Faithless Abraham, Faithful God Text: Genesis 20:1-18
Introduction: The Scandal of Grace
The Bible is a relentlessly honest book. It is not a collection of flattering portraits of spiritual giants, suitable for framing. It is a record of God's dealings with deeply flawed men and women, a record that is often gritty, embarrassing, and scandalous. And it is in the middle of these scandals that the grace of God shines with its most blinding intensity. This chapter is one such place. If you want a faith that rests on the moral performance of its heroes, this chapter will wreck you. But if you want a faith that rests on the granite-like faithfulness of God to His covenant promises, then this chapter is a great feast.
Here we have Abraham, the father of faith, the friend of God, fresh from the heights of interceding for Sodom, and he immediately plummets into the depths of cowardice and deceit. He repeats a sin he had committed years before in Egypt. He has a promise from Almighty God that a son will come from his own body and from Sarah's womb, a promise just recently reiterated with the laughter of Sarah still echoing in the tent. And what does he do? He goes to Gerar and, to save his own skin, he gives away the mother of the promised seed. This is not just a moral lapse; it is practical atheism. It is a staggering act of covenant amnesia.
And yet, this story is not ultimately about Abraham's failure. It is about God's triumph. It is about a God so sovereign that He can write straight with the most crooked lines. It is about a God so faithful that He protects His promise even from the foolishness of the man to whom He made the promise. This story is designed to do two things: first, to humble us to the dust, and second, to lift our eyes from the flawed patriarch to the flawless Christ.
The Text
And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married." (Now Abimelech had not come near her.) Then he said, "Lord, will You kill a nation, even though righteous? Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself also said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. So now, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours." So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly afraid. 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 on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done." And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What have you seen, that you have done this thing?" And Abraham said, "Because I said, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it happened when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is the lovingkindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ' " Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him. And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever it is good in your sight." To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother one thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all you are cleared." And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children. For Yahweh had utterly shut all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
(Genesis 20:1-18 LSB)
The Old Lie in a New Land (v. 1-2)
We begin with Abraham's familiar failure.
"And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister.' So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah." (Genesis 20:2)
Abraham's fear has a long history. He pulled this same stunt in Egypt (Genesis 12), and it seems he learned very little from God's deliverance then. Old sins are like old weeds; if you don't get them by the root, they have a nasty habit of growing back in new soil. Abraham's problem is a failure to believe God. He operates on a fear-based calculation. He sees a beautiful wife, he sees a pagan king, and he calculates that his life is in danger. What he fails to factor in is the Almighty God who has promised him a son through this very woman. He is looking at the world horizontally, as though God does not exist.
His lie is a cowardly attempt at self-preservation that puts his wife in extreme peril. He throws Sarah to the wolves to save his own neck. This is a profound dereliction of his duty as a husband. A husband is to be a protector, a covering for his wife. Abraham uses his wife as a shield. This is the opposite of the gospel. The gospel is about the true Husband, Jesus Christ, who did not throw His bride away to save Himself, but rather threw Himself into the jaws of death to save His bride, the Church.
God's Intervention and Sovereign Restraint (v. 3-7)
Just when human failure threatens to derail the divine plan, God steps in. And He does not step in to congratulate Abraham.
"But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, 'Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.'" (Genesis 20:3 LSB)
Notice who God speaks to. He doesn't rebuke Abraham in a dream. He confronts the pagan king. God is the guardian of His covenant. The promise of Isaac, the seed through whom the whole world will be blessed, is hanging by a thread, and God Himself intervenes to protect it. God's warning to Abimelech is stark: "you are a dead man." God takes the covenant of marriage with deadly seriousness, even when His own chosen prophet is treating it lightly.
Abimelech's defense is remarkable. He pleads innocence, and God agrees with him. "Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this." But then God reveals His hidden, sovereign hand: "and I also held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her" (v. 6). This is a massive theological statement. Abimelech had the intent and the opportunity, but God providentially restrained him. God is not a passive observer of human affairs. He is an active governor, restraining evil, moving hearts, and steering all things, even the sins of men, toward His own foreordained conclusion.
Then comes the most stunning verse in the chapter. God tells Abimelech to return Sarah, "for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live" (v. 7). Think about this. The man who caused the whole mess, the liar, the coward, is the one who holds the keys to the king's life. God upholds the office of prophet even when the man in the office is a disgrace. The power is not in Abraham's personal piety, which is at a low ebb, but in the covenant God has made with him. Blessing and cursing for the nations flow through God's chosen man. Abimelech's life depends on the intercession of the man he has every right to despise. This is the scandal of God's economy. He has determined to save the world through His chosen instruments, and He remains faithful to that plan even when His instruments are failing.
The Pagan's Rebuke and the Prophet's Excuse (v. 8-13)
What follows is a necessary and righteous humiliation for Abraham. The pagan king schools the prophet of God in basic morality.
"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 on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.'" (Genesis 20:9 LSB)
Abimelech's questions are entirely justified. He recognizes that Abraham's sin was not a private matter; it threatened to bring a "great sin" and divine judgment upon his entire kingdom. He rightly identifies Abraham's actions as "things that ought not to be done." The moral compass of the pagan king appears, at this moment, to be functioning far better than that of the patriarch.
Abraham's response is a masterclass in self-justifying excuse-making. First, he blames the place: "surely there is no fear of God in this place" (v. 11). He sinned because he made a faithless, cynical judgment about the people of Gerar. He projected his own lack of faith onto them and acted accordingly. Second, he resorts to the half-truth: "she actually is my sister" (v. 12). A half-truth used to deceive is a whole lie. It is an attempt to be clever, to manipulate the facts to avoid the consequences of simple, honest speech. Finally, he even seems to implicate God in his scheme, noting that this deceptive pact was established way back when "God caused me to wander from my father's house" (v. 13). It is a pathetic defense, revealing a heart governed by fear, not faith.
Undeserved Grace and Covenant Restoration (v. 14-18)
The story concludes with a cascade of undeserved grace, followed by the restoration of covenant order.
"Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him... To Sarah he said, 'Behold, I have given your brother one thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication...'" (Genesis 20:14, 16 LSB)
Instead of punishing Abraham, Abimelech blesses him. He not only returns Sarah but lavishes gifts upon him. He provides a public payment to vindicate Sarah, to be a "covering of the eyes" for all, proving that her honor is intact. The pagan king behaves with more grace and nobility than God's prophet. This is common grace on full display, and it serves to heighten the shame of Abraham's failure.
And then, the covenant order is re-established. The failing prophet prays, and God hears him.
"And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children. For Yahweh had utterly shut all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife." (Genesis 20:17-18 LSB)
Why had God closed the wombs of Abimelech's house? Because God was protecting the integrity of the promised line. The womb of Sarah was destined to bear the son of promise, Isaac. As a sign of His displeasure and as a means of protecting that holy destiny, God brought a curse of barrenness on the rival household. When Sarah is returned, Abraham the intercessor prays, and God opens their wombs again. Life and fruitfulness are restored through the prayer of God's covenant man. God's purpose is accomplished, not because of Abraham, but in spite of him.
Conclusion: Our Better Husband
This chapter is in the Bible to keep us from ever trusting in men, even the best of them. Abraham, the father of faith, was a sinner in need of grace, just like us. His faith was not in his own performance, and neither is ours. Our faith is in the God who remains faithful when we are faithless.
This story forces us to look past Abraham to the one he foreshadowed. Abraham, in his fear, was willing to sacrifice his bride. Jesus Christ, our true and better husband, in His love, was willing to be sacrificed for His bride. Abraham lied to save his skin. Jesus, who is the Truth, gave up His body to save us from our lies.
Abraham stood as a flawed prophet, a shaky intercessor. Christ stands as our perfect prophet and our flawless High Priest, whose intercession never fails. The story of Abraham and Abimelech is a story of how God's sovereign grace triumphs over human sin and fear to secure His covenant promise. It is a story that should make us profoundly grateful that our salvation rests not in our own hands, but in the hands of a faithful God and His perfect Son.