Have you ever admired someone greatly?

Then you realize they aren’t perfect, and your view of them comes crashing down. Sometimes, we can assume that a disciple of Jesus is supposed to be sinless. Worse, we can expect perfection from other Christians, but plead for grace over our sin.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Thankfully, the Bible is too honest for that.  It accurately shows the downward path of sin, as in the case of Lot. It also shows that even the most faithful followers of the Lord stumble. They might even regress.

We continue our study in the book of Genesis in chapter 20.

1Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.  

Genesis 20:1-18, New International Version

As king of the city-state of Gerar, Abimelek was used to taking whatever he wanted. Now, he wanted Sarah.  Repeating the same mistake he made in Egypt, Abraham denied Sarah as his wife.  The result was Sarah being taken into Abimelek’s harem.  The story is truncated and doesn’t focus on what happens to Sarah as much as what happens to the Philistines.   

Abraham thought of these Philistines as wicked people and lied to them.  Yet, the text goes to great lengths to prove they were not.  Was Sarah Abraham’s sister?  Yes, his half-sister.  Was Sarah Abraham’s wife?  Yes.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

If Abraham had been honest, Abimelek wouldn’t have taken Sarah.

Ancient Near East law codes (outside of the Bible) also made adultery illegal and punishable by death.  The king knew this and argued that he was misled and unaware of the sin.  You can’t help but side with this poor guy!

Even though he was misled, Abimelek’s ignorance didn’t remove the expectation of returning Sarah AND seeking restitution with Abraham.

The Lord then tells Abimelek to return Sarah. He should ask the prophet Abraham to pray for his household. This is so that he may live.  Here is another instance where the Godly are called on to intercede for the world.  Abraham is reviving his role as intercessor.  And in no small bit of irony, Abimelech’s salvation will be found with the husband who misled him.

When Abimelek confronts Abraham, his fury is certainly understandable.  Taking another man’s wife was wrong even in his own eyes!  Additionally, Abimelek knew he was at a severe disadvantage since Abraham was a prophet and was under the Lord’s protection.  Adultery was a serious offense in Near Eastern cultures, and all of them (all of them!) declared a death sentence for it.  This reflects their culture’s great offense at this.

One cannot help but hear a bit of Divine Speech in Abimelech’s speech to Abraham.  It’s as if God Himself is rebuking Abraham for these actions (again!).

In the final restitution to Abraham, we recognize how he is blessed. We realize how the Lord had cursed Abimelek and his household. By making it impossible for the women to have children, Abimelek’s line would end, and his kingship would be over.

There are two lessons here.

First, are we guilty of taking matters into our own hands and trying to save our necks with lies and half-truths?  Look at the result of those actions in this story.  Our sin affects those around us.

Second, do we let someone else’s sin taint us to the point that we write them off?  Are you done with Abraham because he lied again?  What about when those disciples of Jesus in your life aren’t perfect, again?  Pedestals are dangerous places to put people.

We must be honest with ourselves and with others.  Even as God’s people, we have done and will do some pretty boneheaded things.  This is why we must keep our eyes on the Lord, confess any sin in our lives, and remember to give the grace we ourselves need.