ofwgen20

OUR FATHER'S WORD

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Psalm 119:105

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Genesis

A Message For The End Time

by Jim Lisenby

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CHAPTER 20

Sarah Is Abraham's Sister, Again!

This chapter begins with Abraham moving away from where he dwelled in the plain of Mamre near Hebron. Why he moved is not given, but it would be very safe to assume that it had to do with the destruction of the area around Sodom and Gomorrah. Disasters of that magnitude always affect the surrounding areas for many miles in every direction. Remember Mount St. Helens ? When it blew there was massive destruction for almost 20 miles out, with less severe damage further out with distance from the mountain. But the ash and fallout was a problem for some cities and communities hundreds of miles away from the mountain. The plume rose to 80,000 feet and some of the ash traveled around the entire globe.

Abraham lived nearby to the west of Sodom, perhaps 20 to 30 miles away, and he had herds of sheep and cattle. In addition, there were also other grazing animals with him such as asses, and perhaps even some camels or horses. They would have been in a very serious situation if the animals could not graze due to the ash and fallout. It is likely that he had to move in a hurry to save his animals, and perhaps even to save himself, his family, and his entire household. We don't know what conditions were like in the outlying areas after the conflagration, but they possibly were life threatening for man and beast.

Gen. 20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Abraham quickly moved his family and livestock to the south and west to get away from the problems created by the massive overthrow.

Gen. 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Oops! Not again! Abraham evidently didn't learn a lesson in Egypt when he pulled the same stunt and got into serious difficulty with Pharaoh. The term Abimelech here may not be the actual name of this king, but only a cognominal title. It would be something like the rulers in Egypt all being called Pharaoh, or the rulers of Rome all being called Caesar. Who the people are that this king ruled over is not known precisely. What is known, however, is that the Philistines later occupied this area around Gerar. An approximation of where it was located is called the Gaza Strip today. In the next chapter the writer uses the name Philistine to define the people there, as you will see.

Sarah was about 90 years old. If Abimelech desired her as a man desires a woman, then she truly must have been a remarkable example of feminine pulchritude even in her advanced years. Either that or all the other women around him were really ugly.

Gen. 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

Whoa, poor guy! What would you do if God appeared to you and told you that you were a dead man? It would be hard enough to take if He simply appeared and said nothing, but this unsuspecting king has been told by the Ultimate Authority that he is a "dead man walking".

Well, here we are once again. God has to bail Abraham out of a precarious situation. But then He does that for all of us also on occasion. We all get ourselves into situations where we need His help, don't we? Abraham was no different. When you think about it, he has done very well with his life overall, because up to now it has been one of hardship and trouble. He has been driven by disaster after disaster, and challenge after challenge. And guess what? It is not over yet by any means.

Gen. 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

This king, Abimelech, or whoever he was, obviously knew what had just happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and why. They were horrible people. Here he is testifying that he and his people are not like those people who had lived in Sodom, that overall they are righteous folk.

Why he had not come near Sarah is revealed below, so her advanced years apparently had not degraded her natural beauty, and given enough time he would have approached her.

Gen. 20:5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

Gen. 20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

Gen. 20:7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

Pretty severe consequences for this king and his people if carried out. This king proclaimed his innocence, but actually he was not that innocent because it is not right to take a woman from her family without consent, even if she was not married. He was innocent from the viewpoint that was the custom in those days, but it was still wrong. Traditions of men have been the bane of mankind almost from the very beginning. Jesus upbraided the leaders of the Jews many times in the gospels for their traditions.

Abraham is called a prophet here. Interesting.

Gen. 20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

Gen. 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

Abraham wasn't the real problem here, it was their errant customs and general way of life that was the true problem.

Gen. 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

Abimelech is playing the innocent party here, but even he should have felt something in his heart that you don't just take what you want, when you feel like it. He obviously didn't have Abraham's permission when Sarah was taken from him, so he is not really so innocent in his actions.

Gen. 20:11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

There is no evidence in these verses that Abraham resisted the men who had come to take Sarah. Let's keep in mind that he had to move quickly to escape the effects of the disaster at Sodom. Perhaps he was somewhat disorganized and basically defenseless when this Abimelech sent his men to take Sarah.

Gen. 20:12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

Sarah was actually Abraham's half sister. A marriage like this between sister and brother would not be allowed today, but things were different then. Even so, about 300 years later, God told Israel through Moses not to marry with their close kin.

Gen. 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

Abraham was a smart man, and for him to tell Sarah to say that he was her brother implies that there was a potential problem regarding Sarah's great beauty. In other words, Abraham would not have done things this way unless he felt that he had to do it.

Actually, telling the common folk that Sarah was his sister probably would have worked okay because the custom in those days was to ask permission from the father, or the brothers if the father was gone, before a man could take a woman to wife. In Sarah's case Abraham could decline any proposals from most men, but he didn't count on pharaohs and kings desiring her. Men who held and wielded great power among their people, and who took what they wanted as it pleased them.

That detestable practice has continued down through time until very recently. It was generally known as "the divine right of kings", and if the truth were known, it probably still goes on today out of sight behind closed doors. Men haven't really changed. The titles have changed but the men in power still exercise it to the limit, whether corporate executives or political dignitaries.

Gen. 20:14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

God did not demand all these things of this king. His only demand was that Sarah be returned to Abraham.

Gen. 20:15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

Gen. 20:16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

God did not demand that Abimelech pay Abraham a thousand pieces of silver. So what gives? Curious indeed, but there seems to be a condition attached to this thousand pieces of silver, like perhaps there was an understanding between the king and Abraham. This verse is a little cryptic in its wording, but it almost seems that this king is demanding that she, and the other women with her, veil from now on like the other women in his kingdom. The last clause says she was reproved, so she was doing something that was apparently not acceptable in this kings land. Work with it.

Gen. 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

Gen. 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

These verses show that God definitely had already afflicted them with some serious condition within their reproductive system, and it would have eventually taken their lives as well had Abimelech not returned Sarah to Abraham. Remember, back up in verses 3 and 7 when God confronted Abimelech, He told him that he would kill him and all those that were his.

The last clause of verse 17 where it states and they bare children, is not time related in any way. It is simply affirming the fact that God had healed them of the condition that had closed up their wombs.

God bless with understanding of His word.

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