The Book of
Genesis 20
18 verses≈ 4 min3 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promiseChapter 20
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Between Kadesh and Shur
From the Oaks of Mamre near Hebron, Abraham moves south “to the region of the Negev” and settles “between Kadesh and Shur.” For a time he stays in Gerar, a walled town in the western Negev. Gerar’s site is probably Tel Haror; Kadesh is probably Kadesh-barnea, and the wilderness of Shur runs toward Egypt’s border.
Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur.
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While he was staying in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
0:09
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Abimelech
Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
God
Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”
Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:6
Reflect
Kept from sinning
Abimelech never knew how close he came. God told him, “I have kept you from sinning against Me.” Most of the sins we never commit, we never see: a door that closed, a plan that fell through, a warning that came just in time. Think back. Where might God have held you back from something you would have regretted? Write it down, and thank Him.
Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
Abimelech
Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”
Abraham
Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
Pray
No more half-truths
Abraham’s defense was true as far as it went: Sarah “really is my sister,” he said. But he used it to hide that she was his wife, and he had planned it from the start. Fear does that. It turns a true fact into a lie. Ask God to show you any half-truth you have been hiding behind, to give you courage to tell the whole truth, and to trust Him with what happens next.
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
Genesis 20:17–18
he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live
Genesis 20:7
Question
Quick question
God told Abimelech how he would be saved, and it involved the very man who had wronged him.
What did God say Abraham would do for Abimelech?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 20
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A verse to carry with you
Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:6
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