Bible Talks: Abraham the man of faith- Genesis 20:3-18

From: Messages of God's Love: 1965

Genesis 20:3-18³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. ⁴But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? ⁵Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. ⁶And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. ⁷Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. ⁸Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. ⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. ¹⁰And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? ¹¹And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. ¹²And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. ¹⁴And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. ¹⁵And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. ¹⁶And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. ¹⁷So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. ¹⁸For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. (Genesis 20:3‑18)

We have considered Abraham’s sad mistake in failing to own his wife’s true relationship. It is relatively easy to claim faith when all that is experienced produces pleasantness, but more difficult to have faith when outward circumstances are discouraging or when the threats and ridicule of the world are feared. Faith can scarcely be strong when, like Abraham in Gerar, one exposes himself to circumstances and surroundings that are foreign to what he professes to hold dear and are contrary to God’s path.

Abimelech, who planned to take Sarah as his wife (thinking she was Abraham’s sister), was warned of God in a dream concerning these intentions and in that dream he pleaded his innocence. God answered him: “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against Me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.” verse 6. God would not allow the carelessness of Abram and Sarah to interfere with His purposes concerning the promised son and thus Abimelech was forbidden to proceed further. Our hearts are refreshed to see how God looks over His own even where faith has fallen short. But this is not to say that He will not allow lessons to be learned from failure and sometimes much sorrow with them.

Abraham was called to account and severely rebuked by Abimelech who said unto him: “What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” verse 9. It is a sad thing for a Christian to be reproved by the world! In Abraham’s reply he brought to light that he and Sarah had for many years, on various occasions, resorted to this concealment of identity with each other, for he said: “When God caused me to wander from my father’s house ... . I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; and every place whether we shall come say of me, He is my brother.” verse 13.

It was, without question, good that Abraham was finally compelled to make this confession of a longstanding error; and it is a good thing for the believer to have short accounts with God and not carry un. judged matters forward from day to day. God may be exceedingly patient with the errors of His people, but the full flow of His love to His own cannot be expressed until unconfessed sins are brought before Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” 1 John 1:9,10⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9‑10).

Abraham had this additional lesson to learn before the full outflowing of God’s promises could be enjoyed. Furthermore this experience took place before the joy of Isaac’s birth could come in. The confession restored peace between Abimelech and Abraham and was honored of God in removing judgment that would otherwise have fallen on Abimelech.

Memory Verse: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27).

ML 10/17/1965

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