ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH GENESIS 20:1-18

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH GENESIS 20:1-18

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: Genesis 20:1-18, ABRAHAM AND ABIMELECH 1. Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar, 2. Abraham said about his wife Sarah, She is my sister. So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. 3. But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else s wife. 4. Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, Lord, would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 5. Did Abraham not say to me, She is my sister? And she herself said, He is my brother. I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands! 6. Then in the dream God replied to him, Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her. 7. But now give back the man s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you. 8. Early in the morning Abimelech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified. 9. Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 10. Then Abimelech asked Abraham, What prompted you to do this thing? 11. Abraham replied, Because I thought, Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife. 12. What s more, she is indeed my sister, my father s daughter, but not my mother s daughter. She became my wife. 13. When God made me wander from my father s house, I told her, This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, He is my brother. 14. So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 15. Then Abimelech said, Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please. 16. To Sarah he said, Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother. This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you. 17. Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 18. For the Lord had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham s wife. (NET) Commentary: The story of Abraham is a story involving many physical moves. A few times he moved at God s command and other times he probably moved in search of food for his livestock. This move brought Abraham to Gerar; once again he lied about Sarah being his wife. Sarah is an older woman but still attractive enough to catch the eye of Abimelech, king of Gerar. Abraham seemed to realize that God was in control of those who feared him but he must have doubted that God was also sovereign in dealing with those who did not fear Him. Just as Abraham had feared, Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. God rebuked Abimelech for taking Sarah; even though he did it

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 innocently. God said, 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. (Genesis 20:7) The term prophet is used in 228 verses in our King James Bible and this is the first of those verses. Abimelech rebuked Abraham for what he did. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? Abraham answered, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. 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. (Genesis 20:10-12) Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. God continued to keep His promise to make Abraham great. Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his people. Abraham journeyed again --Genesis 20:1-2: Abraham made a move from where he had lived for several years. This move brought him to Gerar. He possibly went there looking for grazing for his cattle. There is also the possibility that he just wanted to live in some other part of the land that God had given him. This move could have been prompted by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the plains surrounding them. This destruction could have had a terrible impact even to the place where Abraham was living. Life lessons are sometimes so hard to learn. Abraham and Sarah had agreed to tell the people that she was his sister. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. (Genesis 20:2) The story Abraham told was a half truth, but it was a whole lie. Lying is so common, yet it is so destructive to everyone. Abraham s lie hurt God. It hurt both Abraham and Sarah. His lie hurt Abimelech and all of his people. God s people must always speak the truth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. (Colossians 3:9) God came to Abimelech --Genesis 20:3-7: Abimelech must have been shocked and startled when God came to him by a dream in the night and said,

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man s wife. God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son within a year and if Abimelech was intimate with her he would be a dead man. Abimelech had not come near Sarah. Abimelech pleaded with the Lord, Wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Abimelech explained to the Lord that he was innocent and that he had been lied to by Abraham. They had told him that they were brother and sister. God spoke to Abimelech in another dream and told him that he knew he was innocent and that is why he had kept him from touching Sarah. He then told Abimelech, 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. (Genesis 20:7) God told him if he did not restore Sarah that he and his people would die. God told Abimelech that Abraham was a prophet and that he would pray for him. This is the first use of the word prophet in the Bible. Abimelech rebuked Abraham -- Genesis 20:8-13: Abimelech was serious about what God said. Early the next morning he sent for his officials and told them what had happened. They were all frightened at these events. Abimelech then gave Abraham a rebuke for his actions. He said, Look what you have done to us! What have I ever done to you? Why did you make me and my nation guilty of such a terrible sin? He asked Abraham what he was thinking when he did this? Abraham explained that he had acted out of fear. He did not think these people respected God and he feared that they would kill him for his wife. Then Abraham tried to justify his actions by saying, she is my half sister. They had the same father but a different mother. Abraham said, 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. (Genesis 20:13) Years before they had agreed to tell this half truth and by telling a half truth they told a whole lie. The result of what Abraham and Sarah did was deception and it led to many problems for all that were involved.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 Abraham prayed for Abimelech -- Genesis 20:14-18: Abimelech gave gifts to Abraham. He gave him sheep, oxen, menservants and women servants. He gave him a thousand pieces of silver and restored to him Sarah his wife. He also offered Abraham the privilege to dwell wherever he pleased in the land. Abimelech did not realize that God had given the land to Abraham and it all belonged to him. Abimelech gave Sarah a rebuke by reminding her that Abraham, as her husband, ought to be her protection and modesty. In Abimelech s thinking, Sarah was as guilty in the whole matter as was Abraham. Meanwhile, God had kept Abimelech's wife and slaves from having children. But Abraham prayed, and God let them start having children again. As Abraham, God s prophet, prayed, God healed Abimelech s household of the plague. God will put strength into the heart of the person who trusts in Him; and no act of courage is impossible to a man with faith in God. The believer when he is brought into peace with God does not tremble at the thought of God's power. To become a Christian hear the word (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10) and be baptized into Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27) Let us be righteous and live for and with the Savior. By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, 306 Walnut Street. Greenville, Alabama, 36037 USA

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 Questions on Genesis 20:1-18 1. Once again Abraham moves. This time he relocated from to. On a map locate this city. 2. Abraham told, king of Gerar, Sarah was his sister. This was the time he had told this story in order to protect Sarah. 3. What happened to Sarah because of this deception? 4. How did God protect Sarah?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 5. Can God appear to nonbelievers as well as believers? Did Abimelech believe he had received a message from the God of Abraham? Was he a believer in the one true God? 6. What retribution did God promise Abimelech if he did not return Sarah to Abraham? 7. Abimelech told God he had taken Sarah with a. Did God believe this? Do you believe this? Give reasons for your answer. 8. Abimelech confronted Abraham and asked him, Why have you done this? What was Abraham s answer?

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 Was Abraham justified in feeling this way? Explain. 9. What does this incident tell us about Abraham s faith in God to protect Sarah? 10. God told Abimelech that Abraham was his prophet. What does this statement tell us about Abraham? 11. Abimelech gave Abraham a large compensation consisting of

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 12. When Abimelech told Sarah he had given her brother money, was this an acknowledgement that they were brother and sister? 13. God had caused Abimelech s household to become infertile. What does this indicate about the length of time Sarah had lived with the king? 14. What was the irony of this situation?