Genesis 20 1 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
So check this out… Abraham’s actions brought Abimelech and his whole kingdom to the point of great sin unknowingly. But Abimelech really didn’t do anything wrong! He was deceived by Abraham and Sarah and he acted with a righteous heart and of upright integrity!
A few chapters earlier, God punished Pharaoh and all his family for the same thing (Genesis 12). It was a result of being lied to and deceived by Abraham and Sarah. Pharaoh even gave Abraham tons of money and really took care of him, but yet he and his whole family were plagued.
Why? These people didn’t have a choice to be in sin or not in sin? They just woke up one day, some probably didn’t even know what transpired, and BAM! They are in sin with God and/or plagued with great plagues (Gen 12:17).
This begs the question: Am I in sin, even though I am upright in my integrity and acting with a pure heart, because of the choice or action of others?
In this instance, God was gracious by withholding Abimelech and Sarah, and God even warned Abimelech and gave him the choice to continue down this path that leads to destruction, or choose the right path of life.
Abraham acted out of fear and it put tons of innocent people into sin. This begs a second question: Have I put others in sin without them knowing because of the choices I have made?
How does one correct that or guard against it? In each instance Abraham acted out of his own fear and reasoning. He did not trust God’s plan because he did not understand nor see God’s plan. Therein is the hard part – how does one walk daily in a plan that I cannot see or understand?
Trust… Faith… These are the keys… These are HARD! I know this – I can trust HIM. God is trustworthy and has my best interest in mind – even when He’s having to work through the tough circumstances and consequences of my own and other people’s actions and choices.
Running After Papa…