Protected Anyway

Protected Anyway

Genesis 26: ⁶ So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. ⁷ And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” ⁸ Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, ^[a]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

 

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

 

¹⁰ And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” ¹¹ So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

 

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Abimelech was older. He had the same conversation with Abraham about men lurking around his wife. Now Isaac was having the same problem. The men or Gerar wanted to take Rebekah. Traditionally they would kill the husband but leave the brother alive. I

 

My Observations:

• Isaac lied about Rebekah being his sister because he was afraid.
• Abimelech saw Isaac showing affection to Rebekah that was not like a brother.
• Abimelech saw through the lie and protected Rebekah despite the deception.

 

Isaac was put in a difficult spot. He wanted to find a solution to the famine so he went to the king. He was told not to go to Egypt, but Gerar was just as bad. He lied about his relationship to Rebekah, probably to keep her and him alive. Whatever the case, it was a lie.

 

Abimelech knew Isaac was related to Abraham. He may have remembered what happened when Sarah showed up. All the women became barren. He did not want something like that to happen again. He ordered every man to stay away from Rebekah. They were protected anyway.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD explain this lie to Moses?
• Have you ever lied out of fear or insecurity?
• Can you begin your day with praising GOD for forgiving you of all your sins?

Trying to Pay for Wrong

Trying to Pay for Wrong

Genesis 20: ¹⁴ Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” ¹⁶ Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.

 

¹⁷ So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; ¹⁸ for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

 

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Havilah was a place that had gold and precious or rare stones on it. Adam and Eve could visit this place to see something different, but they may have thought nothing more than “wow, this is beautiful.” But when Satan caused them to fall, humans were taken out of the Garden of Eden. When the flood happened, the Garden was washed away. But precious stones remained and were scattered all over the earth.

 

People may have searched for these unique stones and metals because of their rarity. Abimelech had silver, a slightly more common metal, and he offered it to Abraham as a way of trade. He knew he had done something wrong, so he gave animals, people and silver.

 

My Observations:

• Silver was mentioned for the second time here, where the first mention was with Abraham.
• Currency seemed to have gotten started and trading people, animals and precious stones had become the norm.
• Abimelech thought he could pay for his wrong through his vast supply of people, animals, land, and precious stones.

 

Sarah remained untouched, but may have been in captivity for over a year. Living in the king’s house, she may have been treated well, but was not with Abraham. During that time, no woman in Gerar could have a child because of Sarah. GOD made all the women barren.  Abraham may have regularly tried to convince Abimelech to let Sarah go, but he may have refused.

 

But after a while he begged Abraham to take Sarah back. He paid, what he thought was, a heavy price for her to Abraham. A thousand pieces of silver for Sarah and only thirty was offered for JESUS.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about the conversation between Abimelech and Sarah?
• Have you ever done something wrong and thought you could pay GOD off by giving to a church or by sinning less?
• Have you considered that GOD owns everything you own and JESUS paid for your sins with HIS life?

Not Acting Like It

Not Acting Like It

Genesis 20: ⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. ⁹ And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

 

¹¹ And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. ¹² But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

 

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After his encounter with GOD, Abimelech got up “early” in the morning, bringing “all” his servants with him to talk with the men. A town hall meeting was brought together to hear what GOD said to Abimelech. When everyone heard what was said, they became afraid. Abimelech was young and the king.

 

My Observations:

• Abimelech heard from GOD that Abraham was a prophet and Sarah was protected by HIM.
• Abraham had not lied, in Egypt or in Gerar when he said Sarah was his sister.
• Abraham feared, by the actions of the people, that Sarah would be taken

 

It seemed that women were more desirable if they were married to someone. Kings would take the best for themselves and his henchmen would take the rest. This city seemed to be doing the same. They did not seem to fear GOD in any way.

 

Abraham finally came out with the truth about Sarah. Her father was Terah, Abraham’s father. But she had a different mother. He feared being killed because the men of that city acted like they would commit murder to take the wife, permanently. GOD intervened to protect Sarah.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think Abraham tells the truth about Sarah to Abimelech and not to the Pharoah of Egypt?
• Have you ever gone through so much that you realized the truth is the best way?
• Are you acting like you belong to CHRIST who is all knowing and all powerful?