see any of my people committing adultery or murder?’ Speiser translated it, ‘What did you ... (fore)see?’ and gave the meaning as, ‘What ... was your purpose?’” (James Burton Coffman) In our English vernacular Abimelech was essentially asking, “Abraham, what were you thinking?!”
“Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” (verse 11) In short, Abraham was scared. I can’t think of any factor other than raw lust that can provoke us to commit sin like fear can. You would think that the fear of God would be a stronger motivation to avoid sin and God’s righteous wrath for the Lord’s people. But, unfortunately, during moments of distress and anxiety, we often have a hard time seeing past the here and now. “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28-31)
“Besides, she actually is my sister…” (verse 12) Abraham had a built-in loophole that he often used to his advantage, even though it was only a half-truth spoken with the clear intention to deceive. “Everywhere we go, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’” (verse 13) It seems obvious from this statement that Abraham and Sarah told this “technical truth” on more occasions than two. “It was a habit of long standing, doubtless practiced over and over again throughout many years, and the indication in this is that Abraham was merely pleading that, ‘I, or we, always do this when we are traveling in strange territory.’ Inherent in such an admission is that Abraham had totally failed to learn the lesson he should have learned on that other occasion in Egypt when such a habit had involved him in serious trouble.” (James Burton Coffman)
Never justify doing or saying something with underhanded motives just because it might be “technically” true. You will never fool God or win His favor by a sly technicality. “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change.” (Psalm 15:1-4)
Please read Genesis 20:14-18 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
