Genesis Chapter 20

"The Big Lie Part II"

​Context:

Abraham moves again, and once again lies about his true relationship to Sarah. Once again, Sarah is taken as a wife, and once again God intervenes.

Chief People:

  • God
  • Abraham
  • Sarah
  • King Abimelek​

​Choice Verses:

GENESIS 20:1 ​

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,​​

  • Abraham moved his great household from the region around Mamre south toward the border of the land of Canaan. It is unknown the reason for this move.​

GENESIS 20:2 ​

and there Abraham said of this wife Sarah, 'She is my sister.' Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

  • Well, it appears Abraham hadn’t learned his lesson from the same lie he told the Pharaoh of Egypt. This is a frustrating incident in the life of Abraham, who has recently seen many signs of God's great power and faithfulness. Even so, Abraham acts out of fear and faithlessness.​

GENESIS 20:3 ​

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.

Once again, God intervenes. What makes God’s help different this time is this time God speaks to the king directly, through a dream. With the Pharaoh God speaks only through plagues. God tells the king that Sarah is a married woman, implying the king is guilty of adultery because Sarah is another man's wife.​

GENESIS 20:4 ​

Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, 'Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?

  • Abimelek pleads to God for mercy, claiming to be innocent of any wrongdoing. Although he may have taken her, he was not intimate with Sarah. Apparently God had inflicted Abimelek with an illness to prevent him from sleeping with Sarah.​

GENESIS 20:5 ​

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.

  • Abimelek had responded to God accurately, both Abraham and Sarah had lied to him so in this sense he could claim a clean conscience, but it's important to note he took her without Abrahams approval. His hands were not so clean after all.​

GENESIS 20:6 ​

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.

  •  God agrees that Abimelech has acted with integrity, but says that adultery is a sin against “Me” *(God), not against the husband (Abraham). We do not know what had done to keep Abimelek from committing this sin, but it is assumed some sort of illness or physical restriction.​

GENESIS 20:7 ​

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.

  • This is the first mention of the word “prophet” in the Bible, and the only use of it in Genesis. This is also the first time in the Bible that one person is asked to pray for another; Abimelek will be forgiven if Abraham prays to God for his forgiveness. God then tells Abimelek that should not return Sarah His punishment will extend to all Abimelek’s family, servants, and slaves.

GENESIS 20:8 ​

Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.

  • It is implied here that Abimelek’s officials were afraid not of the king, but of God. A God of great power to impose great consequences for sin and disobedience. Sadly, the king and his officials seem to have more faith in God than Abraham within this encounter.​

GENESIS 20:9 ​

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. ​

  • “What have you done to us?” should sound familiar, it is the same question the Pharoh posed to Abraham when he found out Abraham had lied to him. Abimelek unleashes his anger on Abraham, and rightfully so. He seems to agree with God that adultery is wrong.​

GENESIS 20:10 ​

And Abimelek asked Abraham, 'What was your reason for doing this?

Abimelek, for what we can tell by his guilt, does live by some moral standard, and is confused by the position Abraham and Sarah have put him in.​

GENESIS 20:11 ​

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.

  • From Abraham’s perspective, he must not have seen any sign of a God fearing society here, but that's besides the point, he failed to trust in God. Abraham may have made assumptions that just because they were not “his people”, they have been just another city of idolatry and false worshiping. Not so sure of this though, as this was not Egypt, and logic would suggest Abraham would have been familiar to some extent with its proximity to his home he just left. This is disturbing on many levels, knowing what Abraham knows of God, His promise, and His relationship with God.​

GENESIS 20:12 ​

Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife.

  • Rather than taking responsibility for his actions, Abraham again defends himself with the same half truth he used with the Pharaoh. He appears to have learned nothing. Though God, in the Law of Moses, would later forbid marriage for those in that closeness of family, it was apparently not uncommon or disapproved of in Abraham's day. God never seems to have condemned Abraham or Sarah for it, either.​

GENESIS 20:13 ​

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.

  • More specifically, Abraham says that he asked Sarah to participate in this lie as a kindness to him. He is admitting here that he has repeatedly asked Sarah to put herself in harm's way in order to save his own life.​

GENESIS 20:14 ​

Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him.

  • Here we are again, Abraham lies, and ends up with rewards. I'm not sure what the lesson is here, but Abraham leaves with more than what he came with. If I had to speculate, I'd say it was more of the king showing respect to God, trying to atone for his perceived sin.​

GENESIS 20:15

And Abimelek said, 'My land is before you; live wherever you like.

  • The rewards continue, Abraham is given land wherever he wants to live on. It's hard to imagine he was happy with Abraham. More likely, the king was eager for Abraham to pray for him and for his household so that they would live. It's also possible that Abimelech wanted to prove his good intentions to the Lord. It's likely it was a combination of the two.​

GENESIS 20:16 ​

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. ​

  • With some sarcasm, the king refers to Abraham as Sarah’s brother when speaking to her. One can see the conversation, as the king winked while saying “brother” (yeah, right, your brother!! wink wink). As a show of respect towards Sarah, the king gives them a thousand shekels of silver. This large sum of silver was meant to protect Sarah's reputation, to tell everyone that she had not been compromised while in Abimelech's household.​

GENESIS 20:17 ​

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again.

  • For whatever reason Abraham does pray for the king, his wife, and his female slaves. Perhaps out of guilt for his lie, perhaps because he knew he was a prophet of God, or because of all the generous gifts (bribes), all appears to be well. What is important to note here is God often works through others, and their prayers. We need to remember that offering to pray for someone is a free and powerful gift you can give to anyone. (James 5:16) (Colossians 1:9) (Matthew 5:44)​

GENESIS 20:18 ​

for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

lthough we do not know how long Sarah was within Abimelek’s household this verse implies it had to be for some time since it was discovered “all” the women in Abimelek’s household could not conceive. It also shows God has divine power to allow childbirth, as he sees fit (Psalm 127:3)​

​Crucial Words

  • Prophet - A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.​

Cross Reference

(James 5:16) 

  • Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

(Colossians 1:9) ​

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives

(Matthew 5:44) ​

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

(Psalm 127:3) ​

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.

Questions:

Genesis 20:2 ​

Why did Abraham lie again about being married to Sarah, and more importantly, why did Sarah go alone with the lie again?

Genesis 20:11 ​

Why has Abraham shown such little faith?

Genesis 20:14 

Why had the king rewarded Abraham with cattle, servants, silver, and land upon learning of being lied to him?

​Christ seen (or mentioned)?

No

​Central Lessons(s), and Timeless Truth(s):

Conclusion:

  • Abraham does not learn from his mistakes

​Sidenotes: