Genesis 20
Abraham endangers the Messianic Seed
Abraham and Abimelech
1Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar,
Abraham was a nomadic shepherd who lived between the Hill Country of Judah and the western border of Egypt. Most nomads at that time most likely did not want to live in this close proximity to Egypt. Egypt had developed strong city-states and would soon evolve into a powerful nation.
2Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
God had already told Abraham that Sarah would bear the messianic seed-son. Now, Abraham during a lapse of faith, endangered the birth of the seed son. Abimelech was a title for the king of Gerar. His personal name was not given.
3But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
God often appeared to pagans in dreams. Even though Abraham told a half-lie, he was still protected by the Abrahamic Covenant.
4Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, would you really slaughter an innocent nation?
Not only was God going to slay this king, but He was also going to slay the entire nation. This is the kind of protection that the Abrahamic Covenant provided. Israel is still under this same divine protection today. Nations who will come against Israel in the future will either be exterminated or reduced to poverty status. This example should be a warning to the United States foreign policy concerning Israel.
5Did Abraham not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!”
The King of Gerar took Sarah for his own gratification, not as an act against a Holy God. Abraham is making God look bad, because it was Abraham, the servant, prophet, and ambassador of God, who lied.
6Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.
God is sovereign even over pagan kings. God was able to control the sex drive and timing of the king.
7But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don’t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you.”
Abraham is the first to be called a prophet in the Bible. A prophet receives direct information from God and then teaches it to others. There are no modern day prophets today. The only divine revelation comes from the written Word of God. If a person claims to be a prophet today, then he is equalizing his own personal words with the words of Scripture. If these were true words of God, then they should be written down and added to the Book of Revelation. However, those who add or take away from Scripture are to be cursed by God. See 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Revelation 22.
8Early in the morning Abimelech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified.
The King of Gerar called his advisors. They were terrified, meaning that they believed in Jehovah as either the one true God, or as one god among many. Regardless, just like the Canaanites, the four kings, and Egypt, the city of Gerar now had knowledge of the one true God. Scripture does not tell how they responded to this knowledge. However, most ancient nations rejected this knowledge.
9Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!”
Abraham had placed the entire kingdom of Gerar under the curse of the Abrahamic Covenant. This is the worst thing that can happen to a nation. This is why it is important for modern nations to bless Israel rather than curse Israel.
10Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?”
It is interesting to note the irony of a pagan king who is condemning God’s prophet of sin.
11Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’
Canaan was much like Egypt and the rest of the pagan world. Political leaders would kill a man to sleep with his wife. This is the mindset of a man who is totally depraved and evil. Men would still do this same type of murder today, if the institution of government and the hindering of the Holy Spirit did not keep these godless practices in check. See Romans 12.
12What’s more, she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.
Incest was forbidden by the Law of Moses, but it was not forbidden in Abraham’s day.
13When God made me wander from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”
The Hebrew word for “God” is אֱלֹהִים֮ (elohim), meaning three gods. Usually, a singular verb is used with the plural אֱלֹהִים֮ (elohim). This is one of the three cases in Scripture when the verb is also plural. The verb is qal perfect, meaning “the plural Gods they caused me to wander.” This is another example of the Trinity in the Hebrew language. The Trinity is both singular in unity and plural in personality, so either verb usage is correct. One must be careful of the cults who use only one of these noun-verb constructions in their delivery presentation, but does not inform his listener of the other noun-verb forms in Scripture.
Abraham had been practicing this half-lie continually for 25 years. It seemed to work everywhere else, but it failed at least two times.
14So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.
The Middle Assyrian Law of the 12-15th century B.C. stated “If in the case of a neighbor’s wife, one not her father, nor her brother, nor her son, but another person, has caused her to take to the road, but he did not know that she was a neighbor’s wife, he shall swear and he shall also pay two talents of lead to the woman’s husband.”
Since the King of Gerar was giving Abraham a gift, then he would instantly become blessed (instead of being cursed) by the Abrahamic Covenant. This small gesture by the King of Gerar may have kept Joshua away from the Canaanite genocide for 400 more years. It is important to note that even when Abraham was disobeying God, he was still utilized to teach the surrounding Canaanites of the one true God.
15Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.”
Pharaoh ordered Abraham to leave, The King of Gerar invited Abraham to stay. The curses and blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant will effect these two types of decisions.
16To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your ‘brother.’ This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.”
The King of Gerar apologized to Sarah and gave her “brother” 1000 pieces of silver. Notice that King Gerar mentioned “brother” and not “husband.” He was making it clear in his choice of words to Sarah that the sin was not his own, but that of her husband.
17Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.
Because the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional (meaning that God will keep His promise no matter how badly Abraham sins), Abraham had to pray to remove the curses on the household of the King of Gerar. The King of Gerar and his family noticed that no births had taken place since Sarah was abducted.
18For the Lord had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The curses of the Abrahamic Covenant are kind-for-kind. The abduction of Sarah meant that the messianic seed would be endangered, so God closed up the wombs of the citizens of Gerar.
In conclusion, the human viewpoint of the satanic world system teaches that Israel is just one of many nations that evolved into existence.
The divine viewpoint of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God teaches that Israel was divinely created, sustained, and protected by God. Any nation who comes against Israel will be faced with possible extinction.
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1. SAQ--What is the theme of Genesis 20?
2. How did the King of Gerar violate the Abrahamic Covenant?
3. How did Abraham endanger the Messianic seed?
4. What half-truth did Abraham tell the King of Gerar?
5. How did Abraham's lie endanger the city of Gerar?
6. How was the King of Gerar blessed by the Abrahamic Covenant?
7. Why did Canaan exist for another 400 years?
8. What happened to the fertility of the wives of Gerar?
9. What does Abimelech mean?
10. Explain how the Abrahamic Covenant is still in effect, even though Abraham lied and/or sinned.