The Way We Live
8 Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech 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 not be done.” 10 And Abimelech asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 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.”‘”
14 Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Genesis 20:8-18
Abraham can be a confusing person. He was obviously a man of faith. We read in Genesis 12:1 how he was called: “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” And in verse 4, we read how he responded: “So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.” As he followed in faith, he received God’s promises – promises of descendants, land and blessing.
But Abraham was also a man of weakness. The problem seems to be that it was not just Abraham and God. There were also people, and people can influence us in many ways. They can advise us, confuse us, threaten us, or demand from us. Then Abraham would look for his own solution, whether it was to have a son by the servant girl Hagar, or to tell a lie and say that Sarah was his sister, not his wife.
All of us can be like this. We want to be strong in our faith, but live in this world with other people. It takes years of testing and trials to build our relationship with God so that not just our words but the way that we live will say to the world, “I have faith”.
Failing in faith is painful. It must have been painful for Abraham to be confronted by a pagan and asked why he had lied. It must have been painful for him to send away Ishmael, his son by the servant girl Hagar. How painful must it have been for Peter when his faith failed and he said of Jesus “I don’t know him”?
Abraham failed. Peter failed. We fail. And yet God does not abandon us. We belong to Him, and He is always faithful.
Prayer:
• When has your faith been weak? What do you need to confess to God? Put aside any feelings of guilt or of having failed God. He loves you, and you have His promise that he will never leave you or abandon you.
• Failing is an opportunity to grow. How is God calling you to grow through your failings?