ABIMELECH
CHRISTIANITY OASIS HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS ABIMELECH STUDY. ABIMELECH HAD A DREAM FROM GOD. ABIMELECH IS NOT A COMMON NAME OR VERY WELL KNOWN STORY. MOST HAVE NOT EVEN HEARD OF ABIMELECH. DO YOU KNOW WHO ABIMELECH IS? DID YOU KNOW THAT ABIMELECH AND PHARAOH HAD SOMETHING IN COMMON? LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF ABIMELECH TOGETHER, SHALL WE?

THE BOOK OF GENESIS

CHAPTER 20
 

            Good day to you and welcome back again.  In our last few stories, we focused mainly on the life of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and now it’s time to pick up where we left off in the life of Abraham and Sarah. 

            It happened that shortly after Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding area was destroyed by God, Abraham and Sarah left Hebron and settled in the north part of the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.  Abraham visited a city called Gerar and found that the people there weren’t very godly and Abraham feared that they would kill him for his wife Sarah.

            So, as he did once before to protect Sarah, Abraham said that she was his sister.  The king of Gerar whose name was Abimelech sent for Sarah to be brought to him.

            God appeared to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, You’re as good as dead because the woman that you took is a man’s wife.   But Abimelech hadn’t been with her yet.   He explained to God, I’m innocent, didn’t he tell me she is his sister?  And she told me that he is her brother.

            God told Abimelech, I know that you did this in the honesty of your heart and I kept you from sinning against me, so I didn’t allow you to make her your wife.  Now give the man his wife back.  He is a prophet and he will pray for you and you’ll live.  If you don’t give her back, you and all your family will die.

            God is so gracious.  He always gives people the opportunity to CHOOSE to do the right thing.

            Abimelech got up early the next morning and told all his servants what God said to him in his dream and they were all very afraid.  Then he called Abraham, and said, What have you done to us?  What made you do such a thing?

            Abraham said, I did it because I thought, surely the fear of God isn’t in this place; and they’ll kill me to get my wife.  And truly, she is my sister; we have the same father, but not the same mother; and I married her.  And when God told me to leave my father’s house I told her, Please do me this favor; wherever we go, say you are my brother.

            Abimelech gave sheep and oxen and men servants and women servants to Abraham, and returned Sarah to him.  He told Abraham to live anywhere in his kingdom that he pleased.  And he told Sarah that he gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver. 

            Apparently, Abimelech had heard about when God plagued the house of Pharaoh for the same reason.  This time the Lord closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of what happened.  But when Abraham prayed to God, He healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants; and they were able to have children again.

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT STUDY