God Knows and Acts
There are multiple approaches to explore in regards to today’s assigned Scripture of Genesis 20:1-7.
One approach could be to analyze the contradiction between Abraham’s faith and his conduct. Another approach could be point out that Abraham’s use of a partial truth is the equivalent of employing a full lie.
An excursus into the political shrewdness of Abimelech by pointing out how he was both solidifying and expressing his power base via establishing a bond with the wealthy and influential Abraham (whose support and fidelity he wanted to assure) could be another avenue of exploration for this portion of Scripture.
These approaches, though worthy of contemplation, are not the intended theme of this website devotion because they do not, in this writer’s opinion, give sufficient attention to the overarching theme of this passage of Scripture.
The overarching theme of this passage of Scripture is to recognize the Sovereign Lord’s nature as well as to contemplate the significance of the active intervention of the Sovereign Lord in the lives of both His covenant people and the lives of those who were not His covenant people.
The mercy of the Sovereign Lord is expressed by His giving a warning to King Abimelech rather than bringing instantaneous judgment upon both king and kingdom for an action that was considered culturally indecent and unacceptable. In a further display of mercy, the Lord offered the option of life by obeying His express command to return Sarah to Abraham and to humble himself by asking for prayer from the one whom he had humbled, namely Abraham.
The omniscience and omnipotence of the Sovereign Lord is displayed by His knowledge of Abimelech’s lack of intention as well as His preventing Abimelech from actually sinning against the Sovereign Lord by having a sexual relationship with Sarah as part of his harem.
There is great comfort to be taken from this story from Scripture. NOTHING in the life of believers happens in a vacuum. The Sovereign Lord is fully cognizant of the frailties that prompt wrong choices by His covenant people, yet even these can not prevent Him from working His purpose through flawed people. Thankfully, perfection is not the prerequisite that God requires from His people for His intervention, rather, the prerequisite is trusting Him to fulfill His purpose by displays of wisdom as He applies His power to reverse the ramifications of faulty decisions.
Flawed though he was, Abraham was on a journey with the Sovereign Lord that WOULD result in preserving the continuity of the lineage of faith that would ultimately be realized through Jesus. As we are on our personal journeys of faith, let us also realize that the Eternal Sovereign Lord knew BEFORE the foundation of the world the foibles and failures we would express in our brokenness and has full capacity to transform these into basic building blocks of character in us, all to the praise of His Glory!