Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called
all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were
sore afraid.
Our folly and God's grace; if you see one, can the other be
far behind? Frequent are the occasions when God's children foolishly mire
themselves in difficulty only to have God graciously dig them out. Even the
venerable Abraham found himself in this situation more than once.
After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham
departed from the groves of Mamre and journeyed south to the Negev. Here he
dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, pitching his tent in Gerar. Upon arriving in the
south country Abraham hatched a plan which he had tried unsuccessfully in Egypt
some twenty years earlier. He instructed his wife, Sarah, to claim that she was
his sister.
Because of the disastrous consequences which it previously
had brought on the pharaoh of Egypt, it is almost inconceivable that Abraham
would try this scheme again. Apparently the stern rebuke Abraham received from
Pharaoh had by this time faded from his memory. Still, Abraham had only
recently received God's assurance that Sarah was destined to be the mother of
the promised seed. By spreading the half truth that she was his sister and
therefore eligible for marriage, Abraham placed Sarah's virtue in serious
jeopardy. This constituted a foolish lapse in Abraham's usually stellar
performance as the friend of God.
The arrival of Abraham and Sarah brought a greeting from
Abimelech, the warlike king of Gerar. Having heard that Sarah was unmarried,
Abimelech immediately sent and brought her into his harem. This likely was done
to ally himself with the rich nomad prince, Abraham. Sarah was by this time
ninety years old and probably not the beautiful maid she used to be. Suddenly
Abraham's lie had come back to haunt him once again.
The whole course of human history could have been different
if it were not for God's intervention. Genesis 20:3 begins, "But
God," words which usually indicate the turning point between man's
foolishness and God's grace. Abraham had lied about his wife and she was now
part of Abimelech's harem. Her virtue would undoubtedly be violated. But God
warned the Philistine king in a dream that Sarah was already a man's wife. He
also caused Abimelech to be afflicted with an illness which prevented him from
coming near Sarah. Thus, miraculously and graciously, the mother of the chosen
nation was kept from impurity, not because of the wisdom of Abraham, but
because of the grace of God.
In the dream God revealed to Abimelech that, although he had
done no wrong, nevertheless he must restore Sarah to her husband. If the king
refused, his death and that of all his kingdom would ensue. This was enough to
convince Abimelech. The king "rose early in the morning, and called all
his servants," relaying the message to them (Genesis 20:8). Respecting the
authority of the living God, Abimelech was anxious to heed the divine
directives. The Philistine wasted no time in returning Sarah to her husband but
not without a sharp rebuke to Abraham. Happy to have his wife back safe and
sound, Abraham received the reprimand with a sigh of relief. In return he
prayed to God and Abimelech was healed along with his wife and maidservants.
The kingdom returned to normal.
Once again God's grace had prevailed over man's folly. The
results could have been drastically different, however, had not God's
providence overruled man's foolishness. Yet, how much anguish could have been
spared both Abraham and Abimelech, both Sarah and the Philistine's wife, if
there had not been that one lapse from righteousness. The knowledge that God's
grace is waiting in the wings is insufficient grounds for contemplating foolish
action. As Abraham finally learned, every friend of God must carefully guard
against even slight lapses into the folly of sin (Romans 6:1-4).
HYMN
Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound this word of grace to all
Who the heav'nly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall.
Dear Brothers &
Sisters if you are really blessed by the word of God then what are you waiting
for please tell about this good news to others
— Dr. Woodrow Kroll
(President Back to the Bible Intl)