January 9th

By Randall L. Broad

Read: Genesis 20:1-22:24; Matthew 7:15-29; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 2:16-22

There are two important narratives about Abraham contained in Genesis today; in chapter 20, we find a very different Abraham than the one who is revered for his faith.

¹Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, ²Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

³One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

⁴Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? ⁵Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

⁶Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

⁸Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” ¹⁰Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ ¹²Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. ¹³So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me: He is my brother.’”

¹⁴So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” ¹⁶And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— ¹⁸for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

Genesis 20:1-18

Abimelech is the Philistinian King of Gerar, located near Gaza, and Sarah is brought before him so that he might take her for a wife; but he is warned in a dream (vv. 3-7) she is married. Since they had first gone to Egypt in chapter twelve Abraham and Sarah both have told people she was his sister, and hid the truth they were married (v. 2). They were in fact, half-brother and sister having had the same Father. No mention is made in the Bible of the mother of either Abram or Sarai; however chapter 11 of Genesis records Terah was the father of both. And their stay in Gerar was not the first time Abraham and Sarah had profited from this deception.

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ¹¹As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹²When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

¹⁷But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Genesis 12:10-20

Today in the reading we find another deception of the exact same nature. While it may be impossible to determine now what Abram/Abraham’s motivation was we can see both Pharaoh and King Abimelech had the power of disease (v. 12:17) and death (v. 20:7) spoken over them by God. In the end God had to intervene to protect Sarah, by showing Pharaoh and Abimelech the cost of their lust, and by reminding Abraham of the covenant God made with him.

It is important to remember God’s covenant was not just with Abraham–it was also with Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Judah, and every generation through King David that prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. Three times in the Book of Genesis God reminded Abram and Sarai of this covenant only to have their actions threaten His purpose. In Egypt (chapter 12) Abram walks under the promise God will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him (Genesis 12:1-3)–and yet he is afraid of the Egyptians. In Genesis 15:1-7 Abram is promised an heir, but he and Sarai grow impatient and in chapter sixteen he fathers a child with one of her servants. In Chapter seventeen God gives Abram a new name–Abraham–and establishes an everlasting covenant with him that he will be the father of many nations and his descendants will possess the land of Canaan (vv. 3-8)–and yet Abraham is afraid of an earthly king who rules over a small kingdom in the land promised by God to his descendants.

Contained in these events are the fear, impatience, and doubt that undermine the faith of all humanity. Abraham was human and his faith had to be strengthened and built up so he would be capable of fulfilling the promise God had for him. And so one more test was required …

¹Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

²“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”

⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.

⁷Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”

“Here I am, my son,” he replied.

“The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.

⁹When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

¹¹Just then, the Angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.”

¹³Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram in the thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

¹⁵And the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, 16saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Genesis 22:1-18

Abraham obediently makes all the arrangements and prepares the altar to sacrifice his son Isaac. Sermons on this particular part of the story are common, because they speak to a level of faith that almost seems incomprehensible to us. It is also important to note another feature to this test that is a unique in the Bible. One of the attributes of Abraham's God is He does not require human sacrifices. In Abraham's time other cultures may have sacrificed human beings to their god's, but there are no records of this in Genesis from Adam to Abraham. Never again will it be recorded in scripture until the cross. One underlying theme of scripture is precisely that-God does not want human sacrifices. No human sacrifice, not even of Abraham’s beloved Isaac, would have been sufficient to cleanse the world of sin.

What this narrative teaches is that Abraham’s willingness to obey God and the cross are inexplicably linked and they teach us we must be willing to sacrifice everything for Jesus. Abraham has been reluctant in the past to make this total sacrifice. Three times Abraham has been overwhelmed by fear or impatience. First in Egypt when he deceives Pharaoh (Genesis 12), secondly when he conceives Ishmael with his wife’s servant Hagar (Genesis 16), and lastly when he deceives Abimelech (Genesis 20). In each one these situations Abraham’s faith falls short despite knowing the promises of God and in each of these events God reveals his power saving Abraham and Sarah. In Chapter 22, Abraham does not fail, and God intervenes to save Isaac preparing the way for the coming of the Word.  

Walk with the Lord …

Ephesians 1:17 

(RLB250109)

© Copyright 2019: Randall L. Broad

Disclaimer: This commentary is written by Randall L. Broad. It is in no way affiliated with or represents any denomination, university, church, or pastor. Any errors or omissions are purely my responsibility.