Thursday Night Bible Study

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Genesis 20, 21 

"Again!?" • 3.25.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- Chapter 20 begins simultaneously with Sodom's demise. Abraham is watching the smoke rise on a city, that by it's wickedness, has invited the wrath of God.

- Abraham continues to wait on the promise of his child through Sarah. He's about 100 years old and has been waiting over 2 decades.

- This child is not just any child. He is the promise of blessing, the promise of God's continuing plan of victory over the serpent. He is the child through which the Messiah, Jesus, would come.

- One would think that you'd live a life that protected that promise and insulated that promise.

- Instead, Abraham lives dangerously close to the edge. As we go, I think we'll find a lot to relate to in his life.

Text

• Genesis 20:1,2 : "And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister.' And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah." Abraham's reasons for travel are not given to us. It would be plausible to assume that this was a business trip of some sort, especially given the circumstances of Sodom's destruction.

- For Abraham, every trip south though, is not just a physical deviation, but a spiritual one as well. Every time he goes south, his faith goes south as well!

- This situation sounds so familiar because we heard this before. It's biblical deja vu! In chapter 12, Abraham faced a famine and went down to Egypt.

- In chapter 12, you could at least understand the reasoning. Here, there wasn't a pressing reason. It was seemingly a needless journey.

- Here again, Abraham said to Sarah, "pull the old 'he's my brother'" routine!

- The Abimelech sent and took the 90 year old version of Sarah. What an attractive woman!? It's more likely that Abimelech wanted to attach himself to Abraham.

• Genesis 20:3-7 : "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, 'Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.' But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, 'Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.' And God said to him in a dream, 'Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.'" : This is an interesting exchange. Abraham had provided the occasion, and now God has revealed the offense.

- Notice that God deals first with Abimelech, coming to him in a dream. Abimelech was the king of Gerar, which was an ancient Philistine city.

- The designation "Abimelech" was akin to Egypt's Pharoah designation. The Pharoah was godless, so also was Abimelech. But God comes and appears to him.

- God tells him directly that He was a dead man. Abimelech had unknowingly sinned.

- He had followed the protocol of the ancient world and had not done anything "wrong" by the standards of that ancient world. This is why he says, "Will you slay a righteous nation also!?"

- By righteous, Abimelech is not talking about having a right standing with God, but righteous in terms of correct actions.

- Abimelech knew that God had brought judgement upon Sodom. Here, he knows that compared to them, his nation was blameless.

- God sided with him. He had seen what took place and had also kept him from sinning against him. Now, He gives him the chance to make things right.

• Genesis 20:8-10 : "So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, 'What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.' Then Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?'" : Early the next morning, Abimelech goes straight to business. He has received the warning of God and he is not going to postpone what must take place.

- When God tells you that you're a dead man, it tends to promote quick action!

- He brought in his servants and let them all know what was at stake. After letting them know, he brought in Abraham.

- Imagine the embarassment of this moment! Abraham does not know what took place in the night and how he had been outed by the Lord. These words must have cut deeply.

- "How have I offended you." "What did you have in view?" What were you thinking Abraham?

- Consider this a good warning. Do you ever want to stand before unbelievers and give an account for why you have betrated your faith? Abraham was about to.

• Genesis 20:11-13 : "And Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, 'He is my brother.'" : Abimelech gets the answer from Abraham and it's seriously lacking in what we would expect from such a faithful follower of God.

- Here is a 100 year old believer in God. He has experienced the presence of God. He has been the recipient of His promises. Yet, it's the same sin that he gave into years earlier!

- Notice the digression, and we'll start at the beginning. First problem is that he needlessly wandered into a position where he could be compromised.

- Don't put yourself in a position to fail! If you have a problem with alcohol, it's not a good idea to use the restroom in a bar!

- If you cannot control yourself around the opposite sex, don't be alone with them!

- If you can't just eat one donut, don't hang out at Krispy Kreme!

- Now, as Abraham explains himself, you can see that fear still dominates Abraham's life. He figured that he was unsafe because of the lack of other faithful followers of God.

- He believed that he would be killed because of Sarah. This is how he justifies his actions.

- Isn't this just like us? No matter how many miraculous visitations that we have, no matter how many confirmations we receive, we are still given to fear!

- Fear that He won't be true. Fear that it won't work out if we trust Him!

- Abraham has been circumcised. He has seen God barbecue the animals. He has heard the Lord verbally promise a son. He has given His word that He will be a shield and a reward.

- After all of that, Abraham falls prey to his own fear. His fear of men overwhelmed his fear of the Lord, which will trap us each and every time! Your fears will do the same thing!

- The second point you'll note is that Abraham has built his defense on a half truth.

- The truth was that Sarah was a half sister of Abraham!

- The truth regarding their relationship, however, was that in every way, they acted as man and wife. His half lie was a whole deception!

- Sadly, you'll note that this was not an isolated incident. This was a habitual sinful practice that Abraham adopted wherever he and Sarah went.

- What does one say say to this? Abraham sinned in fear and Sarah sinned in her willingness to go along! Here, they admit their rouse to this Philistine King Abimelech.

• Genesis 20:14-18 : "Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, 'See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.' Then to Sarah he said, 'Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.' Thus she was rebuked. So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife." : Abimelech's response was interesting in giving such a great amount to Abraham. It's likely that this was his response to God's vision.

- His parting words to Sarah though, showed that the feelings ran deep.

- The phrase "Behold I have given your BROTHER a thousand pieces of silver" is really painful. She was rebuked by this action. Seems kind of confusing here. The NLT renders it this way:

• Genesis 20:16 (NLT) : "Then he turned to Sarah. 'Look,' he said, 'I am giving your `brother' a thousand pieces of silver to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter.'"

- After Abraham prayed for them, the Lord brought healing to them, as their wombs had been closed up during Sarah's stay in Abimelech's house. It's likely that at least two months had passed.

- During that time there was no pregnancy. After Abraham prayed, the wombs were opened.

- Our sinful nature can and will always rear it's ugly head, no matter how old, mature and wise we become in the Lord.

• Genesis 21:1-7 : "And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.' She also said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.'" : I want us to consider the placement of this text. The Lord visited Sarah, as He had said. He did for her what He had spoken.

- All this after the chapter where they defrauded Abimelech. They had conspired to lie and were now being blessed by God!

- Somecry foul, but the older we get in the Lord, the more we understand that God cannot be anything else but faithful to Himself and His promise!

- Turn with me to II Timothy 2. Paul is encouraging his protege to endure to the end.

• II Timothy 2:11-14 : "This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."

- God made a promise and He kept it to a couple that at times, would not believe that God would bring it to pass. What an example to you and I? What an example to the children of Israel!

- Remember, they were looking at a land that seemed impossible to dwell in, yet God said that they would! They would be faithless and complain against him over and over again, but God would bring them in!

- Abraham named his and Sarah's son, Isaac, just as he had been told. This is truly a great moment in scripture, as God has brought this miracle to pass.

- It's more than a miracle of course, in that the seed of the woman and the line of redemption continues on. God's war against sin and death has again progressed toward His ultimate victory.

• Genesis 21:8-13 : "So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.' And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, 'Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.'" : Isaac began to grow and was weaned, meaning that he was ready for solid food. In ancient times, this is about a three year process.

- That day, perhaps with Isaac eating a little and wearing a lot, Abraham got a feast going.

- Ishmael, now about 15 years old, was mocking Isaac. He was laughing at laughter! This brought offense to Sarah, who immediately came to Abraham.

- The mockery was more than just making fun of him and it was more than just one occasion.

- This was an occasion to celebrate Isaac and Ishmael's response shows great disregard both toward his brother and family, but ultimately to the God who had brought him into existence.

- The sense of the passage then is of a continuing conflict that seems to point to a superiority that Ishmael felt over and against Isaac.

- We understand that from Sarah's comments. "He shall not be an heir with my son."

- She told him to expel Hagar and Ishmael. As the slave owner, there was certain protocol that was followed on these occasions.

- In the code of Hammurabi, there is a command to release slaves if there is no intention to make them heirs or include them in an inheritance. Sending them away would send a clear message.

- Immediately Abraham is hesitant to do this.

- It may be that Abraham still favored Ishmael, or that Ishmael was a bit of a back up plan in case Isaac didn't work out! But it took God telling him to listen to Sarah for him to be satisfied.

- By the way, this moment of pain is brought to you by Abraham's flesh!

• Genesis 21:14-21 : "So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, 'Let me not see the death of the boy.' So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, 'What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.' Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt." : I like that Abraham rose early in the morning. Abraham shows good resolve.

- Abraham loved Ishmael. He had lobbied for Ishmael, but God's Word was final.

- Hagar and Ishmael set out on their journey out into the wilderness of Beersheba. Their supplies did not last long.

- In this desperate moment, God appears to Hagar. Again, in a wilderness setting, destitute and alone, God meets Hagar. Another familiar moment from our past.

- It's instructive negatively in Abraham's case, to remember our past. It's positive here. When God has delievered in the past, we can expect the same result in the future.

- God saw her and He heard Ishmael. Ishmael called out to God in this time of despair.

- God reminds her that she might have been kicked out and not have the future that they thought they would have. They would have a future nonetheless.

- God was still going to make Ishmael a great nation. Today, Ishmael exists through the Arabic people and they are mighty.

- From here, Moses synopsizes what became of Ishmael. He became a skilled hunter and took an Egyptian wife. God kept them.

• Genesis 21:22-27 : "And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.' And Abraham said, 'I will swear.' Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. And Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.' So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant." : A few years have gone by since their first meeting. Abimelech has had the opportunity to see God's hand on Abraham's life.

- It's no doubt that he saw Sarah in her pregnancy and Isaac in his early youth.

- It led him to believe that God was with him. That's the testimony that we all want. We want the world to look at our lives and see the hand of God in all that we do.

- This will become a motif for us to look for across the scriptures, as God's people are often recognized for what He does in them.

- Abimelech is wise in wanting to have a treaty between himself and Abraham. Note his conditions: Don't deal falsely with me or my family! Abraham swore to them, but did not let them off.

- The Philistines had seized a well that Abraham had dug. Abimelech swears that he knew nothing of it until that moment. Time to test this new relationship.

• Genesis 21:28-34 : "And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Then Abimelech asked Abraham, 'What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?' And he said, 'You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.' Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days." : God brought peace with Himself and peace with all around Abraham. This covenant was ratified and Abraham stayed there many days.

Conclusion

- Take note of the pattern that we find from the beginning to the end. God is faithful to a man that has trusted in his own resources. He is faithful in spite of him.

- And to a woman that was turned out and rejected, God was faithful in spite of that circumstance. Tonight, He still keeps His promises. That will never change!