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Sarah Again in Danger
v. 1. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. From the grove of Mamre at or near Hebron Abraham gradually journeyed, with all his possessions, to the extreme southern part of Canaan, very likely in search of better pasturage. The region where he tented was, roughly speaking, between Kadesh and Shur, and in his wanderings he encamped also at Gerar, in the land of the Philistines.
v. 2. And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister; and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. As in Egypt, Gen_12:13, Abraham did not tell the exact and complete truth when he stated that Sarah was his sister. So the king of Gerar, whose standing title was Abimelech, acted in good faith when he added her to his harem. Either the transformation worked in Sarah as a result of God's promise had renewed her youth, or Abimelech found it to his advantage to be related to the rich Abraham by marriage.
v. 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. God prevents the greater sin which might have happened as a result of Abraham's weakness. Appearing to Abimelech in a dream by night, a form of communication which He often adopted, the Lord told him: Behold, thou art destined to die. Sarah was not free to be married: she was literally under her husband as the head of the household: she was a married woman.
v. 4. But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, wilt Thou slay also a righteous nation?
v. 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 ithis of my hands have I done this. It is not only the transgression in deed which makes a person guilty in the sight of God, but even an intention that may result in evil without the knowledge of the person. The majority of the sins of Christians are committed in ignorance. In Abimelech's case, where the Sixth Commandment had not yet been broken in deed, he defends himself by referring to the plain statements of Abraham and Sarah, on the basis of which he had acted in good faith. Surely the Lord would not slay a people in spite of its righteousness, since he had acted in the guilelessness of his heart and in the purity of his hands; he had not knowingly polluted either his heart or his hands.
v. 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. The Lord accepted the excuse of Abimelech, incidentally telling him, however, that the sickness which had prevented the king from consummating the supposed marriage had been inflicted from above, to prevent a greater wrong from being committed. Thus the Lord makes use even of misery and tribulation to keep His children from sin and transgression.
v. 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 that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine. If, after this revelation, Abimelech had persisted in keeping Sarah, his sin would have been one of malice, and death would have been the certain retribution, not only his own death, but that of his whole family. By telling Abimelech that he would remain alive only by virtue of the intercession of Abraham, who was one of His own prophets, the Lord showed that He knew the king to be capable of true moral understanding. It is a wise person that permits himself to be governed by God's directions after some stumble or mistake.