Abraham Is Restless (Read Chapter 20:1-18)

After all their experiences in Hebron Abraham decides it is time for a change. He and his family pull up the tent pegs, load up the camels, round up the flocks, and move on. After travelling for several days they arrive in Gerar about seventy kms away. “Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar.” (vs. 1).    

 Our guide books tell us some interesting things about the city of Gerar.

During the Patriarchal Age the Philistine centre was at Gerar, in the foothills of the Judean mountains south of Gaza … The site of Gerar has been identified with Tell Jemmeh, about eight miles south of Gaza … More recently however, Y. Aharoni has argued that Gerar should be located at Tell Abu Hureira, a mound about eleven miles south east of Gaza … An Israeli archaeologist, D. Alon, made a survey of tell Abu Hureira and found evidence from potsherds that the city had enjoyed a period of prosperity during the Middle Bronze Age, the period of the Biblical patriarchs.[1]

   The question arises as to why Abraham wanted to move at this time. It may, as Griffith Thomas[2] suggests, have been in order to search for new pastures because of the increasing size of his flocks, or simply his desire to further his calling to occupy the land, or as some think, it may have been prompted by the desire to move away from some of the painful memories associated with his stay in Hebron. There is also the possibility that he may have been influenced to move there after hearing of the prosperity the city was enjoying.

   It was not long before the old fears regarding his personal safety surfaced once more in this new location. Once again he resorts to the strategy he had adopted several years ago in Egypt, with the same distressing outcome for his wife. “Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace.” (vs. 2).

   It is now that we discover more about the nature of Abraham’s strategy … 

-    A change of location does not solve our problems. We take them with us. If a sinful habit is the problem it will follow us all the way to the new locality.

-    Abraham’s plan to protect himself was really the sin of deception. By itself the statement that Sarah was his sister was at best a half truth. It was designed to deceive however because he withheld some of the facts. As Abraham later admits, after the truth is revealed to Abimelech. “ ‘Well,’ Abraham said, ‘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.’ ” (vs. 11-12).

-    It was a planned deception. It was a strategy devised by Abraham way back at the time God called him to, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation.” (Genesis 12:1-2). Abraham reveals the longstanding nature of the plan as he continues his explanation to Abimelech. “When God called 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. 13).

-    It was a plan that reveals how shallow is Abraham’s faith at this time. He is not trusting the Lord for his protection. Instead, he comes up with his own devious plan. Perhaps if he had possessed more of the Scriptures at this time he may not have thought like he did, assurances from the Lord such as this one. “I will make my people strong with power from me. They will go wherever they wish and wherever they go they will be under my personal care.” (Zechariah 10:12 LB). But no, Abraham knows nothing of this and tells his wife, “Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.” (vs. 13)

-    Abraham’s plan also reveals something of his inner turmoil. He has responded to God’s call. He may appear to be confident but inwardly he is struggling with fear. It is that which has given rise to his sin of deception.

-    His strategy shows little regard for his wife’s welfare. He does not appear to be concerned about the distress his plan will cause her as she is taken off to become part of the king’s harem. He is only thinking of himself.

-    It is also a reminder to all God’s people that the possibility of sinning is always there. The old sinful nature remains. Its desires live on. It is capable of producing the same sins after conversion as before. Drawing on one of Paul’s letters, Griffith Thomas[3] makes this observation, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the law, not of eradication, but of counteraction.” Paul’s letter, circulated among the churches in Galatia, has this timeless advice for Christians.

        So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just the opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit you are no longer subject to the law.
   When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that kind of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
   But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
   Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.” (Galatians 5:16-26)

   From this incident in the life of Abraham we also learn more about the grace of God, for he is a gracious God. As David testifies. “How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. Who can forget the wonders he performs? How gracious and merciful is our LORD.” (Psalm 111:2-4).

   The grace of God is so clearly revealed in the way he dealt with Abraham at this time.

-    Abraham’s sin is exposed. “But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, ‘You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married.’ ” (vs. 3).

-    The innocent are protected from anything that may result from Abraham and Sarah’s deceit. “But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, ‘LORD, will you kill an innocent man?’ … ‘Yes, I know you are innocent,’ God replied. ‘That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her.’ ” (vs. 6).

-    Abraham is confronted by the truth. “Then Abimelech called for Abraham. ‘What is this you have done to us?’ ” he demanded. (vs. 9). He admits to what he has done. (vs. 11-13).

-    He receives more than he deserves. Abimelech invites him to settle anywhere he likes and gives him a thousand pieces of silver “to compensate for any embarrassment I have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter.” (vs. 16).

-    The consequences of Abraham and Sarah’s deceit are reversed as “God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children.” (vs. 17).

   How amazing the grace of God—“the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:6-8). Aiden Tozer[4] helps us to understand something of the rich meanings locked away in the term grace. Tozer writes ... 

   It is by His grace that God imputes merit where none previously existed and declares no debt to be where one had been before.

   Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving. It is a self existent principle inherent in the divine nature and appears to us as a self-caused propensity to pity the wretched, spare the guilty, welcome the outcast, and bring into favour those who were before under just disapprobation. It’s use to us sinful men is to save us and make us sit together in heavenly places to demonstrate to the ages the exceeding riches of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

   We benefit eternally by God’s being just what He is. Because He is what He is, He lifts up our heads out of the prison house, changes our prison garments for royal robes, and makes us eat bread continually before Him all the days of our lives.

And it was because of God’s grace that Abraham and Sarah were …

Blessed Beyond All Expectation. (Read Chapter 21:1-7, 22-34) 

Following that experience of doubt and confusion Abraham and Sarah are blessed with the gift of a son. “It all happened at the time God said it would.” (vs. 2). They name him Isaac. “And Sarah declared, ‘God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!’ ” (vs. 6-7). The laughter in disbelief (18:12) has turned to the laughter of happiness in the Lord.

   An agreement is then reached with Abimelech as Abraham and his household settle in the place that came to be known as Beersheba, about forty kms south east of Gerar. “After making their covenant, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshipped the LORD, the Eternal God, at that place. And Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.” (vs. 32-34).

   Once more they enjoy the presence of the Lord in their lives. His blessings overflow. Just as David wrote many years later. “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” (Psalm 23:5). They no longer need to resort to the sin of deception. Instead they have learned to look to the Lord for his protection. The water supply from the wells is assured to them. Abraham’s faith has deepened but, as we will learn in Lesson 8, he is about to face his most difficult test yet. A thread running through the life of Abraham keeps appearing—a time of great blessing is followed by a time of testing, a mountain top experience followed by a walk through the valley, the revealing of a new truth by the call to put it into practice.

 
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