The Barren Kingdom
Background and Printed Text: Genesis 20
Genesis 20:1 And Avraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev. And he dwelt between Kadesh and between Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar.
2And Avraham said unto Princess his woman, “She is my sister!” And My-Father-The-King, king of Sojourning, sent. And he took Princess.
3And Elohim came unto My-Father-The-King in a dream of the night. And He said to him, “Behold thee dead concerning the woman whom thou took! And she is the wife of a husband!” 4And My-Father-The-King did not approach unto her. And he said, “My Lords! Thou wilt slay also a righteous race? 5Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister!’ And she, also she said, ‘He is my brother!’ In perfection of my heart and in innocence of my palms I did this!” 6And the Elohim said unto him in a dream, “Also I, I knew that thou did this in the perfection of thy heart! And I restrained thee, also I thee, from sinning to me! Therefore, I did not give thee to touch unto her! 7And now return the woman of the man, because he is a prophet. And he has rolled-himself-out for thy sake. And live! And if thou art not returning, know that dying thou shalt die—thou and all who is to thee!”
8And My-Father-The-King early-rose in the morning. And he called to all his servants. And he spoke all these words in their ears. And the men very much feared.
9And My-Father-The-King called to Avraham. And he said to him, “What hast thou done to us? And what did I sin to thee that thou brought upon me and upon my kingdom a big sin? Thou hast done with me doings that they did not do!” 10And My-Father-The-King said unto Avraham, “What did thou see that thou did this thing?” 11And Avraham said, “Because I said, ‘Only the fear of Elohim is not in this place! And they shall slay me concerning the matter of my woman!’ 12And also faith, he is my sister the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became to me for a woman. 13And he was just as Elohim wandered me from the house of my father. And I said to her, ‘This is thy grace that thou wilt do with me unto every place that we will come there. Say to me, “He is my brother!” ’ ”
14And My-Father-The-King took flock and herd and slaves and female-slaves. And he gave to Avraham. And he returned to him Princess his woman.
15And My-Father-The-King said, “Behold, my land is to thy faces. Dwell in good to thine eyes.”
16And he said to Princess, “Behold, I gave a thousand silver to thy brother. Behold, he is to thee to cover eyes to all who are with thee, and all. And thou shalt proceed-straight!”
17And Avraham rolled-himself unto the Elohim. And Elohim healed My-Father-The-King and his woman and his slave-women. And they childed. 18For treasuring, Yehovah treasured for the sake of every womb to the house of My-Father-The-King concerning the matter of Princess, woman of Avraham.
I. The Move (verse 1)
Avraham had seen the plain and its cities destroyed. The text does not say whether he knew at this time that Lot still lived, but it is my guess that he soon knew that.
This verse does not say why he moved his large herds to the south. Cattle and sheepherders do what they do for the sake of their herds and flocks, looking for grass and water. He came to the wild and dangerous city of Gerar, a city whose reputation he knew well. I suspect that a drought brought him to come to this violent place.
Questions
1. How many other persons depended on Avraham and his decisions?
2. What does Gerar mean?
II. The Transaction (verse 2)
Avraham knew that his own life was in danger. Sarah and he had already agreed that they would declare their relationship to be brother and sister (see the whole text of this chapter). Abimelech saw that Sarah is a beautiful woman. She would be a good second wife. Avraham did not resist, and none of his men said a word.
Questions
1. Describe the scene so that the sentence, “And Avraham said unto Princess his woman, ‘She is my sister!’” makes sense.
2. Was Avraham’s declaring Sarah to be his sister a lie?
3. If it was a lie, was it wrong before Yehovah?
4. Did Abimelech do wrong by taking Sarah?
5. Why did Sarah go along with this plan?
III. The ‘Love of God’ for Abimelech and His People (verses 3-7)
Yehovah came to Abimelech in a dream. When Yehovah comes in a dream, no experience which one has while awake is more real. A dream from Yehovah is so clear that it can bring terror that lasts through all the waking hours.
Yehovah’s message was simple and brief: “Behold thee dead concerning the woman whom thou took! And she is the wife of a husband!” Abimelech needed to know why Yehovah was about to kill him. There was no invitation for repentance, and there was no offer of hope.
Abimelech had not yet approached Sarah.
Abimelech appealed to Yehovah’s justice by asking, “My Lords! Thou wilt slay also a righteous race?” He knew that his entire race was in danger of slaughter from this God!
Abimelech protested, “Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister!’ And she, also she said, ‘He is my brother!’ In perfection of my heart and in innocence of my palms I did this!” Yehovah’s reply is cool and frightening: “Also I, I knew that thou did this in the perfection of thy heart!” Yehovah does not disagree with Abimelech. Yet He was still quite prepared to kill him.
Yehovah then told Abimelech: “And I restrained thee, also I thee, from sinning to me! Therefore, I did not give thee to touch unto her!”
Yehovah next gave Abimelech the command: “And now return the woman of the man.” His reason was interesting: “For he is a prophet. And he has rolled-himself-out for thy sake. And live!”
If Abimelech tried any ‘funny stuff,’ Yehovah told him what would happen: “And if thou art not returning, know that dying thou shalt die—thou and all who is to thee!”
Questions
1. Was it fair for Yehovah to threaten Abimelech without first (in the dream) telling him of his error, and lovingly telling him to do right?
2. Why didn’t Yehovah at least offer Abimelech a chance to repent and give Sarah back?
3. Since Abimelech had not yet approached or touched Sarah, wasn’t he innocent?
4. Was Abimelech’s race truly righteous (verse 4)?
5. Would Yehovah have slain a righteous race?
6. Had Abimelech truly done this “in perfection of my heart and in innocence of my palms” (verse 5)?
7. When evil is done, when disasters happen, when men sin, did Yehovah allow these things to happen?
8. Does Yehovah always restrain a person from sinning?
9. What does “I did not give thee to touch unto her” mean?
10. What does rolled himself out for thy sake mean?
11. What does “And live!” imply?
12. Yehovah threatened not only Abimelech, but his entire house, including the maidservants. Yet they took orders from Abimelech. Was this fair for Yehovah to threaten to kill them too?
13. Was Avraham a prophet?
14. Why did Yehovah tell Abimelech that Avraham “has rolled himself out” for Abimelech’s sake?
IV. Abimelech is a Believer (verse 8)
Abimelech rose early! He called his servants, and he told them what he had dreamed. They were terrified!
Questions
1. Did Abimelech become a believer in Yehovah?
V. The Truth of the Matter (verses 9-13)
Abimelech was frightened, angry and curious. He called Avraham and appealed to Avraham’s sense of justice: “What hast thou done to us?”
He then appealed to Avraham religiously: “And what did I sin to thee that thou brought upon me and upon my kingdom a big sin?” He didn’t wait for the answer before protesting, “Thou hast done with me doings that they did not do!”
The Bible doesn’t record whether Avraham answered at this point. It is as if Abimelech is pacing, walking away, then returning back to Avraham to continue with his interrogation: “What did thou see that thou did this thing?”
Abimelech remembered that Yehovah had said that Avraham was a prophet when he said, “What did thou see?”
Avraham’s reply and defense was this: “Because I said, ‘Only the fear of Elohim is not in this place! And they shall slay me concerning the matter of my woman!’” His thought was the truth. Abimelech never defended against this as if it were not true.
Then Avraham stated the facts: “And also faith, he is my sister the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became to me for a woman.”
Avraham did not stop with this. He explained the agreement that he had with Sarah: “And he was just as Elohim wandered me from the house of my father. And I said to her, ‘This is thy grace that thou wilt do with me unto every place that we will come there. Say to me, “He is my brother!” ’ ”
Abimelech now knew the whole story. He wisely did not defend himself or harm Avraham.
Questions
1. What had Avraham done to Abimelech’s people?
2. Had Avraham brought a big sin upon Abimelech and upon his kingdom?
3. Who are they in “Thou hast done with me doings that they did not do”?
4. What did Abimelech mean by “What did thou see?”
5. According to Avraham, what one factor, being missing, sets the stage for evil and violence?
6. Have you ever been to a place where the fear of Elohim isn’t there?
7. Why didn’t Abimelech defend himself when Avraham said, “And they shall slay me concerning the matter of my woman”?
8. Define grace in “This is thy grace that thou wilt do with me unto every place that we will come there”:
9. Did Avraham do wrong by asking Sarah to show that grace by lying?
VI. Abimelech Makes Amends (verses 14-16)
Abimelech did not want to deal any more with this man or with his woman. He gave him very valuable gifts including a flock, a herd, and male and female slaves. He also gave back his woman.
He now behaved as a cordial host, telling him to select any part of his land to settle.
He had words for Sarah. He told her that he had well-paid Avraham. Then he said, “Behold, he is to thee to cover eyes to all who are with thee, and all.” He also told her, “Thou shalt proceed straight!”
Questions
1. If Abimelech felt he had been so wronged, why did he give very expensive things to Avraham?
2. Why did he invite Avraham to stay if he feared the man?
3. Explain “Behold, he is to thee to cover eyes to all who are with thee, and all”:
4. What does “Thou shalt proceed straight” mean?
VII. The Restoration and Explanation (verses 17-18)
Avraham willingly did his service, behaving as a priest by ‘rolling himself’ to the Elohim. Elohim healed Abimelech, his woman and his slavewomen. Now they could again give birth.
During the time that Sarah had been in Abimelech’s possession, every womb had treasured children inside.
Questions
1. Was it right for Yehovah to wait for Avraham to pray for Abimelech and his house? What if Avraham had refused?
2. What is a priest in the Bible?
3. Explain what “treasured for the sake of every womb” means:
4. Were the women able to give birth after carrying the children for so long?