Genesis 20

Two days in a row!  Not quite a habit yet, but we are on our way.  So we are moving on from the sorry state of Lot's life, back to Abraham.

Genesis 20

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Abraham and Sarah at Gerar

20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien, ² Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” And King Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not approached her; so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent people? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. ¹² Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.’” ¹⁴ Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵ Abimelech said, “My land is before you; settle where it pleases you.”¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. ¹⁸ For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

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First question that comes to mind:  How good looking was Sarah?  She has got to be in her 80's and she still has men fighting over her.  

How does it happen that everyone is acting with a clear conscience yet what they are doing is wrong in God's sight?  Abraham and Sarah have a strategy worked out so that he will not be killed when they enter new countries.  Their story is technically the truth, but not the entire truth.  Abimelech (and other kings they have encountered) sees no problem at all with taking a woman out of someone's house to have as one of his wives.  When God speaks to the king, He does not condemn his act as much as say that this particular woman is off limits.  Abimelech and God both mention the king's integrity, yet this is clearly against God's will as he struck the entire people barren and threatened them with death.


Looking back, with the benefit of all of scripture and history, we are appalled at Abraham.  How could he allow his wife to be taken?  Why would he lie?  Where is his faith that God will protect him?

What's interesting is that God does not reprimand Abraham.  He does not punish him or Sarah.  In fact Abraham is given great wealth from both pharaoh and Abimelech.  Their status is elevated and their God is honored.  Is that just God being gracious and making the best of a bad situation?

I wonder if this has to do with faithfully responding to what you know or don't know about God.  Abraham knows God, but there is no law, no traditions and not much history.  Abimelech knows far less.  They are simply following their cultural norms and God breaks in and throws a wrench into the system.  Culture is a powerful thing.  How we respond to people and situations is often less about what we really believe to be true and more about societal expectations.  How do I respond to a stranger who walks by?  What rules do I follow to drive?  What do I eat or wear or say in any given circumstance?  We do not stop to analyze and assess every interaction that we will potentially have, we simply lean on the unwritten rules of our culture.

What parts of that unconscious living does God want to interrupt?  Which relational patterns would He like to reassess and offer better alternatives for?  It's worth listening for today.