The story of Abraham has much for us to take hold of and apply in our lives. This week, we are going to skip Genesis 20, so I thought I would highlight some key points which are very challenging here. [Read Genesis 20]

• Beware of placing our own faults on others – Abraham says that he did what he did because there is “no fear of God in this place.” (v11) This is amazingly ironic: what we find in this passage is that Abimelech and the people actually do fear God such that when God appears and speaks they respond to what he says and act; while Abraham is actually the one lacking in the fear of God as he deceives in order to look after himself.
• Beware of having a secret covenant with ourselves or with another which is undermining God’s purposes – This episode is almost a repeat of Genesis 12v10-20. We might think initially, “Oh, he just sinned again,” but in Abraham’s explanation lies a deep underlying issue – there was an agreement between him and Sarah to practice this half-truth/lie of being brother/sister wherever they went (20v13). This covenant was at root an issue of seeking to protect oneself rather than trust in God. Is it only once this covenant is exposed that they are able to see the fruitfulness of husband and wife and have children? What is impacting our own fruitfulness?
• In praying for healing for others, his own wife is healed – In the original Hebrew there were no chapters or headings and so verse 18 runs straight into the v1 of the next chapter. In verse 17-18, Abraham prays for the fertility of Abimelech’s household and they are healed; in verse 1-2, Sarah becomes pregnant.

“Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139v23-24

With love and blessing,

Roland