Abraham to Gerar

Saturday July 3, 2021

Abraham to Gerar

Abraham left there for the Negev region. He settled between Kades and Shur and stayed in Guérar. Abraham said of his wife Sarah : She is my sister. Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah kidnapped. Genesis 20:1,2

More than twenty years have passed since the story mentioned yesterday. Abraham is in the land of Canaan ; he comes to intercede with admirable faith for Sodom (Genesis 18:23-33) and, thanks to his intervention, Lot did not die in the destruction of this sinful city.

Abraham is now leaving to stay at Gerar. And history seems to repeat itself : Abraham again asks Sarah to say that she is his sister, and the king of Gerar intends to take her to wife. God intervenes by striking sterility throughout the king's family and warns him with a dream that he is going to die if he carries out his plan. Rightly, the latter reproaches Abraham for having deceived him and he returns Sarah to him.

The stories are parallel, but the situation here is more serious :

Abraham had a similar experience before, but that does not prevent him from asking Sarah again to behave according to the covenant he offered her at the beginning of their entry into Canaan (v. 13). We often fall back into the same ways, to our shame. However, let us not be discouraged : Seven times the righteous fall, but he gets up again (Proverbs 24:16). The forgiveness of God is limitless for those who know how to recognize their faults.

God has just announced to Abraham that Sarah is going to be pregnant with the long-awaited heir. Leaving his wife in Abimélec could introduce doubts about the paternity of the future baby. This is why the text specifies that the king had no intercourse with her (v. 4, 6, 16).

Finally, while their child will soon be born, the relationship between Abraham and Sarah is not yet clear. But God allows this old problem to be settled just before Isaac's birth (21.1). In order to thrive, every child needs a father and mother who hold their place, unambiguously.

Perhaps, in our relationship as a couple, there are obscure points, unresolved for a long time, either between us or with God, and from which our children could suffer. Do not wait for third parties to be forced to highlight them and settle them without waiting in front of the One who wants the prosperity of our families.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)