A Saint Under Attack (Genesis 20:1-18)
A Saint Under Attack
Genesis 20:1-18
May 25, 2014
Well, there’s the story.
I wrestled with this story for quite some time this week.
And I don’t mind telling you that we’re going to go a different direction with this story than perhaps you’ve gone before.
Every single commentary I read on this chapter
All came to basically the same conclusion with the same point.
Namely that Abraham was at it again.
• Here is Abraham falling back into that same old sin
• He walks in fear
• He trades off his wife
• He lies or at least deceives
• He then justifies himself
And every commentary I read then gave a few points
On how even the best of God’s people can fall into sin.
And honestly when we were starting Genesis
And I was sort of reading the book as a whole,
This was not one of the stories that concerned me because
I thought that was precisely what I would preach on.
And you know we’d do a little Romans 7 study
• About how even though Paul “conferred the Law of God in the inner man”
• That he still struggled with sin saying, “The good I want to do, I do not do, instead I do the very thing I hate”
• How Paul said, “Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from the body of this dead?”
And I figured we’d talk about how
Even though Abraham was saved and declared righteous,
That even he struggled with sin and God helped him anyway.
But there is a really big problem with taking that perspective on this text.
And here is the problem:
NO WHERE IN THIS TEXT DOES GOD
EVEN REMOTELY PIN ANY BLAIM ON ABRAHAM AT ALL.
God doesn’t confront him
God doesn’t rebuke him
God doesn’t chastise him
Instead, God wholeheartedly, and adamantly
Protects, defends, and vindicates him.
If you take an honest study of this text, you cannot come away and say
It is a message about how even God’s people can struggle with sin.
Instead we have to take the flow of the story and ask:
• Why did Moses include this story?
• What lesson would Moses have wanted the Children of Israel to learn?
• What would the Holy Spirit teach us through this story today?
So let’s work our way through this story,
Without reading our thoughts into it, see what God has to say,
And then see if we can’t understand what the Holy Spirit would say to us.
We’re going to divide this story into 4 points.
#1 A DANGEROUS VACATION
Genesis 20:1-2
Moses did take a brief hiatus in walking us through the Sodom and Gomorrah account, but he is now back examining the life of Abraham.
Abraham was of course a perfect picture of God’s salvation.
• He was first a man of tremendous grace
• And he became a man of tremendous faith
He was a pagan whom God declared righteous
He was an alien whom God gave an inheritance
He is perhaps the greatest illustration of salvation in all the Bible.
Well now we return to looking at how God was at work in his life.
And the next story Moses selects to reveal to us
How God was at work
Was the story of Abraham’s sojourning in Gerar.
(1) “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.”
Now upon reading this story you are obviously going to want to
Draw a parallel back to the event of Genesis 12
When Abram and Sarai departed for Egypt.
There are a few differences here however.
1) They went to Egypt due to famine, we don’t know why they went to Gerar.
2) Egypt was outside the borders of Canaan, Gerar was inside.
The main differences are that Abraham is not running in fear,
And Abraham is not abandoning his inheritance.
You cannot find sin in the fact that Abraham traveled to Gerar.
And the fact that scripture says “he sojourned in Gerar”
Indicates a temporary stay.
We don’t know why he went
We don’t know how long he planned to stay
But nothing can be seen as sinful in the decision
Abraham is simply moving around in the country God has promised him.
And then we read:
(2) “Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.”
Here is where our natural human speculations quickly take over.
When we read this similar story back in Genesis 12,
Abraham was clearly in the wrong.
He was outside of the land where God told him to go
He was passing off Sarai to protect his own hide
He made a bad decision and the solution was even worse.
And this event is so similar
We instantly assume Abraham is back to his old sins.
NOW LET ME SAY THIS:
There is no way that we can ever come to the conclusion
That letting Sarah go is a good thing.
Frankly there is just no way to spin this story that allows us to say,
“What Abraham did was right”
This is clearly a bad scenario.
The textual problem comes from the fact that God never rebukes him.
Moses never rebukes him for it
So I think it is difficult for us to do so.
I’m not saying Abraham was right, I’m just saying Abraham’s mistake was obviously not the point God wanted us to focus on.
If God had wanted us to read this chapter
And talk about Abraham returning to a previous mistake
Then surely God would have pointed that out somewhere in the chapter.
So whatever the main point is, it isn’t about Abraham’s poor decision.
SO LET’S STICK TO WHAT WE KNOW.
• Abraham was in a new region (still in the land)
• And the king of that region has taken his wife.
“Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.”
So you can read this and look at Abraham’s past and blame this whole thing on Abraham…
Or, you can follow the flow of the text
And see that Sarah has been abducted.
And whichever path you choose to take
Will drastically shape the way you read the rest of this chapter.
• If you choose to place blame on Abraham, the rest of the chapter
will make no sense.
• But if you choose to place blame on Abimelech, the rest of the
chapter will fall right into place.
So that is what we will do.
Abimelech has kidnapped Sarah.
Now granted there wasn’t much opposition offered by Abraham
(and you will see why in a moment)
But it doesn’t change what has happened.
They were on vacation and his wife was abducted.
WHY IS THIS SO SERIOUS?
Well, aside from the obvious emotional implications,
this has huge covenant implications.
Genesis 17:15-19 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
Genesis 18:9-14 “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was just as much a part of the covenant as Abraham was.
Sarah’s involvement was just as important.
SO WHAT DO WE CALL THIS?
This is an attack of the enemy on the covenant God promised to Abraham.
It’s not the first attack – by the way.
• The first attack was when Satan tempted Abraham to run to Egypt (God protected)
• The second attack was when Satan tempted Abraham to take Hagar (God intervened)
• This is now the third attack in which Satan used Abimelech to try and wreck the covenant by abducting Sarah.
If Satan succeeds in corrupting Sarah or defiling her
Then the promise of God is off.
Yet again the success of the covenant is hanging by a thread.
A Dangerous Vacation
#2 A DIVINE INTERVENTION
Genesis 20:3-7
Now when Abraham went to Egypt, God intervened…
When Abraham went to Hagar, God intervened…
And here God intervenes again.
(3) “But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
Again, I remind you that you can read this story and place all the blame on Abraham, but don’t fail to see whom God confronts.
“God came to Abimelech”
And what a stiff warning!
“Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
Now, I don’t think this is the main thrust or point of the chapter,
But you’d certainly be foolish not to recognize
What a serious offense adultery is to God.
Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
Moses would certainly use this to reinforce his commands.
God tells Abimelech, “you are a dead man”
So based on the text, who do you think God is angry at?
Obviously Abimelech
But here is one of the reasons why we don’t tend to blame Abimelech.
(4-5) “Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? “Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
Now we read that and say, “See, Abimelech is a good guy. He was lied to, it was not his fault, he never touched her. The blame must go on Abraham.”
But if you read it like that, you’re missing what God is saying.
(6) “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.”
Now it is true that Abimelech genuinely thought Sarah was Abraham’s sister.
But please notice that there is only one reason
Why Abimelech did not touch her.
WHAT WAS THAT REASON?
“I did not let you touch her.”
There is only one reason why Abimelech did not commit adultery.
“I also kept you from sinning”
The reason Sarah was not corrupted by Abimelech
Is not because Abimelech was such a fine upstanding citizen.
He was not.
He took Sarah (and he took her for a purpose)
But it was the sovereign intervention of God
That kept him from doing what he had intended.
When you read and place blame on Abraham and let Abimelech go free,
You are failing to discern what God’s divine judgment was of the situation.
God blamed Abimelech.
God knew what he would do, if God did not restrain him.
Abimelech had attacked Abraham and Sarah
And was going to thrash the covenant, but God intervened.
And to further reinforce this, look at God’s counsel to Abimelech.
(7) “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
God doesn’t mince any words there
And what does God say about Abraham?
• “I know he is a knuckle head…” – No
• “I know he deceived you…” – No
God says, “he is a prophet”
And you need him to “pray for you”
You Abimelech, sinned against him…
You Abimelech are guilty before me…
You Abimelech are about to be killed…
“if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
In other words, Abimelech is the thug of the story
And God is not about to let him trash the covenant,
Even if that means killing them all.
That is divine intervention.
A Dangerous Vacation, A Divine Intervention
#3 A DIRECT EXPLANATION
Genesis 20:8-13
Now the good news is that God seemed to get through to Abimelech.
(8) “So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened.”
Apparently Abimelech was willing to listen to what God had to say.
And everyone in his kingdom agreed.
But you will notice Abimelech is curious about the situation.
(Incidentally his curiosity is our curiosity)
Why would Abraham pass off Sarah again, and why was God mad at Abimelech and not Abraham?
Well, Abraham explains it very clearly here.
(we just don’t tend to accept his answer)
(9-13) “Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “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? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. “Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”‘”
Now because we are often times bent on condemning Abraham here,
We are tempted to read this as a lame excuse.
But again, God’s judgment was against Abimelech, not Abraham.
So perhaps, this wasn’t a lame excuse,
Perhaps this was an accurate evaluation.
When Abraham came to Gerar
He recognized what type of people he was dealing with.
“I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.”
Abraham recognized that his life was in danger.
Abraham recognized that there was an attack on him.
Now again, I’m not saying that passing off your wife is a suitable solution to saving your own neck – it clearly is not.
But I want you to see the situation.
The decision wasn’t just Abraham’s, it was also Sarah’s.
This was the kindness that Sarah had chosen to do to Abraham.
I’m not saying it was a good decision,
But please see the situation for what it was.
• You’ve just traveled to a new region…
• You recognize that the people there are godless…
• You know that they will kill you for your wife and take her anyway…
• When the king sends for her to take her, you either claim to be her husband
and be killed or you say she is your sister and by yourself some time…
No it’s not a pretty picture
But I just want you to see that Abraham
Was in a really dangerous and really scary situation.
Don’t compare this to the trip to Egypt, it is different.
Abraham has been bullied here
Abraham has come under attack here
Now this also speaks to the craftiness of the enemy.
Certainly Satan knew Abraham’s propensity to let Sarah go
Don’t think for a second that this was just some random attack.
This was a specific attack by Satan to unravel the covenant.
And God knew it.
That is why God intervened and confronted Abimelech, not Abraham.
A Dangerous Vacation, A Divine Intervention, A Direct Explanation
#4 A DECIDED RESTORATION
Genesis 20:14-18
Again, if you try to read this story and place the blame on Abraham,
It just doesn’t fit.
Because this story ends with all the blame on Abimelech.
And he is forced to repent, to restore, to vindicate,
And to throw himself at the mercy of Abraham.
This is as one sided as it comes.
And notice all that Abimelech restored.
1) HE RESTORED ABRAHAM’S WIFE (14)
“Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.”
2) HE RESTORED ABRAHAM’S LAND (15)
“Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.”
It was Abraham’s land anyway, now even Abimelech knows it.
In fact, notice what Abimelech will say to Abraham later:
Genesis 21:22-23 “Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ” God is with you in all that you do; now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.”
Abimelech learned that God was on Abraham’s side.
3) HE RESTORED ABRAHAM’S HONOR (16)
“To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.”
In other words, he paid the money
To show that he and not Sarah was in the wrong.
HE PAID THE FINE, NOT ABRAHAM.
It is abundantly clear whom God says is in the wrong here.
And then Abraham mercifully prays for him.
(17-18) “Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
If you honestly read that story, you cannot preach a sermon
On how sometimes God’s people fall back into sin.
That may be true, but it is clearly not the point here.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT?
GOD PROTECTS HIS OWN
• He protected Abraham from danger
• He protected Abraham from decisions
• He protected Abraham from defilement
• He protected Abraham from death
I don’t know if you can read this story and see anything
Other than the security that God afforded to Abraham.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the promise God made to Abraham was secure, and God would not let it fail.
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
I think Abimelech would agree with that, don’t you?
God was clearly on Abraham’s side.
And when God is on your side, you are secure.
Satan planned to destroy the covenant, and God wouldn’t allow it
God wouldn’t even allow Abraham to lose face in the incident.
He didn’t just rescue Abraham, He forced a public a vindication of him.
And God promises the same for us:
Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”
Matthew 10:26-27 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”
Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
When you are a child of God, He promises security.
• That doesn’t mean that a believer is exempt from danger
• That doesn’t mean that a believer is exempt from suffering
• That doesn’t mean that a believer is exempt from death
However, when this whole thing shakes out and comes to its end,
Rest assured that the believer will be in possession
Of every single thing God ever promised him
And will be vindicated before all those who ever challenged it.
God told Abraham previously:
Genesis 15:1 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”
Later God would tell Jacob
Genesis 28:15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
And this is a promise God continually made to Israel:
Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”
Psalms 121:3-4 “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”
And I think Moses’ purpose for including this story is becoming clear.
The children of Israel (like Abraham)
Were also in the midst of people who did not fear God.
They also feared for their lives and the loss of their promised inheritance.
But make no mistake, God was for them, just as God was for Abraham.
And friends the same can absolutely be said for you and me.
We live in a hostile world.
There are literally Abimelech’s everywhere.
They are those people whom Satan uses
To threaten, bully, attack, and humiliate God’s people.
Satan would even use them to even steal our inheritance.
But God will not allow it.
Proverbs 14:26 “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.”
Psalms 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.”
Psalms 27:10 “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.”
Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.”
Psalms 61:3 “For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.”
GOD IS A SHELTER FOR YOU
God has chosen you, God has called you, God has justified you,
AND GOD WILL GLORIFY YOU.
He does not fail to finish what He purposes to begin.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
When enter the world this week, do not fear the plans of the enemy.
Do not fear their threats.
Do not fear their attacks.
Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
Do not fear the enemy,
But rather rest in the security of the God who is on your side.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
God’s people are secure in God.
He is our strong tower – in Him we are safe!
I want to leave you with the words of one of my favorite hymns.
It was written by Martin Luther.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
