Sermon notes November 30th, 2025

 

GENESIS 20

If I were a prosecutor and the case before me was, this man named Abraham, “Was he a righteous Man” (as the New Testament says)          “Is he deserving of heaven”?

• He spent 75 years of his life serving other gods of the Chaldeans, in the land of Ur. Where some of their customs would to be disturbing to talk about today.
• God, You called Abram in Genesis 12 and said get out from your country and leave your father’s house and You said, You would make his name great and will make him a great nation. Yes, he goes, but as soon as it becomes a little difficult, he changes direction. Why, because of a famine in the land, all he needed to do was trust You. But he did not…

So, Abram changes his course and heads down to Egypt because there’s water there. This wasn’t part of Your plan God. 

• Abram had one fear in his life that seemed to haunt him. His wife was so beautiful he was sure someone would kill him just to take her, so, he asks Sarai his wife to lie and say that she is his sister to protect him, latterly putting her at great risk. 
• Well, it happened that Pharaoh paid handsomely for her and put her into his harem. Now God, You had to intervene. You put a plague on all of Pharaoh’s house and once he found out she was his wife he released Sarai back to Abram and Pharaoh kicked them out of the country. Pharaoh let him take all the wealth with him, just to make sure the curse would leave. Abram didn’t care if this lie put Sarai at great risk, and he took the profits from a lie. What kind of man does that!!

Abram now has so much stuff (people and animals) that Lot’s men and Abram’s men were beginning to fight over pastureland. 

So, Abram says let’s separate and let Lot choose which way to go. Sounds like a good man, Lot picked the land toward Sodom. Sodom was a wicked place and Abram knowing this, he allowed young Lot to pick this anyway, knowing the temptation would be great for him. Does he care Lord, I think not.

• You tell Abram to arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it all to you.” That’s what You said Lord. What does Abraham do, he asks “how will I know this is true”? So, God you cut a covenant with Ahram, one that he would understand, but God you made the covenant with Yourself because You knew Abram couldn’t handle it, he would break the covenant and he would have to die. So, You say again to go, and he goes as you asked.

Where does he go, he moved his tent and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, he builds an altar there to You, sounds good. Why did he do it, because it was shady there. The land had something to offer him. 

• Abram has been waiting for some time now for Your promise, his offspring to come, how else could he become a great nation. Sarai’s barren and feels bad thinking it’s her fault he has no child. She came up with the idea take my maid servant (an Egyptian woman) and go in to her and see if you will have a child. He doesn’t argue, he doesn’t say no your my wife and God said it’s between you and me, he says OK let’s do this. Her worst fear comes true, Hagar her maid servant, is with child. Now she’s sure she was the problem.

Sarai through shear frustration, she began to be mean to Hagar so, Hargar runs away while she’s pregnant with Abram’s child. You don’t see Abram running after her for the protection of his child. You Lord, had to go to her and tell her to come back to save her life, and You made a promise to her this child she is carrying will also be the father of a great nation. 

• Now Lot’s in trouble because he became part of Sodom, four other kings of Kingdoms come against Sodom and over through it and took everyone captive including Lot and all his stuff. This appears to be the first war recorded in the Bible. 
• Abram and his 318 men rescue Lot and the king of Sodom, The King of Sodom offers Abram the spoils of war but righteously so, he refuses. But I ask, why didn’t he take Lot back with him? Why would he allow Lot to continue to stay there in Sodom? Didn’t Abram care? What kind of man is he. Sarai watches this child of Abram from birth. She watches silently for years wishing she hadn’t done what she did. Abram doesn’t try and protect her feelings; he acts as if he doesn’t care. Abram is now 99 years old and Ishaml is now 13 years old.
• God, now you change Abram’s name to Abraham the father of many nations. You changed Sarai’s name to Sarah meaning "princess” to many. You promise both of them, that Sarah will have a child this time next year. What does Abraham do? He prays back to you, what about my son Ishmael he’s my boy can’t this blessing be on him. God says no, the son is to come from you and Sarah. 

Then comes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This hits Abraham hard; he looks toward Sodom and sees smoke as a furnace coming up. He doesn’t know if Lot and his family made it out. I don’t think Abraham understands what God is doing, and I think he’s had enough. This man Abraham, you call him righteous, I call him a mess. I rest my case!

• Have you ever been there. Yes, Abraham did some things right like circumcision of his whole household, but he’s still not sure if he can trust this God who talks to him. Do you? Completely? Who is this God who would destroy thousands of people and the land. This is where I believe Abraham is in Genesis 20. Who is this God, who could do such a thing and what happened to my nephew Lot?  If you’ve ever lost anyone unexpectedly and suddenly you have probably found yourself feeling just like Abraham, you love the idea of God, “but your hurt and confused”.

This is such an incredible picture of our God who loves His messy people. Some may be thinking if God loves us so much how could he have killed thousands of people. 

• We have no idea of His longsuffering, they rejected God and not only God but anything good, they gave themselves over to a debase mind and they continued to hurt people with their wickedness. This is a picture of what the world will be like after the rapture of the church.

 

Genesis 20                                                     New King James Version

1   And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 

• When Abraham journeyed it wasn’t by himself, he took all that was with him. Remember he had 318 fighting men, all their families and livestock. Wherever he went it made an impact on the land.

2   Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

• It seems incredible to us that Abraham would again try to pass off Sarah as his sister within twenty years of the same blunder with Pharaoh—incredible, that is, until we remember our own perpetual proneness to sin! And she’s old and still a knockout!!

3   But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

• This was a scary thing to hear from God, even in a dream. But the point had to be made to Abimelech, even though he could truly say he acted in the integrity of his heart and innocence of my hands.

Genesis 20:4-7

4   But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 

• Despite Abraham’s failure to really trust God in the situation, God did not abandon him. But He would not let Abimelech touch Sarah. 
• Her womb was going to bring forth the son of promise, who would eventually bring forth God’s Messiah. God would not leave this matter up to man.

5   Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

• Because Abimelech’s heart was right in this regard, God kept him from worse sin. God’s protecting power can guide even a pagan king

6   And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her. 

7   Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

• Even though Abraham was in sin, he was still a prophet and man of powerful prayer. God’s mercy did not leave Abraham, even though Abraham didn’t trust God the way he should.

Genesis 20:8-9

8   So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 

9   And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” 

• It is sad to see that Abimelech — the pagan king — was in the right, and Abraham — the man of God — was in the wrong, and Abimelech told Abraham so.

Genesis 20:10-11

10   Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

• This was a logical question for Abimelech to ask Abraham. Abraham certainly did not have the LORD in view when he lied and failed to trust God.

11   And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. 

• Well Abraham, what are you doing there? God didn’t tell you to get up and leave. Where were you going? How often do we make a rash decision simply because we don’t understand the circumstances, we’re in. Maybe we’re mad at God!

Genesis 20:12-13

12   But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 

• Noe he’s making excuses. This was another attempt to justify his lie, by saying it was really the truth. But a half-truth, said with intent to deceive, is always a whole lie.

13   And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ 

• This was an indirect way of blaming God for the problem. Abraham claimed that God sent him out on this dangerous journey upon which Abraham had to protect himself.
• I highlighted this word wander “There is a terrible meaning in this verb wander which Abraham uses. The Hebrew word occurs exactly fifty times in Scripture and never in a good sense. It is used of animals going astray, of a drunken man reeling, or staggering, of sinful seduction, of a prophet’s lies causing the people to err, of the path of a lying heart. Six other words are translated wander, any one of which Abraham might have used, but he used the worst word available.”

“Abraham should have said: ‘Forgive me, Abimelech, for dishonoring both you and my God. My selfish cowardice overwhelmed me, and I denied my God by fearing that He who called me could not take care of me. He is not as your gods of wood and stone. He is the God of glory. He is the living God, the Creator, the most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. He told me He would be my shield and my exceeding great reward, and supplier of all my needs… In sinning against Him, I sinned against you. Forgive me, Abimelech.’” (Barnhouse)

Genesis 20:14-16

14   Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 

15   And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 

• In showing such generosity to Abraham, Abimelech was essentially heaping coals of fire on Abraham’s head (as in Romans 12:20). This was somewhat backwards; Abraham should have given gifts to Abimelech because Abraham was in the wrong.
• Also, it is interesting to see that Abraham accepted these gifts when he had refused gifts from a pagan king previously (Genesis 14:21-24), because he wanted no one to think a man had made him rich. Here, because of Abraham’s compromise, he found it hard to reclaim the same high moral ground

16   Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.

• We can imagine the irony in Abimelech’s voice when he referred to Abraham as Sarah’s brother. In the King Janes they used the word reproved instead of rebuked.
• The ancient Hebrew word for reproved is yakach. It has the idea of “set right,” so it is debatable if Sarah was set right by Abimelech’s rebuke or reproved, or if she was found to be right because of her humble submission in this occasion. In a sense, both were true.

Genesis 20:17-18

17   So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 

18   for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  

• These last two verses tell us what was going on in Abimelech’s kingdom. We’re not sure of the timeline except we know God said back in Genesis 18:10 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, 
• Sarah your wife shall have a son.” This indicated in a year’s time. She hasn’t had a child yet, so we know this took place within a period of months. 
• Abraham must pray for the healing of all the wombs in Abimelech’s house. He had to pray for the very thing he had been desiring and hoping for, for all his life. He’s having to pray for the very thing that hasn’t happened to Sarah yet. 
• We’re not sure what had happened to everyone one in this place that they knew they could not produce children. My mind can only wander, I think that God had struck the men so that they could not….