GOD PROTECTS ABRAHAM
Genesis 20:1-18
Key Verse: 20:17
“Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again.”
Welcome to the first Sunday worship service in February. Last week we heard the story of destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the end of Lot’s tragic life in the cave because he did not remain in God’s promises through M. Joshua Kim. Today, we see another mistakes Abraham made when he moved to Gerar. As he feared his life when he moved to Egypt, so he feared his life again when he moved to the new place. He lied again to save his life as he did in Egypt. He did not think of himself as God’s servant, nor did he think of Abimelech as a man like himself. He regarded Abimelech as a king with the power of life and death over small people like himself; he assumed that Abimelech was a godless man with no conscience. So, he lied that Sarah was his sister and got into trouble. What was his problem? He confined God to only a certain place. Whenever he moved to a new place, fear captured him and paralyzed him. He did not know God who is omnipresence, omnipotent, and omniscience. Let’s learn that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-presence through this passage. God protects his people. I pray that we may overcome fear of people and experience the presence of God no matter where we are through today’s passage. May God bless us to trust God in all situations as the spring semester begins in UD tomorrow!
PART 1 ABRAHAM LIED (1-2)
Look at verses 1 and 2. “Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Abraham witnessed the terrible destruction of the Sodom and Gomorrah. He decided to move to a different region. MAP So, Abraham took his entire household and journeyed further south. Settling in Gerar it wasn’t long before people noticed this wealthy man and all his possessions, particularly King Abimelech. When questioned, Abraham fell back into his old ways and lied telling the people and the King, Sarah was his sister. Do you remember when he made the same mistake? It was Genesis 12:13, “Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Abraham lied to save his life and Pharaoh took Sarah to be his wife. Abraham got materials but lost Sarah. He was desperate and helpless and lonely that night. God intervened by inflicting serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household and helped Abraham to get out of this terrible situation. In Gerar he made the same mistakes. He did not learn a lesson from his previous mistakes. This is unthinkable because God blessed Abraham so much. Indeed, it is a strange thing when you consider the interaction between Abraham and God. God had proven Himself to be trusted repeatedly, had faithfully visited him, provided so many things for Abraham; had been with him every step of the way. In Genesis 15:1 God said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield.” God promised him to be his shield all the time. However, whenever he entered a new place, he became very fearful of his life. He showed his anxiety. In Genesis 17:1 God said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” Abraham walked before men not before God. He was not faithful to God. He was not blameless. God promised him to give him a son within a year. (Gen. 18:14)
However, what was going on with Abraham in this stage of his life? He should be mature and holy in his character. But this shows how old habits of lying are not easy to go away. It takes a long time for us to change completely and get rid of the old habits. Our old habits pop up like pop corns when we are pressured or face difficult situations. We lie all the time to get out of dangerous situations. Even though Abraham is known as a hero of faith, it wasn’t a stretch for him to lie whenever he was in a perceived dangerous situation. He had a habit of wife dependency syndrome. When Abraham did not focus on God’s plan and depended on his own human plan, he fell into trouble and fear captivated his life. We must depend on God’s plan and trust in his promises when we face crisis. Our real character appears when we confront dangers of life. At that time, we must rely on God more. This is a lesson we learn from Abraham’s mistake.
Why does Bible treat lie seriously? God is truth and we must speak the truth. When we lie, there is no truth in us. In addition, lies produce more lies and we become habitual liars. How can we solve this habit of lying? Honesty is the best medicine for healing the habit of lying. 1John 1:6 says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” Truth and lies cannot exist together. We must pray that God may give us pure heart so that we may not lie but speak the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6a) The best way not to lie is to follow Jesus who is the truth.
PART II GOD REBUKED ABIMELECH (3-7)
So, Abimelech took Sarah into his palace. Look at verse 3. “But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” God intervened and spoke firm warning to this pagan king in a dream. God declared, “You are as good as dead.” God prevented King Abimelech from sinning against Sarah by revealing the fact that Sarah was a married woman. Just consider this. God intervened in a situation of Abraham’s foolishness and sin, protecting both Sarah and the king. Why did God do this? God was faithful to keep his promise in Genesis 12:3. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” Abimelech was going to curse Abraham by taking Sarah to be his wife. God protected Abraham by rebuking the king. God’s promise does not depend on Abraham, and it is one sided promise. Once God promises and he does not change it because of our weaknesses and sin. He keeps his promises no matter what happens to us. This is the mercy of God. How many times has God done the same for us? How many times has He protected us and others from our own foolish sinful ways by intervening? The battle we face daily with our old habits of sin is real and so hard – we could all testify to this. Even though we could be hard on Abraham for backsliding again and again and say, “How could he?” We do the same thing, falling into our sinful habits. The story of Abraham is our story. How many times do we repeat the same sin again and again! How many times God forgave our sins out of his mercy in the name of Jesus who died for our sins! Are you suffering from your chronic sin problem? Thank God for His mercy. Come to Jesus and confess your sins and receive his forgiveness by his blood on the cross. Thank Him for His protection over things we have done and potential consequences. Seek Him for renewal and commitment to living this day in trust and denial of our old habits of lying and sin.
Look at verses 4-5.” Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
Upon hearing the Word of God, Abimelech pleaded his innocence. After all, he did not know that Sarah was the wife of Abraham. He had acted in innocence and with a clear conscience. God accepted his plea and did not destroy Abimelech. The justice of God prevailed.
How did God respond? Look at verses 6-7. “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know 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. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
God gave a new direction to the king, “Return Sarah to Abraham.” Now, God also introduced Abraham as a prophet who will pray for his healing. Abraham had acted as the king of the land when he freed the people from captivity (Ge. 14). He acted as priest when he prayed for Sodom (Gen. 18). Now God declared Abraham a prophet, as Abimelech was instructed to receive blessing from Abraham. It is through Abraham’s prayer that Abimelech would save his own life and the lives of those within his household.
PART III ABRAHAM PRAYED FOR ABIMELECH (8-17)
Look at verses 8-10. “Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
Having come to know the truth, Abimelech summoned Abraham and confronted him with his deceit. It is a sad testimony when a man of God must be rebuked by a pagan king. Yet, how often it happens. People within the church often become so deeply entangled with the affairs of the world that they need to be rebuked by an unbeliever. Abraham was rebuked by Pharaoh in Genesis 12:18-19. Here Abraham was summoned and rebuked by the pagan king for his lies. As Christians we must become blessings to the unbelievers by becoming good examples of truth and love. Our words must be supported by our clean actions in life. Otherwise, we become liars and children of darkness.
What was Abraham’s response towards Abimelech’s rebuke? Look at verses 11-12. “Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Abraham tried to justify his actions. First, he said that there was no fear of God in the land. Second, he told Abimelech that he was telling the truth, as Sarah was his half-sister. It was a half-truth because Sarah was his wife. We know that a half-truth is not truth. Almost truth is not truth and almost Christian is not a Christian. Abraham lacked a complete knowledge of God. As we know, God is all knowing (omniscience), all powerful (omnipotence), and all presence (omnipresence). God knew what Abimelech and Abraham were doing. We cannot hide from God. He knows our inner thoughts and reveals our secret desires. When Abraham was in the land of Gerar, God was powerful enough to prevent Abimelech to tough Sarah. We know that God is present wherever we go. God was with me when two robbers pointed gun at me when I worked at 7-11 store 2 AM in 1979 and protected me from them. Since then, I overcame fear of life and trusted in God and devoted my life to serving his will and following his promises. There is no fear when we trust God. God said to Joshua when he was fearful entering into the Promised Land in Joshua 1:9, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” General Joshua was able to conquer the Canaan Land because God was with him. What an assurance we have from God! M. Joshua did not know about Newark when he moved here. He had anxiety and fear due to the uncertain futures. But God was with him here as he was with him in College Park. Dre moved to America from Nigeria and God was with him and gave him success to finish his PHD and granted him a good job. God knows Franco and will help him to graduate and provide a good job. All knowing God understands Rommel’s situation and guide him to the best direction. The spring semester begins tomorrow at UD. We can be fearful not knowing what will happen to us. Can we find 5 students or not? But let’s not be afraid and trust God that he will grant us five undergraduate students. Amen!
Look at verses 14-15. 14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
Abimelech compensated Abraham for his offense. Abraham’s lack of faith could have destroyed everything as far as the promises were concerned. Yet how great is God’s mercy! Abraham’s lack of complete trust in God did not alter God’s plan one bit. Abraham may have had moments of doubt in God’s ability to care for him, but God’s ability did not waver or change. Abraham may have doubted God’s grace, but God never failed to be gracious. God kept his promises to the end. Praise God who is faithful all the time!
Look at verse 16. “To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.” Abimelech returned Sarah and showered her with many gifts. The gifts were a clear demonstration to all who might look down on Sarah for her involvement in this incident. Abimelech admitted that he was entirely at fault, and Sarah was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Look at verses 17-18. “17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.”
In return, Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech’s family. The effectiveness of this prayer was not rooted in Abraham as a person, but on the position that God had given to Abraham as prophet. God answered his intercessory prayers for Abimelech. As promised, Abraham was a blessing to the nations around him. Abimelech was rewarded as his household was healed. After one simple prayer by Abraham, God opened the wombs of Abimelech’s wife and slave girls so that they could have children again.
In conclusion, we must overcome fear if we want to live as God’s servant. Fear and lies are connected to each other. People lie due to fear of consequences. Abraham lied due to fear of losing his life. God is all knowing, all powerful, and all presence. We must believe that our life is in God’s hand. We must pray to overcome fear of rejection and punishment because God will protect us always as Jesus promised in Matthew 28:20 by saying, “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” We should not fall into our habits of lying and sin when we confront a difficult situation. We should trust God and pray to God for giving us faith to overcome any dangers of our life. Then God will hear our prayers and protect us because we are his chosen children. Jesus said to Jairus in crisis of losing his loving daughter, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Jesus raised Jairus daughter from the dead. (Mark 5:36) We must believe in God and Jesus and win the victory in this new semester. May God bless us to have faith in God all the time! Let’s read the key verse 17.
“Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again.”