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Genesis 19-20
It was evening and Abraham was sitting outside his tent when three
angels came. He insisted that they sit and rest while he prepared food
for them. After they had eaten and rested, they told Abraham what their
mission was. The cry of the sin of Sodom had ascended to God and they
were coming to judge the iniquities of the cities of the plain. Two of
the angels went on their mission to Sodom and the third, who was the
Lord Jesus Christ, a theophany which is the manifestation of Christ;
stayed with Abraham. As Abraham interceded for the city of Sodom and
brought the number of righteous people from fifty to ten, the Lord
agreed not to destroy Sodom if ten righteous people were found there.
"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of
Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself
with his face toward the ground." (Gen.19:1). When Lot separated
himself from Abraham in Genesis, chapter 13, we read that Lot pitched
his tent towards Sodom. Sodom was a very wicked city. In Genesis,
chapter 14, Lot was now dwelling in Sodom and here in chapter 19, he is
sitting in the gate of Sodom, which is a symbol of the position of a
judge.
When there were judgments to be made, among the people, the judgments
were always in the gates of the city. We see the progression towards
evil. Lot first pitches his tent "towards" Sodom, then he is dwelling
"in" Sodom and now he has become one of the "ruling judges" in this
wicked city. As he is sitting there in the gate, he sees these two men
approaching. It could have been by their appearance or by some
discernment that he knew they were "divine" messengers, or perhaps he
didn't know; but, we see him bowing his face toward the ground.
"And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your
servant's house, and tarry all night, rise up early, and go on your
ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night."
(Gen.19:2). Lot was vexed by the way the people were living in Sodom.
His righteous spirit was vexed by their manner of life. He knew the
wickedness of the city and yet he dwelled there. He knew the dangers
that would come to them if they tried to spend the night in the open
square of the city so he insisted they stay at his house.
"And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and
entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake
unleavened bread, and they did eat." (Gen.19:3). The fact that Lot did
the cooking could have been an indication that his wife was upset with
him for bringing unannounced company home.
This is the first mention of unleavened bread in the scripture. Later
on it would be used in the "Passover." Leaven, in the scripture, is
always a type of sin. It is the rising agent in the bread, the starter,
that caused the air to puff the dough by putrefaction; because, a
little bit of starter will permeate the whole batch of dough, it became
an interesting type of sin.
"But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom,
compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from
every quarter." (Gen.19:4). So, this is not just a small segment of the
city. It doesn't represent a minority group, it represents the general
practice of the city of Sodom.
"And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which
came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know
them." (Gen.19:5). So that they might know them in a homosexual way.
"And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have
two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them
out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto
these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my
roof." (Gen.19:6-8). It
is extremely difficult for us to understand
Lot's reasoning in this passage.
Lot's willingness to offer his two virgin daughters to this lustful
crowd to be abused or raped is something we don't understand; but, we
don't understand the Eastern mind. We don't understand the social
customs of the East. In the Eastern Culture a guest in the home is due
your respect and protection. There is a moral obligation to take care
of ones guests. This is still practiced in the Bedouin communities
today. He may be your greatest enemy, but as long as he is in your home
it is your duty to treat him with respect and courtesy. Lot is a
classical example of being a host to the guests and protecting them
even to the point of giving his virgin daughters to the crowd. Somehow
I have to think that Lot knew these men were "divine" beings.
"And they said, Stand back, and they said again, this one fellow came
in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge; now will we deal worse
with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even
Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand,
and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they
smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both
small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door."
(Gen.19:9-11).
In another place in the Old Testament, we find God striking the army of
the Syrians with blindness when they came to capture Elisha. Remember
how Ben-Hadad was thwarted in all of his plans to attack Israel.
Everytime he planned an attack, the Israelis were waiting and ambushed
them; because, Elisha was informing the king of all of the secret plans.
"Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this
thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show
me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said,
None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel,
telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy
bedchamber." (II Ki.6:11-12). The king of Syria sent his troops to find
Elisha and bring him back to Syria. They came to Dothan and compassed
the city about by night and when the servant of Elisha arose early in
the morning, he beheld the city surrounded by horses and chariots. He
told his master and asked what they should do. "And he," (Elisha)
"answered, Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that
be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his
eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man;
and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha
prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with
blindness. And He smote them with blindness according to the word of
Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this
the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But
he led them to Samaria. and it came to pass, when they were come into
Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they
may see, And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold,
they were in the midst of Samaria." (II Ki.6:16-20). Elisha told the
king of Israel to give them food and send them home and they came no
more into the land of Israel.
Now, here in Genesis, chapter 19, God smote the men of Sodom with
blindness. The amazing thing to me is that they kept trying to find the
door. What would you have done if you were there and had been smitten
with blindness? I would have tried to find my way home but they kept
trying to find the door. This shows how determined they were in their
sinful practices.
"And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and
thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city,
bring them out of this place; For we will destroy this place, because
the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the
LORD hath sent us to destroy it." (Gen.19:12-13). The angels told Lot
to get his family out because they had a mission to destroy Sodom.
"And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his
daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will
destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his
sons-in-law." (Gen.19:14). Lot doesn't even try to talk to his sons. It
could be that they have become so corrupt that it wouldn't do any good.
He does, however, go and talk to his sons-in-law but they thought he
was either crazy or just joking.
"And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying,
Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou
be consumed in the iniquity of the city." (Gen.19:15).
There seems to be a real reluctance, on Lot's part, to leave Sodom. He
hesitates and the angels are constantly urging him to hurry. "And while
he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his
wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful
unto him; and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."
(Gen.19:16) The angels practically had to force them out of the city.
"And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad that he
said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in
all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot
said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord; Behold now, thy servant hath found
grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast
showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain,
lest some evil take me, and I die." (Gen.19:17-19). This is an
inconsistent logic that God saved him from Sodom only to kill him in
the mountains. It doesn't make sense, but fear, often times, does not
make sense.
"Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one;
Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall
live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this
thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou
hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till
thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."
(Gen.19:20-22).
The angel said, "I cannot do any thing until you are safe." This is an
important statement. In the New Testament, there are several references
to Lot, to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the people of Sodom and
Gomorrah and to Lot's wife. Jesus, in a warning of the dangers of
turning back, said, "Remember Lot's wife." In turning back she
perished. Jesus said, "No man having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)."And as it
was in the days of Noah so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
Man." (Luke 17:26). "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they
did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:28-29).
Perhaps most important of all to us is Peter's reference to Lot, where
he tells us that God delivered Lot from the city of Sodom before His
judgment fell. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished." (II Peter 2:9). This passage is being used in the context of
the Second coming of Jesus Christ and the Great Tribulation in which
Peter is declaring that God knows how to deliver the righteous, but
reserve the ungodly for judgment. God's day of judgment is fast
approaching upon this world, in which we live. We can not escape the
judgment of God, it's really long overdue.
God has been very long suffering, but as He said to Noah, "My Spirit
will not always strive with man." There will come a day when the work
of the Spirit will be over, but God knows how to deliver the righteous.
Abraham's whole logic in his intercessory prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah
was, "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" "Shall not
the Judge of all the earth do right?" The LORD said He would
not destroy it for ten righteous people, but there were not ten
righteous found, only Lot. The LORD stayed His judgment until Lot was
safe.
I believe that the judgment of God toward this Christ rejecting,
humanistic, world is being kept back by the presence of the Christian
Body. I also believe that once God removes His "church" that the
judgment of God is going to fall, just as it fell on Sodom and
Gomorrah, and those terrible days that are described in Revelation,
chapter six through eighteen, will come to pass and the earth will see
God's judgment. He will pour out His wrath and indignation on those who
have rejected His love and His Plan of Salvation through His Son, Jesus
Christ. I am also convinced, by the righteous nature of God, that He
will not judge the righteous with the wicked, but, as with Lot, will
take them out before His judgment comes.
"The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar."
(Gen.19:23). It is interesting that Lot didn't take off for his Uncle
Abraham's place. He, no doubt, knew that Abraham was living in the high
plains above Sodom and Gomorrah.
It's amazing the strange fascination that evil can have for a person.
There are some people who have come under the power of pornography. It
is something that gets a grip on them and they are more or less
compelled to look at it. It becomes a real problem to them. So, we see
Lot holding on to this area and not really wanting to leave it.
"Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire
from the LORD out of heaven; And He overthrew those cities, and all the
plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon
the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a
pillar of salt." (Gen.19:24-26). It could be that there was volcanic
action. When we read these things, we try to find some kind of a
natural phenomena by which it can be explained. We do know that a great
cataclysmic event took place around where Sodom and Gomorrah existed.
There is a mountain of salt down there near the sight of the ancient
city of Sodom. A mountain of salt that is seven hundred feet high and
five miles long. There is no scientific way by which to reason that the
salt came there by just the evaporation of the Dead Sea. The formation
of the mountain, etc. preclude any rational explanation. There had to
be some kind of catastrophe. It could be that there was a kind of
volcanic upheaval and that the salt beds were blown in the air and
Lot's wife was covered by salt that was raining down with the fire and
brimstone. I don't think that there was some physical change of the
body that she became a salt pile, but that she was covered with the
salt that was raining down.
If you go down into the southern part of the Dead Sea, today, you'll
see several piles of salt that they call Lot's wife, but I don't put
much credence in that.
"And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood
before the LORD; And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward
all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the
country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when
God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and
sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the
cities in the which Lot dwelt." (Gen.19:27-29). Abraham got up early
and went to a place where he viewed the destruction that God had
wrought. The smoke was like that of a great furnace.
"And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain and his two
daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a
cave, he and his two daughters." (Gen.19:30). When the angels told Lot
to flee to the mountains, he begged to go to the small city of Zoar and
now here he is going to the mountains.
"And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there
is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all
the earth." (Gen.19:31). As far as they knew the whole earth was
destroyed and they were the only inhabitants.
"Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him,
that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father
drink wine that night; and the firstborn went in, and lay with her
father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose."
(Gen.19:32-33). They got their father drunk and lay with him to
preserve his lineage.
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the
younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father; let us make him
drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we
may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine
that night also; and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he
perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the
daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a
son, and called his name Moab; the same is the father of the Moabites
unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his
name Benammi; the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this
day." (Gen.19:34-38). The Moabites and the Ammonites are the
descendants of Lot. Moab and Ammon are today found in the area known as
Jordan. The capital of Jordan is Ammon which comes from the Ammonites.
Basically the Arab races descended from Ishmael, Moab and Ammon.
Let's look back over the chapter to see what we might learn from it,
pointing out the fact that Lot first pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Lot was attracted to the fertility of the area, the abundance that was
there.
When Ezekiel talks about the sin of Sodom, he mentions the fullness of
bread and the idleness of time. Actually what brought these people of
Sodom into their sinful lifestyle was the fact that they were
prosperous and had spare time. The area, being so fertile, required
little attention or time and having this surplus of agriculture; they
could turn their time towards their society. Lot was attracted to the
area and then he lived in the area and became a judge. What was the
price that Lot paid for this? It cost him his entire family. The morals
of his entire family were corrupted although Lot, himself, stayed pure.
He was strong enough to withstand the temptations and the evil that was
there in Sodom, but his family were not.
Many times parents make a foolish mistake as they dabble with Playboy
magazines or X-rated videos. The parents say, "We're adults, we can
look at this." "As an adult I can handle it." "It doesn't really bother
me." We feel we can view these kind of things and not be dramatically
affected. What you don't realize is that your kids know how to put
videos into the VCR. Your kids know where you hide that Playboy
magazine and they pick it up and have emotions stirred in them that
they are not able to handle. They're not able to control these emotions
because they do not have the natural outlet for these emotions. They
are being emotionally stirred in their hearts and so they start messing
around.
While you feel you can live in Sodom and not be affected, you do not
consider the damage it can do to your family. You may survive, but your
children, often, become the victims and they don't survive. If you love
your children, then keep your house pure. "Be not deceived; God is not
mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he
that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
(Gal.6:7-8).
I believe this goes into every area of our lives. We are sowing, into
our minds, the music that we listen to. There is a lot of music today
which is suggestive in its lyric content. It is planted into your mind
and you will reap of the flesh. You say, "Well, I can handle it." But!
Can your kids? Create a spiritual environment and atmosphere that will
build up your children in the Lord. Be careful what is planted in their
minds. Protect that treasure that you have in them as long as you can.
Lot failed, though he personally survived, his family did not. This is
the last that we hear of Lot. We know that his grandchildren grew up to
become the nations of Moab and Ammon, but we hear nothing more about
Lot.
"And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and
dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar." (Gen.20:1).
The south country is translated, "Negev Desert," which is down toward
Egypt.
Kadesh is on the northern end of the Negev, just south of Beer-sheva,
where you come into the "promise land." Shur is a little further south
toward Egypt and Gerar is down near the Egyptian border. Gerar was a
very large town. The archeologists have uncovered Gerar and it seemed
to be a large merchandising town. Perhaps, even with all of his wealth,
Abraham went down to trade to increase that wealth.
"And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister; and Abimelech
king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah, But God came to Abimelech in a
dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for
the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife."
(Gen.20:2-3). Twenty-five years earlier, when Abraham had first come
into the land, there was a drought in the land and he went down to
Egypt. He asked Sarah to say that she was his sister, because he was
afraid they might take her, for her beauty, and kill him. The Pharaoh
took Sarah into his harem, but God told him that she was a man's wife.
The Pharaoh sent Sarah and Abraham away. Now, Abraham is doing the same
thing here in Gerar. After twenty-five more years of walking with God
and entering into covenants with him, Abraham still has not grown in
faith to the place where he knows that God will, indeed, take care of
him. Abraham is repeating the same sin that he committed twenty-five
years ago and behind it all is the fact that he is afraid of being
killed. That fear caused him to enter into the deceit of saying Sarah
was his sister instead of his wife. How tragic, what fear can do. What
an enemy of faith, fear becomes.
"But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay
also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and
she, even she herself said, He is my brother; in the integrity of my
heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him
in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy
heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore
suffered I thee not to touch her." (Gen.20:4-6). There are some
interesting things in this interchange between Abimelech and the Lord.
God is dealing with Abimelech in a dream. You remember that later on he
dealt with Nebudchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in a dream. God
reaches men even the Pagans. Abimelech, in this dream, has been
declared by God as a dead man if he doesn't return Sarah to her
husband. Evidently, God had begun to strike the nation with a plague
and people began to die for unknown reasons; also, God had shut up the
wombs of the house of Abimelech. We don't know how long Sarah was in
the harem, but probably long enough for the plague to become evident.
Abimelech was probably wondering what was going on just as
Nebudchadnezzar's dream followed his question of what's going to happen
to my kingdom? So, the Lord, in a dream showed Abimelech that he would
die if he didn't return Sarah to her husband.
The Lord said that He kept Abimelech from sinning against Him. I would
think that the sin was against Sarah or Abraham. When King David took
Bathsheba in adultery and had her husband put on the front line of
battle and killed, his confession to God in Psalm 51 was, "Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned..."
In reality all sin is against God. It may affect other people, but God
is the one I always sin against. I can not sin except I sin against
God. It can have a very tragic effect on the lives of the people around
me, but ultimately God is the one I will answer to because sin is
against His holy law.
"Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he
shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; and if thou restore her not,
know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine."
(Gen.20:7). This is not a good witness to Abimelech that a prophet
would lie. One of the things that makes this so terrible is that
Abraham has been walking with the Lord for many years now. He should
have advanced further in his walk and his faith by this time. Secondly,
it's a repeated sin and not the first time it happened. Thirdly, he is
jeopardizing the whole plan of God. God has declared through Sarah
shall thy seed be called.
Actually, in a sense, God brought Abraham and Sarah back to life. He
rejuvenated them at ninety and a hundred years old. Have you ever
wondered why she was so beautiful that a king took her into his harem?
It could be that God completely rejuvenated this old couple in order to
keep His word to them. If Abimelech had gone in and had relations with
Sarah then the whole program could have been in jeopardy. Abraham was
about to mess up the whole plan of God, by the polluting of the line by
which the Messiah would come, but God moved sovereignly to protect His
program.
God will always protect His program. We may fail, but God will raise up
someone else. Remember when Mordecai sent the message to Esther, who
was fearful to go in to Ahaserus because she might be killed, that she
wouldn't escape just because she was in the palace. If she chose not to
go, God would raise up deliverance from another quarter. God would save
His people, but she would have lost her chance to be used of God.
"Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his
servants, and told all these things in their ears; and the men were
sore afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What
hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast
brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto
me that ought not to be done." (Gen.20:8-9). What have you got against
me that you would put me in this situation?
"And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done
this thing?" (Gen.20:10). In other words, what did you have in mind? It
is interesting that here is a prophet of God being rebuked by a Pagan
king. It completely destroys his witness before Abimelech.
"And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in
this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. And yet indeed
she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the
daughter of my mother; and she became my wife." (Gen.20:11-12).
It's not a complete lie. It's sort of a half lie. Did you ever realize
that a half truth is also a half lie? Abraham tries to lamely explain
his actions which stems from the fear of his own life. God had said He
was going to give him a son. The son was not yet born, so why would
Abraham fear for his life? Surely he should realize that the word of
God is going to be fulfilled. God's word can not fail. Abraham's faith
did develop and grow as we will see as we read further in Genesis.
It is interesting that oftentimes these places of failure are also
places of growth. God, in His love and grace towards us, reveals to us
those areas of weakness in our lives; only, for the purpose that He
might make us strong. God so often when revealing the fleshly areas
that are displeasing to Him , doesn't show them in a condemning way;
but, he shows them in a way to reveal the next area where God will work
in my life. Whenever God makes me aware of a displeasing area in my
life, I look at it as God putting up "under construction" signs. That's
the place where he is going to be working next. As He puts me through
the test, it is to develop my trust in Him and take away the confidence
in my flesh. It is to cause me to trust only in His work, because in
myself I am going to fail. We so often get in God's way as He is trying
to work in our lives. We want to get some of the glory when we get the
victory. The tests and failures are to cause us to rely completely on
the Lord, because in our flesh dwells no good thing.
"And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's
house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew
unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, he is my
brother." (Gen.20:13). Abraham's failure started back in Babylon before
he ever walked with God. He had already figured this is the area where
he would fail so he was programmed, back in Babylon, for failure.
It's possible for us to program failure into our lives. In the same way
that you program failure, you can program victory. "I know that I can
do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." If you learn to just
trust in the Lord, you can be victorious over every circumstance of
life. It's important that you have certain foundational truths upon
which you stand. When everything is shakey and trembling, you stand
upon these truths: God loves me, God will take care of me, He who
neither slumbers or sleeps will watch over me, He will preserve me and
cause me to come forth triumphant. Look at what Paul the Apostle went
through, Why? Because, he knew in whom he believed. He was able to go
through the stonings, the shipwrecks, the beatings and all the
experiences that he had, coming forth more than a conqueror; because
his trust was in the living God. Here Abraham, the opposite,
preprogrammed defeat and it happened to him and caught him in that
moment of weakness.
"And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women
servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife."
(Gen.20:14).
Remember, earlier, when the king of Sodom tried to give Abraham the
recaptured "loot" and he wouldn't take it. He said he had made a vow to
the LORD that none could say they made Abraham rich. Here is a case
where it would be a cultural insult and a worse disgrace not to take
it; so, Abraham received these things from the king.
"And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee; dwell where it
pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother
a thousand pieces of silver; behold, he is to thee a covering of the
eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other; thus she was
reproved." (Gen.20:15-16). Basically what Abimelech is saying to Sarah
is, "If Abraham is stumbled because of your beauty, go buy a veil."
"So Abraham prayed unto God..." (Gen.20:17a). Interesting! Here is a
man of failure but God said, "he's a prophet, ask him to pray for you
that you might be healed.""...and God healed Abimelech, and his wife,
and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast
closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah
Abraham's wife." (Gen.20:17b-18).
God's sovereign providential care to keep his program though Abraham
had this moment of weakness. In the following chapters of Genesis, we
will find Abraham growing in faith.