Studies

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Studies in Genesis
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Oh No Not Again! Gen 20v1-18
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Introduction
Failure overwhelms many on the Christian
pilgrimage. We can become discouraged and
conclude that, We have no place in Gods
future. A conclusion that a study in the life of
Abraham might reinforce if the biblical record
spoke only of a life of unchecked progress.
Instead, we find that Abrahams life is
punctuated with failure. There is at times a
Snakes and Ladder quality about his spiritual
progress. There are chapters in his life that
might be entitled, The Pilgrims Regress and
we deal with such a chapter now.
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Abrahams Failure
What caused Abraham to again move away from the
land of promise where God had placed him and
travel towards the Negev? As he looked down on
the destroyed cities of the plain did he think
that his intercession for them had been in vain?
Was he disappointed that Lot had not returned to
a place of faith? God does not always meet our
expectations. We battle and struggle in prayer
and expect a particular answer because we are
sure that God has heard our cries. But if the
answer is not, what we expected we can spiral
into depression and unbelief.
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Abrahams Failure
Elijah is the classic example of this. After the
contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel,
God answered by fire. Elijah was vindicated and
his opponents discredited. Elijah expected not
just the rain to fall but a spiritual revival to
flood the nation. And when the latter didnt
happen he deserted his post, ran off into the
wilderness and asked God to take his life, 1Kings
19.4. Was Abraham also leaving his post because
things had not worked out as he expected?
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Abrahams Failure
Another explanation for Abrahams journey is that
it was in response to a panic attack. The God he
worshiped was responsible for the destruction of
Sodom. What was to prevent his neighbours from
gathering an army to exact their revenge on him?
After all he was Gods man! But could God not
keep him safe? There is an irrational quality
associated with unbelief. And as Abraham
journeyed towards Gerar, he was moving from a
position of faith to one of unbelief. His
confidence in God diminished and once again he
began to introduce Sarah as his sister.
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Abrahams Failure
A see-saw principle operates in the spiritual
realm. When our view of God is high, our view of
ourselves is low - we see ourselves as weak, and
sinful. When our view of God is low so that we no
longer see him as loving, powerful and in control
of the universe, then our view of ourselves
rises. We become confident in our own ability to
handle difficulty. When Abraham failed to trust
God, confidence in his own ingenuity soared. He
believed that by introducing Sarah as his sister,
he would be free from danger. He did the same
thing 20 years previously when he first travelled
down to Egypt! Then the plan had failed
miserably. Clearly, Abraham hadnt learned from
the past.
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Abrahams Failure
We learn from v13 that the origin of this deceit
goes back to the time he set out from Ur. When
Pharaoh had previously taken Abraham to task for
his deceit, this agreement to misrepresent his
relationship with Sarah had not been discarded.
How many Christians have made compromises in
their early years? Perhaps a decision to bend
the commands of God in a particular way. And
after years of discipleship and without any
warning, that early compromise suddenly springs
up introducing all sorts of complications. What
is the solution? Their foolish decision needs to
be brought out into the open, confessed and
forsaken and Gods forgiveness and deliverance
sought. Something Abraham had failed to do.
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Abrahams Failure
Abrahams behaviour not only put his wife in
danger but it could have imperilled the work of
God. Remember that within a year the child of
promise was to be born. The one in whom Israels
future blessing and that of the entire world was
to rest. What chance did Abraham have of
becoming a father with Sarah locked a way in the
royal harem? And if a child had been conceived
just before they entered Egypt, Abraham would
have no way of knowing if this child was indeed
his! No DNA tests were available then! Do you
see how the whole plan of God had been
imperilled?
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The Grace of God
However, the two most significant words in this
passage are found in v3 But God. Indeed, these
words regularly appear in scripture and usually
address situations, which from a human
perspective are completely and utterly hopeless.
But with God there is always hope and we see
Gods hand at work both in preserving Abraham and
Sarah for future service and in dealing
graciously with a heathen king. It was to the
heathen king that God spoke. God made it clear
that it was he, who had prevented Abimelech from
being embroiled in a sinful Relationship by
making the king unwell and thus preventing him
from visiting Sarah in the royal harem.
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The Grace of God
I wonder how many of us can look back and see the
restraining hand of Gods grace keeping us from
situations that could have shipwrecked our lives
and impeded the fruitfulness of our Christian
service? I think we might be surprised to
discover just how often God has stepped into
potentially disastrous situations in our lives
both before and after we came to faith.
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The Grace of God
Why was God so gracious towards an inconsistent
Abraham? Scripture tells us that Gods gifts and
callings are without repentance. When Abraham was
called to play a prominent role in Gods work it
was not because he deserved it or stood head and
shoulders above everyone else as far
righteousness was concerned. He was the product
of Gods grace. The people with whom God works
are not of themselves intrinsically better than
others. What men and women of faith become, they
become in spite of their natural selves. Indeed,
God delights in doing the extraordinary through
the ordinary.
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The Grace of God
What does Paul says to the Corinthian
church. Brothers, think of what you were when
you were called. Not many of you were wise by
human standards not many were influential not
many were of noble birth. But God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the wise
God chose the weak things of the world to shame
the strong. He chose the lowly things of this
world and the despised things-and the things that
are not-to nullify the things that are, so that
no-one may boast before him. 1Cor 1.27
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The Grace of God
But Abraham was not just a nobody from a distant
land. He was now viewed as a deceitful nobody who
impugned the integrity of the king v11. Abimelech
may have thought Abraham to be a cowardly,
two-faced hypocrite but this is not how God spoke
of him to Abimelech. God describes him as a
prophet and an intercessor v7. He was a man set
apart by God for a purpose! God was not
indifferent to Abrahams sin it would be dealt
with at a later date. The thing to note is that
Abrahams sin did not change Gods view of
Abraham.
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The Grace of God
In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.11ff,
you will remember that the attitude and behaviour
of the prodigal grieved the father. And the
penitent son upon his return felt the best he
could hope for was a servant role in the
kitchen. The thing that he found mind-blowing was
not simply his fathers forgiveness but
discovering that despite his sin and rebellion he
was still viewed and treated as a much loved
son!
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The Grace of God
Abimelech took sheep and cattle, male and female
slaves and gave them to Abrahamv14. Was he
heaping coals of fire on Abrahams head Rom.
1220 by behaving in such a generous fashion?
Abraham should have been giving gifts to
Abimelech, because he was in the wrong! Abraham
accepts these gifts, but had previously refused
gifts of the king of Sodom cf. Gen.1421-24. Why?
Here, because of Abrahams deceit, he finds it
hard to reclaim the same high moral ground and to
cause offence by refusing to accept the
gift. Abimelech makes clear his reason for the
gift was to vindicate Sarah lit. she was found
to be right a reference to her humble submission
in this mess!
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The Grace of God
I am sure Abraham felt a deep sense of shame as
he is taken to task by the heathen king for his
deceit. What kind of way is that for a man of
God to behave? I am sure he experienced relief,
when he discovered that the kings illness had
kept him from Sarah. He may have experienced
surprise, when he prayed for Abimelechs recovery
and God heard and answered his prayer! But surely
Abraham stood in awe of Gods grace on
discovering God did not berate him for his sin.
He did not rub salt in the wound of this broken
penitent man. Can God really say, We will
forget all about this and not raise the matter
again? Yes! such is his grace towards his
penitent children.
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Conclusion
Is it not incredible to think that even when we
doubt Gods ability to care for us that he
continues to care. When we fall into sin and he
picks us up and sets before us the grace of
forgiveness. There is no greater incentive to
keep us from sinning than this experience of
Gods grace. You may be thinking that your
situation is hopeless, that past failure has
disqualified you from future service. Perhaps you
feel like throwing in the towel and bringing
your spiritual pilgrimage to a halt. Look up to
see two words written above your life - but
God. God is bigger than our sin for where sin
increased, grace increased all the more Rom
5.20. God is bigger than our failure. He wants to
bless us despite the past!
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