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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday November 4, 2018
ABRAHAM
DECEIVES ABIMELECH
Genesis 20
In Genesis 20, some time after the destruction of the five cities
of the plains (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela), Abraham moved his
family south toward the Negev, and they re-settled in the area between Kadesh
and Shur known as Gerar, where a man called “Abimelech” was king. This was the
land of a small group of “sea people” from the island of Crete located in the Mediterranean
Sea, known as the Philistines.
Whenever Abraham and Sarah entered into a
pagan nation (a place that didn’t fear GOD), for fear of Abraham’s life, they
would tell the inhabitants of that land that they were sister and brother,
which was a “lie”. In fact, nowhere in Scripture, except in Abraham’s lie, does
it state that Terah, Abraham’s father, had any other children except Abraham,
Nahor, and Haran (no daughters). In Genesis 11:31 Sarai is called Terah’s
daughter-in-law, because of her marriage to his son. She is never referred to
as his daughter.
Here in chapter 20 of Genesis, Abraham and
Sarah employ the same deceitful strategy that they used against the Egyptian
Pharaoh in Genesis chapter 12, because, at this point, they apparently continued
to fear man more than GOD, in their actions and behavior. When we trust GOD
like we say we do, GOD expects us to also show it in our actions, behavior, and
decision-making.
It is very possible that the name
“Abimelech” is a “hereditary title”, rather than a personal name, and it means
“My father is king”. Here in chapter 20 of Genesis, after Abraham had spread
the rumor that he and Sarah were siblings, the Abimelech quickly sent for
Abraham’s beautiful wife and placed her in his harem at his palace, and began
to make preparations to marry her.
However, one night GOD visited the Abimelech
in a dream and warned him that he was a dead man if he didn’t return Sarah to
her husband. Fortunately for him, he had not yet slept with Sarah and thereby
he pleaded with GOD not to kill him, because, what he had planned (to marry an
already married woman) was not with malicious intent. He, in fact, had been
deceived into believing that Sarah was only Abraham’s sister, not his wife
(Vs.3-5).
In verse 6 GOD tells Abimelech that HE
knows of his innocence in this matter, and that is why HE kept him from sinning
against HIM by sleeping with Sarah. GOD, apparently through divine
interference, had kept Abimelech from the sin of adultery. HE then instructed
Abimelech to return Sarah to HIS “prophet” (the first use of this word in
Scripture), her husband, Abraham, and HE would not kill him (Abimelech) and his
family (Vs.6-7).
Abimelech arose early the next morning and
hastily called his servants together and told them about what Abraham and Sarah
had done to him. He then called for Abraham and rebuked him for his undeserved trickery
and deceit towards him and his household. Abraham responded, confessing his
fear, telling the king that:
“I figured this to be a GODless place. I
thought, they will want my wife and will kill me to get her. Besides, she is my
sister---we both have the same father, though different mothers--and I married
her. When GOD sent me to travel far from my father’s home, I told her, wherever
we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister” (Vs.11-13).
At that point Abimelech took sheep, oxen,
and male and female servants, and gave them as a gift to Abraham, and he also
returned Sarah to him. In addition, Abimelech told Abraham to look around his
kingdom and choose a place where he might like to live.
In verse 16 he turns and apologizes to
Sarah and states, with a bit of sarcasm, that, “I am giving your “brother” a
thousand pieces of silver to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused
you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter”.
Abraham then prayed to GOD to show mercy on
Abimelech and his family, that they would be healed from the “curse of
infertility” that GOD had placed upon them so that they could not have children
unless Abimelech, first, obeyed HIS command. That is why Abimelech acted
swiftly to resolve this situation. GOD had stricken his whole household to ascertain
that he would take HIS command seriously.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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