Reflections on Genesis 20

Genesis 20 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Abraham moved to the Southern Desert, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. Later he went to Gerar, and while there
   
2. he told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
   
3. But God came to Abimelech in a dream and said, "You have taken a married woman, and for this you will die!"
   
4. Abimelech said to the Lord, "Don't kill me! I haven't slept with Sarah. Didn't they say they were brother and sister? I am completely innocent."
   
5. (SEE 20:4)
   
6. God spoke to Abimelech in another dream and said: I know you are innocent. That's why I kept you from sleeping with Sarah and doing anything wrong.
   
7. Her husband is a prophet. Let her go back to him, and his prayers will save you from death. But if you don't return her, you and all your people will die.
   
8. Early the next morning Abimelech sent for his officials, and when he told them what had happened, they were frightened.
   
9. Abimelech then called in Abraham and said: Look what you've done to us! What have I ever done to you? Why did you make me and my nation guilty of such a terrible sin?
   
10. What were you thinking when you did this?
    
11. Abraham answered: I did it because I didn't think any of you respected God, and I was sure that someone would kill me to get my wife.
    
12. Besides, she is my half sister. We have the same father, but different mothers.
    
13. When God made us leave my father's home and start wandering, I told her, "If you really love me, you will tell everyone that I am your brother."
    
14. Abimelech gave Abraham some sheep, cattle, and slaves. He sent Sarah back
    
15. and told Abraham that he could settle anywhere in his country.
    
16. Then he said to Sarah, "I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to everyone that you have done nothing wrong."
    
17. Meanwhile, God had kept Abimelech's wife and slaves from having children. But Abraham prayed, and God let them start having children again.
    
18. (SEE 20:17)
    
    

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    Following the destruction of Sodom and the cities of the plain, Abraham moved to Gerar. The reason for this move is not given. But in Gerar Abraham did a repeat of what he did in Egypt, passing Sarah off as his sister, which was a half-truth. Yes, she was his half-sister, but he failed to mention that she was also his wife. Despite this blunder, though, God protected him and Sarah as well as His promise. Though we might wish to expect more of those God chooses for special purposes, they are no less human than are we. They also are prone to sin and to misjudgement, but God uses them just the same as He does with us if we will allow Him to. So we see in this incident God's willingness to show mercy toward us and use us for His special purposes even when we sin. Despite this lapse in Abraham's faith and judgment, he remained faithful to God's purpose in him and continued to seek God.
    
    Because of Abraham's deception, Abimelech the king of Gerar took Sarah into his harem. Before he was intimate with her, though, God came to him in a dream saying, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman." (20:3) The king was innocent in this situation and so God was not rebuking him but was actually protecting him by letting him know what would happen to him if he did not return her to her husband. Though God mentioned to Abimelech the threat of death if he did not return her, He did not tell him that He had already closed the wombs of all the women in his household so they could not have children. At least the scripture passage does not mention it if He did.
    
    Though God did not rebuke Abimelech, Abimelech rebuked Abraham saying, "What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom?" (20:9) Nevertheless, Abimelech gave Abraham sheep, cattle, and slaves, along with 1,000 pieces of silver, and returned Sarah to him. In return, Abraham prayed for Abimelect and God healed the women of his household so they could again have children. In addition, he allowed Abraham to pick his choice of land in Gerar and settle on it. Again, despite Abraham's blundering, God used the situation to add to his wealth.
    
    Besides protecting Abraham and Sarah in this situation, God was protecting Sarah's purity and His promise to them of descendants. Had Abimelech been intimate with Sarah before returning her to Abraham, she would no longer have been pure and a child she might have had within the next year, as God promised, would have had questionable parentage. The promise would have been threatened.