Gênesis 20

Gênesis 20

Morgan - What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing ?— Gen. 20.10 These were the words of Abimelech to Abraham; of the King of Gerar to the father of the chosen people. In the chapter we have the account of a deflection from the pathway of faith on the part of the man of faith. In such departure he was reduced to the expedient of making arrangements for his own safety by deceitful practices, in that he hid the truth that Sarai was his wife, and told the half-truth that she was his sister, she being his half-sister, the daughter of his father, Terah, by another wife. The astounding thing is that he had done this before in the case of his visit to Egypt. This question of Abimelech was an inquiry as to what motive had prompted Abraham, and it brought this answer: "Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place." What a revelation we have here of blundering! Abraham thought that among a people who lacked the fear of God, he must act for himself, and without God. God taught him by this experience, first, that His fear existed where he did not think it did; and therefore that it was not only unnecessary, but also wholly wrong, for him to act as he had done. By such action he had placed the whole purpose of God in jeopardy, and but for the intervention of God it would have been made impossible of realization through Abraham. What unutterable folly it is ever to limit God in our thinking, and so to have to fall back upon our own policies! To do so is always to turn aside from the high ways of His purpose, and to imperil the possibility of working together with Him. Genesis 20:11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Surely: Ge 22:12 42:18 Ne 5:15 Job 1:1 28:28 Ps 14:4 36:1-4 Pr 1:7 2:5 Pr 8:13 16:6 Ro 3:18 kill: Ge 12:12 Ge 26:7 Genesis 20 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries ABRAHAM EXPLAINS WITH WEAK EXCUSES Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife - As discussed above, these pagans seem to have more fear of God then Abraham! The real problem was that the fear of God wasn’t in Abraham! Note the phrase Because I thought. Sometimes thinking can get us into trouble especially if it is not guided by God's Word! Abraham thought, when he should have talked with God (or trusted God)! This is his first excuse for sinning! Krell on surely there was no fear of God - What bitter irony! We must be careful not to judge people on appearances. Often, the ungodly are not as ungodly as one might think and the godly are not as godly as one might think. Abraham jumped the gun and made a judgment error. He then tries to imply that it was an honest mistake—“no big deal.” We’re good at this one, aren’t we? We try to sidestep responsibility by pointing to our upbringing (that’s just the way I am), or by blaming the media (they are always planting sinful thoughts in my head). The truth is that we are responsible for our own decisions. Abraham may have made his decision based on a faulty premise but he was responsible for the faulty premise! Bruce Goettsche - Abraham was confronted with his sin and he had two excuses. The first is, "Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife." In other words: It was an honest mistake. Abraham seeks to explain away his sin. He tries to imply that it is "no big deal." We're good at this one, aren't we? We try to sidestep responsibility by pointing to our upbringing (that's just the way I am), or by blaming the media (they are always planting sinful thoughts in my head). The truth is that we are responsible for our own decisions. Abraham may have made his decision based on a faulty premise . . . but he was responsible for the faulty premise! The second excuse was a rationalization. Abraham says, "Besides, she really is my sister. She is the daughter of my father but not my mother." In other words, "Look, technically I didn't lie." Again, if they handed out degrees for mastery of rationalization many of us would have a M.Rat. after our names! How many times have we comforted ourselves with this line: "everybody does this"? (Like when we are driving over the speed limit). Or how about, "compared to most people . . . ". In other words, in comparison to others, I'm not so bad. Each of those is a rationalization. Sin is not measured against other people . . it is measured against God's standard....Make no mistake, when we have fallen in one area, Satan will return to that area many times seeing if he can get us to fall again. Satan will exploit every weakness we reveal. But this is not Satan's fault . . . it is ours. And sadly this is not the first time Abraham used this line of lame reasoning, which shows his periodic failure to trust God to protect him. And it won't be the last because Isaac will prove "life father, like son!" Genesis 12:12 (ABRAM) and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Genesis 26:7 (ISAAC) When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” THOUGHT - Now keep in mind Abraham has been walking with the Lord, worshipping the Lord and communicating with the Lord for almost 25 years, and he is even known as the "father of the faithful" and yet once again we see his faith falter as he has a moral lapse. Here's the point, none of us has "arrived!" That's called glory! I have walked with Jesus for 38 years and been seriously committed to Him the entire time and yet as I enter the last lap of my race (age 77), I find sin still sneaks up and ensnares me, sometimes even making me wonder "Am I really saved?" We must remember this race is not a dash but a marathon and we will stumble and fall, but enabled by God's mercy and His Spirit of grace, we can sing out "With confidence I now draw nigh, And, "Father, Abba, Father," cry." Sing it out beloved and pay attention to the words of Charles Wesley's hymn... Arise, my soul, arise; Shake off the guilty fears; The bleeding Sacrifice In my behalf appears: Before the throne my Surety stands, Before the throne my Surety stands: My name is written on His hands. Arise (arise), arise (arise), arise Arise, my soul, arise. Arise (arise), arise (arise), arise Arise, my soul, arise. Shake off your guilty fears and rise He ever lives above, For me to intercede, His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead; His blood atoned for all our race, His blood atoned for all our race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace. Five bleeding wounds He bears, Received on Calvary; They pour effectual pray'rs, They strongly plead for me: "Forgive him, O forgive, " they cry, "Forgive him, O forgive, " they cry, "Nor let that ransomed sinner die!" My God is reconciled; His pard'ning voice I hear; He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear; With confidence I now draw nigh, With confidence I now draw nigh, And, "Father, Abba, Father, " cry. Deffinbaugh calls Abraham's explanation "Situational ethics" which is "a system of ethics based upon the denial of either the existence of God or His ability to act in man’s behalf. Situationalism (ED: SEE NOTE BELOW) always posits a dilemma in which there is no alternative other than a sinful act. In such cases we are forced to decide on the basis of the lesser of two evils. (Don’t Ever Say Never) Henry