Abraham Deceives Abimelech (20:1-18)
Neal Pollard
God’s choice of people to carry out His plan is never solely based on merit. If so, who could He use? Noah had exceptional, extraordinary faith, but he also struggled with weakness. Abraham is renowned for his faith, but in Genesis 20 he is going to fall back into the same moral trap he had previously laid for himself. In fact, this chapter reveals a habitual failing on his part (12-13). Developing faith is not flawless or perfect, even as it grows and matures. Let’s notice five things in Abraham’s stumbling steps on his road of trusting God’s providence.
The Deception (1-2). It seems like deja vu, a repeat of the circumstance with the Pharaoh in Egypt (12:11-13). Abraham has journeyed south, back near the border of Egypt. He encounters the king of Gerar, Abimelech, there, and he tells the king that Sarah is his sister. Taking Abraham’s word at face value, Abimelech “sent and took Sarah” (2) in order to make her his wife.
The Dream (3-7). We know nothing of the man’s character until God comes to him in a dream. Abimelech could declare his blamelessness to God (4), his integrity of heart, and the innocence of his hands (5). God validates his claim and informs him that He had intervened to prevent sin in his interaction with Sarah (6). The heart of God’s message to Abimelech is to restore Sarah to Abraham, a prophet, to have him intervene on his behalf. There is also a warning concerning His wrath if the king disobeys (7).
The Discussion (8-13). Abimelech’s first discussion is with all his servants, “greatly frightened” at their master’s news (8). There had to be no small amount of righteous indignation when the king addresses the patriarch, asking, “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?” (9a-b). Abraham receives a deserved, stinging rebuke (9c). The king also shows incredible empathy, wondering aloud what Abraham had experienced to resort to such tactics (10). The best Abraham could do is rationalize that he anticipated widespread unbelief and aggression wherever he went, and telling a half-truth (whole lie!) would keep his wife and himself safe (11-13). You wonder if Abraham could see the flimsiness of his excuse as he said it out loud.
The Diplomacy (14-16). Abimelech believes what God says about his counterpart, and the offended shows great kindness and generosity to the offender. He endows Abraham with sheep, oxen, male servants, female servants, land, and 1000 pieces of silver. With this, he shows his integrity and character from beginning to end in this matter.
The Devotion (17-18). The best thing Abraham did in this encounter was pray to God for the king of Gerar. In response, God opened the wombs of Abimelech’s household, wombs he had closed because of the appropriation of Sarah. While there was certainly a lesson for Abimelech to learn concerning the uniqueness and greatness of Jehovah (we will see this king not only in the next chapter, but in the next generation in an eerily similar situation with Isaac in chapter 26), was there also a lesson for Abraham? He had already shown so much faith in his life, going where God said go and believing what God promised. But, he had this blind spot in his faith.
We should constantly evaluate our faith. Are there any blind spots? Maybe we trust Him in our relationships, but not in our finances. Maybe we are trying to seek Him first in so many areas, but we keep falling into the same bad habits or poor coping mechanisms in some area of struggle. This incident shows us God’s patience and special regard for His children, but it also reveals the need we have for letting our trials and temptations refine us and get us to a better spiritual place. We might occasionally be shamed by those outside of Christ who prove greater integrity than we show in a moment of weakness. That should drive us closer to God and make us trust Him more in subsequent trials! It appears to work that way for Abraham.
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