January 29, 2019
Why Is It So Hard to Do the Right Thing?
Genesis 20
Zach Bean
Central Truth
Even in the midst of our sin, whether it is intentional or not, God bestows mercy on us. We all are on the edge of committing terrible sins, but it is only by God's grace that we are able to abstain. We all are banking on grace in the end!
Key Verse | Genesis 20:16
To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”
Genesis 20
Abraham and Abimelech
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 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, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 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 my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all 1 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Dive Deeper | Genesis 20
There have been so many times in my life when I knowingly make the wrong decision. I don't take ownership when I am clearly in the wrong with my wife, I joke and offend someone, or I eat way too many scoops of Blue Bell ice cream.
Why is it so hard to do the right thing?
This passage focuses on Abraham and, of course, Abimelech (to be honest, I had to Google who this dude was).
It turns out that Abimelech was the king of Gerar. The story explains that Abraham told Abimelech that Sarah, Abraham's wife, was his sister. While not necessarily a lie, given that they both had the same father, it was definitely not the whole truth considering they were married. Sadly, this wasn't the first time he asked Sarah to go along with this sister story to spare his own life. In Genesis 12 Abraham even went as far as to tell Sarah, "Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake." (Genesis 12:13)
Even Abraham, the "father of a multitude of nations" (Genesis 17:5), was not perfect and didn't make all the right decisions. So why do we do this? Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:15: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."
At the end of the day, we cannot rely on our own strength to get us to heaven. Even after trusting in Christ and becoming a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), we still do not find ourselves without sin. I've heard it said by one of my professors that "we are becoming functionally what we are positionally." We continue to work out our faith with "fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12) and to avoid using God's grace as a means to keep sinning (see Romans 6:1). Our strength relies on the object of our faith (see Romans 5:1). All of us fall short, but God, being rich in mercy, gave us a way, through Christ, to be united with Him (see Ephesians 2:4-6).
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think Abraham should have done things differently?
2. So many times I find myself asking, "Why did I do that?" or "Why did I say that?" How do you evaluate those situations, and do you seek biblical counsel from your community?
3. Have you ever felt that you are taking advantage of the grace God has given you? If so, take a minute to pray, and ask the Lord to reveal ways in which you have done so. Consider confessing to your community and seeking repentance. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)