Genesis 20 – Abraham’s Deception & God’s Protection

Overview: A Test of Faith & Divine Intervention

🔹 Timeframe: Shortly before Isaac’s birth, around 2065 BC.

🔹 Setting: Abraham moves to Gerar, a Philistine territory, where he fears for his safety.

🔹 Theme: Human weakness vs. divine faithfulness, God’s protection of His covenant, and the consequences of fear-based decisions.

🔹 Connection to Future Events: This foreshadows how God will continue to protect His chosen lineage, ensuring the Messiah’s eventual arrival.

Key Takeaways

🔑 Fear-driven decisions lead to spiritual compromise – Abraham’s deception came from a lack of trust in God’s protection.

🔑 God sovereignly protects His promises – Even when Abraham failed, God preserved Sarah’s purity for the covenant.

🔑 Believers are called to be a blessing, not a stumbling block – Abraham was meant to bless nations, yet here he brought trouble to Abimelech’s household.

🔑 Prayer brings restoration – Abraham’s intercession led to healing, showing the power of prayer.

Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment

🔮 God’s Protection of the Covenant Line – This event foreshadows how God will always safeguard His redemptive plan, ensuring that Christ’s lineage remains pure (Matthew 1:1-16).

🔮 Human Fear vs. God’s Sovereignty – Just as Abraham let fear override faith, many struggle to fully trust in God’s protection (2 Timothy 1:7).

🔮 Intercession & Healing – Abraham’s prayer for Abimelech’s household mirrors how Christ intercedes for humanity’s restoration (Hebrews 7:25).

Historical & Cultural Context

📜 Abraham’s Deception & Ancient Customs – In ancient times, a powerful king could take a man’s wife and kill the husband to remove opposition. Abraham’s fear-driven strategy was based on this common practice.

📜 Dreams as Divine Warnings – God often spoke through dreams to non-Israelites, as seen later with Pharaoh (Genesis 41) and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2).

📜 Abimelech’s Role in History – Abimelech is likely a title, not a personal name, meaning “My Father is King.” The Philistines would later become a major adversary to Israel, yet here we see one acting righteously.

💡 Final Reflection: Trusting in God’s Protection

📌 Do we allow fear to override faith in God’s promises?
📌 Are we walking in integrity, or do we justify small compromises?
📌 Do we believe that God is in control, even in difficult situations?

Genesis 20 reminds us that even great men of faith can fall into old patterns, but God remains faithful.

Abraham and Abimelech
Gen 20:1  And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 
Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 
Gen 20:3  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. 
Gen 20:4  But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 
Gen 20:5  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. 
Gen 20:6  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 20:7  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 20:8  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. 
Gen 20:9  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 20:10  And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? 
Gen 20:11  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. 
Gen 20:12  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 20:13  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 20:14  And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 
Gen 20:15  And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 
Gen 20:16  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 20:17  So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. 
Gen 20:18  For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.