Gen. 20:7; cf. James 5:16
Abraham had to intercede for Abimelech’s need in spite of his own failure and the fact that Sarah was still barren. This shows that our interceding for others does not depend on our condition; it depends on who we are. God did not count Abraham’s failure but considered him His prophet (v. 7). Regardless of our condition, in God’s eyes we, God’s called ones, are His prophets (1 Cor. 14:31), His new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), the members of the Body of Christ (Eph. 5:30).
Lit., covering.
n figure, Abraham signifies faith and Sarah signifies grace (Gal. 3:7; 4:23). When Abraham failed, Sarah suffered and Abraham lost the testimony of grace. This shows that whenever faith fails on our side, grace suffers on God’s side, and whenever the enjoyment of grace is lost, the testimony of grace also is lost.
Although Abraham’s faith failed, God still preserved him by His sovereign care. God wisely and sovereignly restored Sarah, taking care of His grace and His testimony.
Abraham’s lying to Abimelech was planned by him from the time he began to follow the way of God. Thus, his failure in this chapter exposed his hidden weakness in the matter of following the Lord and trusting in Him absolutely.
Lit., said.
Lit., What did you see…
When Abraham journeyed from Hebron (v. 1), he left God’s presence and the proper standing on which he could have fellowship with God (Gen. 13:18 and notes). Although he had been circumcised both physically and spiritually (Gen. 17:10, 23-24 and note Gen. 17:101a), when he left the proper standing of fellowship with God, Abraham was again in the flesh and repeated his previous failure (Gen. 12:13). This shows that no matter how high our spiritual attainment may be, as long as we are still in the old creation, if we do not remain in fellowship with God, we are capable of being in the flesh and of behaving like the worldly people. We should never have any confidence in our flesh; the flesh is absolutely untrustworthy (Rom. 7:18; Phil. 3:3). We must put our trust in the Lord’s presence.
I.e., Hebron (Gen. 18:1; cf. Gen. 13:18).
