Genesis 20

Pretending, Prophesying and Praying

It is often tempting to skip over passages of the Bible that are not easily understood, passages which seem to be divorced altogether from their context, and which seem to make little or no contribution to the theology of the narrative. Such a story is given us in Genesis 20, where Abraham, as happens in chapters 12 and 26, seems to deceive people into thinking that Sarah was his sister, rather than his wife.

There are obvious parallels between these narratives, although the parallelism is not exactly the same in each case. Here, Abraham journeys south to Gerar and meets Abimelech the king. We are told that he 'took Sarah', although God himself tells us later that He had not permitted them to have sexual relations (v6). This led to a chain of disasters precipitated by the fact that Abraham claimed Sarah as his sister. As the poet put it, O what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive! So it is here, and we ought to mark the lesson well.

It seems to me that we catch a threefold glimpse of Abraham here.

The Great Pretender

Although sin can never be justified, there is a kind of comfort for God's people to see the behaviour and characteristics of some of the great saints of the Bible. They were not all hero figures who can be emulated at each point. Sometimes they sin, and do so grievously. What sin did in their lives and experience it does in ours, marring our testimony and witness, and compromising our standards and often our behaviour too.

Abraham's motive is his, and perhaps also Sarah's protection. Despite being a man of faith, whose faith is commended to us in the New Testament, the fact that he went to such lengths in order to protect himself shows that at times faith was not the principal motivation. We too may be worried about our situation and circumstances, concerned about the possibilites of an uncertain future. God invites us at times such as these to cast all our care upon him. He is the truth, and since he is, there is no reason for us to feel afraid or to resort to any scheme for our own protection. God will keep his own safe.

Again, we note that Abraham's action had far-reaching consequences both for himself and for the household whose hospitality he was enjoying. Verse 18 tells us that "the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife". Let us never imagine that sin is inconsequential. There are always fruits to disobedience; to use a Puritan expression, we are always 'traders in sin', and we ought to be on our guard against it at every moment.

Abraham's deception is contrasted with Abimelech's integrity (cf. v5). God commends the purity of motive of Abimelech, in contrast to the scheming of Abraham. May our lives be so transparently honest that God will say to us in all our actions "I know you did this in the integrity of your heart"

The Great Prophet

Despite his sin, Abraham is still called the 'prophet' of God (v7). This is the first mention of the designation 'prophet' in the Old Testament. The whole prophetic institution was to be of immense importance, because it was through the prophets, at different times and in different ways, that God spoke to the fathers. The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, and they anticipated the coming of Jesus.

Here, Abraham's prophetic task is explained in terms of his praying for Abimelech, thus restraining the judgement of God. How little we know of the good things God has prepared for those who love him! His grace abounds over Abraham's sin, and the deception is covered by the revelation of a prophetic word from God himself.

So it is still in the Gospel. All that we are, all our sin, and deception, and self-interest - all of these have been dealt with finally and fully in the prophetic word from God that is 'more sure, to which we do well to take heed as a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the day star arises in our hearts' (2 Peter 1:19). In the knowledge that God's word is able to give us life, and hope and peace, we are encouraged to go on believing that He can deal with all that is wrong and all that is amiss in our lives.

The Great Prayer

It was in his role as intercessor that Abraham was introduced by God to Abimelech. Abraham is taken to task, and must confess his fault to his host. Then, having prayed to God, the women of the household were enabled by God to bear children.

We must believe that God is in the business of restoring to us what sin took from us. Forgiveness comes to Abraham, and he is able to enjoy the blessing of God once again. Our hope too is that our prophet, Jesus Christ, is also our interceding High Priest, who ever lives to pray for his own. There is no believer for whom he does not pray, with a concern that is heartfelt and genuine. Satan may desire to test us, but Jesus prays for us that our faith will endure the test and be proved genuine and true.

And how much therefore ought we to pray for one another, and to restore men in spite of their sins in the spirit of meekness, as Paul counselled the church in Galatians 6:1. Love covers a multitude of sins, and it is the most costly exercise we can be engaged in. Yet if we truly know the Spirit of Christ, we will love others with the love that was shown to us in Jesus Christ.