In lesson 67: Abimelech restores Sarah, Abraham journeyed southward and sojourned in Gerar. His faith in the keeping power of God momentarily wavered. God allowed this flaw in the life of His faithful servant to be recorded so as to teach succeeding generations some important lessons.
Our last encounter with Abraham was at Mamre where he stood before the LORD and interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah.
God does not cover up the sins of His saints; rather He purges and delivers them. Besides, He wants us to know that those whose faith shone as the stars also had their dark cloud. Though they were strong, they had moments of weakness too.
But if they overcome, despite their weak moments we shall overcome too. Through the record of Abraham’s deception at Gerar, we also learn the important doctrine of Restitution and the need to avoid actions or reactions that can cause our neighbors to stumble.
Lesson 67: Abimelech Restores Sarah
Abraham’s Deception And Rebuke (Genesis 20:2-6,9-13; 12:10-20)
“And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister: and Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah” (Genesis 20:2)
Here we see Abraham repeating an earlier fault of lying about his true relationship with Sarah (Genesis 12:10-20). Even though he was sent out of Egypt on the previous occasion when he deceived the Egyptians, the instinct of self-preservation seemed to get the better part of him. He forgot that shameful episode too soon and repeated it all over again.
Habits have a stronger impact than knowledge. Unless God, in grace, enables a man to break vicious habits he will continue to sin in spite of his knowledge of good and right.
Truthfully, Sarah was Abraham’s step-sister, but that was only half the truth (Genesis 20:12). She was actually his wife. Ancient culture in Palestine allowed such sister-wife relationships, but such marriage unions were no longer permitted by God’s law (Leviticus 18:6,11).
Whenever the authority of cultural practice conflicts with the authority of the scriptures, a believer must submit to the scriptures. Abraham hid the fact of his marriage to Sarah because of an imaginary fear for his safety.
Half-truth is also a lie because it is deceptive and misleading. A lie can be in the form of what we say or what we refuse to say. If our silence is intended to give a wrong impression other than the absolute truth, it is lying. God hates deception and all forms of falsehood, including the so-called “white lies”. God’s command is very clear.
“Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another” (Leviticus 19:11)”Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). All liars who refuse to repent will spend eternity in the lake of fire
(Revelation 21:8). Abraham’s excuse for his deception was his unfounded fear and presumptuous conclusion that the Gerarites were ungodly and lustful. As a result, he feared that they would kill him and take Sarah. So he came up with the “She is my sister” idea. If only Abraham had continued to trust God for his safety, and if he had not been selfish in considering his own preservation at the expense of Sarah’s welfare he might have escaped the snare of deception.
Abraham’s action opened the way for the manifestation of Abimelech’s lust for beautiful women. He sent and took Sarah. We should be careful lest our actions provide the necessary impetus for the latent sinfulness of others. When Abraham failed, God intervened. He refrained Abimelech from touching Sarah.
God is able to keep men from sin. He always put hedges of one sort or the other to restrain men from sin, but most often the hedges are dug down or jumped over by obstinate sinners. If God withheld Abimelech from sinning, how is it then that some count it an incredible thing for God to keep sanctified believers from sin today?
“Thy word have 1 hid in mine heart, that 1 might not sin against thee”(Psalm 119:11)
Abimelech called Abraham and put him on trial The man whom God had introduced as a prophet and whose intercession had the potency of delivering an estranged nephew from burning Sodom was upbraided by a pagan King. Whenever believers live below their privileged position in Christ, it gives the sinners good ground to uphold the Church.
At such times, like Abraham, we are tongue-tied and can only make poor excuses for our failure to be a blessing Abimelech also reproved Sarah sarcastically, saying “Behold 1 have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other…” (Genesis 20:16)
God’s Demand For Restitution (Genesis 20:1-8, 14-18; Exodus 22:1-7, Leviticus 6:1-7; Luke 19:8,9; Acts 23:1-5; 24:16)
God’s intervention was aimed at revealing Himself to Abimelech and releasing Sarah so that the coming of the promised “Seed of the woman” be not jeoparded. God’s instruction to Abimelech was very clear. The woman he had taken was a man’s wife. Sarah was married to a husband.
As such she could not be Abimelech’s wife. Though Abimelech claimed ignorance, personal integrity, and innocence as an excuse, God commanded him to “restore the man his wife”. Today, ignorance of the past is not a tenable excuse for holding to a possession wrongfully acquired. The word of God is very clear on the precept and practice of restitution.
It is the act of making amends for wrongs done against our fellowmen, restoring stolen or misappropriated things, properties or persons to their rightful owners; paying back just debts, giving back where one has defrauded, making confessions to the offended and apologizing to those slandered so as to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man.
Genuine repentance, must of necessity, be accompanied with the initial evidence of restitution. The penitent and forgiven soul seeks to make right the wrong deeds of the past as evidence of genuine sorrow for doing them. It must be noted that one reason why many newly converted people do not retain the joy and assurance of their salvation, thereby failing to make quick spiritual progress is because they delay or refuse to make restitution of their past deeds.
Several modern-day preachers deny or down-tone the doctrine of restitution. Some claim that it is legalistic and akin to seeking righteousness by works. Others postulate that it was abolished with the law of Moses and as such, not binding on believers under grace. But they err. Restitution as a precept, principle, and practice spans virtually all of God’s dealings with men till the present day.
Before the law, God commanded Abimelech to restore the woman he wrongfully took. Also, Jacob had to settle with Esau whom he had defrauded several years earlier (Genesis 32:9-32; 33:1-4). Passage of time, divine presence, and providence notwithstanding, he had to make peace with his aggrieved brother before he could enjoy the blessing of his new relationship with God. During the period of the Kings and prophets, restitution
was upheld and enforced (2 Samuel 12:1-12; 1 Kings 20:34; Ezra 10:1,19,23,44). Even under the dispensation of grace, restitution formed a part of Christ’s doctrine, which He commanded us to teach all nations (Matthew 5:23,24). Zacchaeus prepared to make restitution (Luke 19:8-10). Apostle Paul made restitution and ensured he had a void of offence towards God and man(Acts 23:1-5).
Some try to use restitution just as a means to ease their conscience of guilty feelings without necessarily turning from their sinfulness. Such are those who make partial and piecemeal confessions of their sins before the Church leadership. Anything short of genuine repentance and full restitution will not attract God’s favor. Even if the church unwittingly restores an unrepentant, pretending backslider, God’s hands are stretched forth still against him. “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22).
Restitution must be done with deep contrition and in obedience to God, not as if we were doing God or the person injured a favor. When scripturally carried out, God clears the guilt and restores full privileges to the penitent. But restitutions, which will harm or implicate others, must be handled with God’s wisdom through counseling from mature, Spirit-filled leaders.
Abimelech’s Diligent Obedience And Recovery (Genesis 20:8,14-18).
“Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men servants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife” (Genesis 20:8,14).
Abimelech promptly obeyed God’s command to restore Sarah. With his servants, they trembled at the word of God even though it was spoken in a dream. What a challenge to us who have “a more sure word of prophecy” to be prompt in obedience to God’s commands. Abimelech used his free will to obey God. When God told him to restore Sarah, God added “and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die thou, and all that are thine” (verse7).
In saying this, God showed that He does not violate man’s free will. The responsibility to obey or disobey rested on Abimelech, and indeed all men. Obedience will attract blessings while the wages of disobedience will be death. As the story closes, we see Abraham’s prophetic intercession for Abimelech.
“So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bear children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife” (Genesis 20:17,18).
Conclusion
Willingness to pray for those who defraud or persecute us is a mark of Christ-likeness. By healing Abimelech in response to Abraham’s intercession God maintained the honor of His servant, lest Abimelech and his people belittle him because of the unsavory event that took place. Abimelech recovered.
All his women were delivered from barrenness, which came upon them because of sin. Many times recovery is withheld and misery prolonged because of refusal to make necessary restitution. Therefore let all those who seek divine intervention in their problems check their lives and settle any outstanding restitution.
Question 1: Mention two important lessons you learned from the record of Abraham’s deception at Gerar.
Question 2a: What was Abraham’s excuse for lying about his relationship with Sarah? Question 2b: State some excuses that people make today to justify their lying.
Question 3: What lesson do we learn in God’s restraint of Abimelech from defiling Sarah?
Question 4: Why did God intervene to deliver Sarah from Abimelech’s hands?
