Friday, October 14, 2005
Genesis 20
Genesis 20
“Even Good Christians Blow It!”
I know that technically Abraham wasn’t a Christian, but he is the patriarch of our Christian faith. He was a man of faith and covenant, and he lived for God. Today, in our modern day vernacular, we would call him a believer. So for today, in this chapter of Genesis, we will consider Abraham equal to what we would call a “Christian” today.
What had Abraham just seen? God had just destroyed an large rebellious population of people, but God had also just answered Abraham’s prayers by saving Lot. Our patriarch has just experience God’s grace and mercy, as well as His holiness and judgment. Some time after this had happened, God calls him to move on to a new area. Remember, God has promised Abraham all the surrounding land to be his and his descendents, and that he will have descendents! Abraham and Sarah have no children at all yet.
Vs. 1-2 “Sarah’s Beauty, is Abraham’s Fear”
Abraham and Sarah go into the Negev area, and when they get there they lie about who Sarah is. Abraham and Sarah say that they are brother and sister, because they think that with how beautiful Sarah is, the people will kill Abraham to keep Sarah. BUT!!! If Abraham says that she is his sister, they will give gifts to him and desire to buy her from him for the king.
Vs. 3-7 “Abimelech Talks to God”
God shows up in a dream to the King who now has Sarah in his “possession”. God tells the king that he will die for being with a married woman. Abimelech responds, with, “He lied, I am innocent, I haven’t even slept with her”. So, God commands him to return Sarah to Abraham.
Vs. 8-16 “Sarah is Returned”
So Abimelech takes Sarah back to Abraham, and of course, wants an explanation. He tells Abraham, “you have done things to me that shouldn’t be done”. And, he is right. Abraham should not have done it. When Abraham is asked his reasoning, he explains that, basically, he was afraid of what might happen, and technically, she is a sister (born to one parent of Abraham’s, not the other – a half sister). So, Abimelech and Abraham settle with an agreement that there will be safety in all the land, and Abraham and Sarah can go wherever they please.
Vs. 17-18 “Abraham prays for Abimelech”
Since all has been made right, God tells Abraham to pray for Abimelech’s household, so that God may heal them. Interesting that God chose to use Abraham as a part of the healing prayer, even though it was his sin that caused the whole mess.
“Abraham the Example”
It is comforting to see such a man of faith struggle in his own walk with God as Abraham does. We see here that even the great Abraham, who is mentioned hundreds of times in the bible as a man of faith, fell flat on his face sometimes. It teaches us that even good Christians make mistakes, and that God doesn’t give up on us when we do. In fact, God continues to use us in a way to bless others, even when we cause some of the problems.
God doesn’t use good people to do things for Him, he uses normal people, because He is a Good God.
“Even Good Christians Blow It!”
I know that technically Abraham wasn’t a Christian, but he is the patriarch of our Christian faith. He was a man of faith and covenant, and he lived for God. Today, in our modern day vernacular, we would call him a believer. So for today, in this chapter of Genesis, we will consider Abraham equal to what we would call a “Christian” today.
What had Abraham just seen? God had just destroyed an large rebellious population of people, but God had also just answered Abraham’s prayers by saving Lot. Our patriarch has just experience God’s grace and mercy, as well as His holiness and judgment. Some time after this had happened, God calls him to move on to a new area. Remember, God has promised Abraham all the surrounding land to be his and his descendents, and that he will have descendents! Abraham and Sarah have no children at all yet.
Vs. 1-2 “Sarah’s Beauty, is Abraham’s Fear”
Abraham and Sarah go into the Negev area, and when they get there they lie about who Sarah is. Abraham and Sarah say that they are brother and sister, because they think that with how beautiful Sarah is, the people will kill Abraham to keep Sarah. BUT!!! If Abraham says that she is his sister, they will give gifts to him and desire to buy her from him for the king.
Vs. 3-7 “Abimelech Talks to God”
God shows up in a dream to the King who now has Sarah in his “possession”. God tells the king that he will die for being with a married woman. Abimelech responds, with, “He lied, I am innocent, I haven’t even slept with her”. So, God commands him to return Sarah to Abraham.
Vs. 8-16 “Sarah is Returned”
So Abimelech takes Sarah back to Abraham, and of course, wants an explanation. He tells Abraham, “you have done things to me that shouldn’t be done”. And, he is right. Abraham should not have done it. When Abraham is asked his reasoning, he explains that, basically, he was afraid of what might happen, and technically, she is a sister (born to one parent of Abraham’s, not the other – a half sister). So, Abimelech and Abraham settle with an agreement that there will be safety in all the land, and Abraham and Sarah can go wherever they please.
Vs. 17-18 “Abraham prays for Abimelech”
Since all has been made right, God tells Abraham to pray for Abimelech’s household, so that God may heal them. Interesting that God chose to use Abraham as a part of the healing prayer, even though it was his sin that caused the whole mess.
“Abraham the Example”
It is comforting to see such a man of faith struggle in his own walk with God as Abraham does. We see here that even the great Abraham, who is mentioned hundreds of times in the bible as a man of faith, fell flat on his face sometimes. It teaches us that even good Christians make mistakes, and that God doesn’t give up on us when we do. In fact, God continues to use us in a way to bless others, even when we cause some of the problems.
God doesn’t use good people to do things for Him, he uses normal people, because He is a Good God.
