GENESIS 20
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” – Genesis 20:8-13
GENESIS 20 ABIMELECH REBUKES ABRAHAM
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
When God warned Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham
Abimelech followed God’s warning and told all his servants
The household of Abimelech were scared of what might happen
So, Abimelech rebuked Abraham for his lie about Sarah.
Instead of asking for forgiveness to Abimelech for his sin
He continued to justify his lying about Sarah as his sister
What things we do as humans to hide from our sinfulness!
Though he believed God, Abraham was still a sinner like all of us.
We get another glimpse of Abraham’s humanity and sinfulness in this second time that he uses Sarah as a shield to protect himself from being harmed. Once again, instead of submitting and surrendering his fears to God and letting God be his shield, he fell into the sin of lying once again. Abimelech, who is a pagan knew the consequence of adultery. What an irony to see Abraham who was a man of faith forgetting the importance of doing what is right just so he can protect himself and Abimelech confronting a man of faith.
REFLECTION
- What is Abraham’s weakness as shown in this similar incident in Egypt?
