Genesis 20

² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. ³ 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.

Abraham’s Folly

In spite of receiving God’s promise of blessing on several occasions.  Abraham still persists in a clever deception intended to preserve his life.  His “half-truth” seemed clever to himself, but if Abimelech would sleep with Sarah as his wife, God’s promise to give Abraham a child through Sarah would be ruined by sin. I do not want to say more than what the Bible says, but Abraham’s deception shows one of either two things: either Abraham does not yet know the extent of God’s righteousness and fails to understand that God only acts out of His righteousness, or Abraham simply did not trust God in this instance to protect his family and chose his own means to protect himself.

It would have been better to trust God by acting according to His revelation.  God is righteousness and just and would never condone people who are called by His name to act contradictory to His righteousness.  God’s word and the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ,  reveals to us the righteousness of God.  All scripture is given “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

God’s Grace

In spite of Abraham act of doubt and disobedience, God took measures to protect his promise, not only for Abraham’s sake but for all who would later believe to everlasting life. Before Abimelech had the chance to do the deed, God intervenes through a dream and reveals to the king what Abraham should have not kept secret.  Abraham’s folly no matter how foolish, could not destroy God’s plan. In this part of the Biblical story, God grace safeguards the hope of everlasting life for all who will live by faith.  Those who live by faith are not sinless until they have met the Savior.

Jesus is the culmination of God’s grace and assurance of eternal life for God’s people.  In spite of our sin and folly, God has given us His sinless Son to redeem us from sin and death.  There is no amount of sin that can overpower God’s grace through Jesus. The cross is the ultimate picture of God’s grace, but its foundations is seen here in Genesis.