(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:
This event parallels how it is with salvation and God's grace. Even though the king didn't know Sarah was married, it was still wrong of him to take her for his wife. I'm sure the king and his nation was not blameless on many things. And while God could see that in that circumstance, the king was innocent, God let the king know that moving forward, he was to do the right thing and restore Sarah to Abraham. In doing so, God opened the wombs of the women in the king's household.
Even if one doesn't realize certain things are a sin, if one does them, they are still sinning. We are all born with sin in our lives. Once we realize this, we can try to justify ourselves and continue living in a sinful state, or we can go to God to reconcile and be restored through salvation found in Jesus. Then as a child of God, He gives His promise that we have eternal security. His grace protects us.
Like with Abraham and Sarah! By not trusting God in that situation and taking matters into their own hands, they created more tension for themselves and others! Their lie, in order to keep themselves alive, once again caused them to be separated. As well, their lie impacted the king and his entire household. But yet again, God protected Abraham and Sarah, because of His promises to them.
One of God's promises to Abraham and Sarah was that they would have a son, and through their many descendants, kings would be born. This would include the Lord Jesus, born in flesh, to accomplish His work on the cross. This is how through them the nations would be blessed! So we can see how critical it was that Sarah didn't get pregnant by someone else!
While God is able to carry out His plans, even when we make mistakes, it doesn't mean there won't be consequences... like having kings who are upset with one's behavior. It's just not worth it. Maintaining a good relationship with God will help us maintain good relationships with others.
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