So Abraham’s journey with God continues. We begin today’s passage reading that he’s now living in a place called Gerar. We read that whilst there, he refers to Sarah as his sister and not his wife.  I have read and researched a little about the genealogy of Sarah and it would seem that there was a blood link between Abraham and his wife.  In the culture of the day, as in some modern cultures, it was normal and a term of endearment to refer to a niece or female relative as a sister.  We often refer to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Abimelech, the king, hears of Sarah’s beauty and sends for her. He immediately takes her into his harem. At this point Sarah is out of Abraham’s reach and he is in no position to take her back.  It is not unreasonable to surmise that Abraham again refers to Sarah as his sister (see Genesis 12:14-20), because he believes he is living in a land where the people are ignorant of the Almighty God, and that he could be killed for his wife’s beauty, thus enabling her to be available to the local men.

Abimelech knows God and as soon as God speaks to him through the dream, Abimelech is horrified to learn the truth about Sarah’s relationship to Abraham that she is in fact his wife.  He calls in Abraham to explain his actions and to return Sarah to him. He clearly does fear God and this is demonstrated in the gifts he gives to Abraham and the offering for him to live wherever he likes in his land.

I love the fact that Abraham then prays for Abimelech and he and his household are healed by God enabling them once again to bear children.

This may have started as an understandable stretching of the truth by Abraham. He didn’t lie. What he said of Sarah was true. She was indeed a sister albeit not in the sense Abimelech assumed. But in saying that she was his sister he neglected to say she was also and most importantly his wife. Had Abimelech had sex with her the parenthood of Isaac may well have been jeopardised and ultimately the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s plan and will was supreme. Sarah came back to Abraham and Isaac was born to them as we will go on to read about.

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Reflection:  Have you or are you ever tempted to be economical with the truth to improve your own potential?  Our God can use every situation, good and bad, for the benefit of his children. Rejoice!