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Additional reading:

Prov.3:5-7 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil."

A Sinful Saint, a Pious Pagan and a Gracious God

Moses has finished tying off the loose ends of Lot's life and so returns to carry on dealing with Abraham.

Abraham is on the move again. This time he's off to Gerar at the northern end of the Negeb. We're not told as to the reason for this particular journey. At Gerar a local king rules – Abimelech is probably not a personal name but rather a title much as "pharaoh" was used in Egypt.

It is here that we find Abraham up to his old tricks again. Because some of the same issues have already come up back in ch.12 some critics of the Bible try to suggest that this chapter 20 is merely a variant of what was recorded in ch.12. However such a view does not stand examination. While a similar situation is described there are nevertheless significant differences of detail between the two chapters. Indeed as ch.20 it presupposes that information contained in ch.12 is known – the explanation of the brother-sister relation of Abraham and Sarah.

Similarly it is a failure to understand human nature to maintain that Abraham would not fall into the same sinful pattern of behaviour twice. We know all too well how easy it is to commit the same sin on more than one occasion!

As we consider together this ch.20^th we will do so by taking a look at the three principal actors one by one. They are Abraham, Abimelech and the LORD Himself.

The "ruse" that Abraham adopts in order to protect, as he sees it, his safety is to pass Sarah off as his sister and not as his wife. Later in this chapter as Abraham is responding to Abimelech who has confronted him over his behaviour lets it slip that this has in fact been his settled practice ever since he left his own father's house.

The behaviour – whether considered as a one-off or as a settled policy – is indefensible for a believer. By resorting to this subterfuge Abraham betrayed a distinct lack of trust in the Lord who had called Him.

When he used this policy in Egypt things had gone wrong for him in Egypt. It took the direct intervention from the Lord to extricate him and Sarah from that predicament. However he has apparently not learned much from that experience as he is now ready to  try it all over again.

A true believer shouldn't act like this. Abraham's example is of a very worldly believer indeed. Here is one who:

Ø  Doesn't trust the LORD with his whole heart.

Ø  Does lean upon his own understanding.

Ø  Is wise in his own eyes.

Ø  Doesn't act out of fear of the LORD.

And yet Abraham is a true believer. He is a "saint" and he does belong to the LORD. He is a "saved" man but his life and behaviour make it very clear that his salvation is not due in any way to his actions but to the free grace of God alone!

Abraham too shows us (as did Lot) that it is possible for a true believer to err gravely. We must take heed and not imagine that somehow these sorts of falls could never touch us. We should also take note that a fall does not provide sure evidence of a man or a woman's lost estate. God is committed to the life of His people and He doesn't give up because of failure on their part!

1.     Abraham totally misreads the situation into which he has come.

Moving into Gerar Abraham imagines that the place is a godless hole where no fear of God exists. In reality the King of Gerar shows that there is a very genuine fear of God in the place. Indeed Abimelech in many ways has a comportment that appears to evidence a far greater fear of God than that friend of God, Abraham himself!

2.     Abraham exhibits more fear of the locals than of the LORD. He has already been divinely guarded in his various travels and helped out of various difficulties but he fails to take that into consideration now. Instead of reasoning that the LORD who has made promises to him and who has protected him up till now will surely continue to protect him so that these promises will not fall to the ground, Abraham panics. The Abraham who had defeated an alliance of four kings to save his nephew Lot is now so frightened  by one local ruler that he once again takes things into his own hands and in so doing jeopardises once more God's promises concerning the birth of a son by Sarah.

How slow we can be to learn our lessons!

3.     By means of lies and deception the man of God leads another into sin. How inappropriate it is for believers to lead the kind of lives that encourage others to sin! And yet I imagine few of us are totally free from fear and cowardice – how easy it is to try to find some other path than that of uprightness and honesty.

4.     Abraham doesn't even appear to come clean when Abimelech confronts him with all that he has done! Rather as we read through Abraham's response to Abimelech in vv.11-13 we find Abraham trying to side-step his responsibilities by shifting the blame and by some embarrassed self-justification.

Abraham the believer seems to be suggesting that God Himself was somehow to blame – after all it was He who had caused Abraham to wander thus! (Shades of Adam in the garden!!) No apologies are found in Abraham's lips but we do hear that somewhat pathetic and irrelevant assertion that Sarah is really his sister anyway! An example of telling a little truth with the intent to deceive about a bigger one!

 Throughout the entire episode Abimelech appears to act in a more honourable manner than Abraham. He is not however saved by his relatively moral and upright behaviour. His predicament as it is described here makes it evident that despite the fact that there is nothing at all duplicitous about his conduct, sincerity and integrity do not save a man. A man may act from the best of intentions and yet do wrong. Abimelech has been deceived but he is still responsible for his own sin – and it is of no value arguing it's not his fault. Whether he was aware of it or not the fact was that he had taken the wife of another man and that was serious.

We do well to remind ourselves of this in our days of increasing moral laxity. The LORD regards the break up of a marriage as a serious matter and woe betide the one responsible. Do you remember the words from the Marriage Service in the Prayer Book? "Those whom God has joined together let no man put asunder." The sanctity of marriage is important and must be upheld. In these verses adultery – for that is what Abimelech's sin would be – is simply called "a great sin".

Abimelech would have plunged headlong into this sin had he not been restrained by the                                   LORD's intervention. God addresses Abimelech in a dream making him aware of what he has done and what will be the consequences should he continue and as soon as Abimelech hears this solemn warning he heeds it.

Having been enlightened as to the realities of the situation Abimelech turns earnestly to God in prayer pleading for mercy. We are not to understand him to be claiming sinless perfection but only that he is more sinned against than sinning in this matter. Nevertheless he knows that he is in the wrong for having taken another man's wife and that must be put right.

"Putting matters right" involve a change of direction for Abimelech here. He must stop entertaining views of having Sarah to be his wife and he must restore her to her rightful husband. He must do so in a way that clearly demonstrates that nothing stains the character of Sarah. This amounts to what we call repentance. True repentance is not simply an expression of regret of sorrow for sin but a conscious turning away from it – a whole-hearted change of direction.

This we find Abimelech doing:

Ø  The affair is not hushed up secretly – Abimelech confides with his own servants.

Ø  He gets on with things quickly – the affair cannot be allowed to drag on, it is urgent. It would be good if we adopted a similar habit in our own lives of quickly sorting things out once we have become aware of some shortcoming in our own lives.

Ø  Abraham must be confronted.

We can easily imagine the temptation to take the moral high ground and to huffily try to take refuge in his own personal integrity but Abimelech doesn't do that. He may have been deceived and duped but whatever he has ended up in the wrong and it is his responsibility now. Interestingly he does not play the victim.

Sarah is restored to Abraham and Abimelech adds a display of substantial generosity as Sarah is vindicated.

Abraham's scheming has only come to light because the LORD choose to intervene and to reveal the truth to Abimelech. His intervention is kind for Abimelech who is saved from worse trouble but the real reason for the intervention lies elsewhere.

The LORD has made promises that are consonant with His eternal plan and purpose to raise up the seed of the woman as His Saviour. This promised redeemer will come from the union of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham shaky faith has jeopardised the keeping of this promise and with it the future redemption of mankind.

The LORD however is the Sovereign of the Universe who works all things according to the purpose of His will – He cannot and will not be frustrated by the weakness of one of His people.

The LORD intervenes in a variety of ways.

Firstly, He deals with Abimelech through a dream. Through a dream He tells Abimelech what it is that he has done; what will be the outcome of it all if Abimelech doesn't change his ways, and then tells Abimelech just how he must proceed in order to be saved from the death sentence pronounced on him. Abimelech cannot rely upon his own innocence or integrity but must benefit from the intercession of God's prophet – Abraham.

Secondly, the LORD has intervened in sending a severe sickness upon Abimelech and more health problems upon the women of his household so that they might not have children. It is perhaps this sickness that has kept Abimelech from consummating his relations with Sarah. In any case the illness is severe and will end in death for Abimelech unless Abraham intercedes on his behalf.

Thirdly, when Abraham does intercede the LORD intervenes further in restoring Abimelech and his women to good health. Earlier the LORD has told Abraham that all nations will be blest through him and now as he prays this foreign king enjoys the blessings of healing.

Abraham is the first person described as being a prophet in the Bible and this designation is linked to intercession. Abraham has just recently been interceding for Sodom and now here he successfully intercedes for Abimelech.

Abraham is a poor representative of what it means to be a prophet. Nevertheless his intercession brings salvation to Abimelech and his family. In this he stands as something of a signpost pointing forward to the coming of a greater prophet, the Prophet. This Prophet to come would be one of his own offspring, He would be called Jesus Christ. And it through Jesus Christ that the curse is removed from us and it is through Him that we receive life.

Our sinless Saviour has provided a covering for sin: for our open sins, our secret sins and our sins of ignorance.

Now Abimelech was prompt to apply to Abraham when he was told of his need that only Abraham's intercession could secure deliverance for him.

We must follow his example and be prompt in applying to Christ for the deliverance we need.

May God bless His word!