Genesis 20

I.                Abraham’s Journey to Gerar (Genesis 20:1-18)

A.    Genesis 20:1 - And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

1.     Thence? – The last location of Abraham was “where he stood before the Lord”

a.      Why did he leave? Could he have thought that Lot and his family were destroyed with Sodom

b.      Was he departing because he was angry at the Lord?

c.      “probably to seek for better pasture” Keil & Delitzsch, commentary on the Old Testament. 

2.     Kadesh – קדש Qadesh, "holy"

3.     Shur - שור Shuwr, "wall"

a.      Where the angel of the Lord visited Hagar

4.     Gerar - גרר Gĕrar, "a lodging place" This is in the  land of the Philistines

B.     Genesis 20:2 – And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

1.     Once again Abraham resorts to deceptive tactics as a result of his fear

a.      Could his fear have originated with the possibility that He was not communing with God as a result of His judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah?

b.      Was Abraham in God’s Will by journeying to the south? Did he feel that he was out of God’s Will due to some ill feelings toward God?

c.      Abraham returns to his fearful flesh

2.     Abimelech - אבימלך 'Abiymelek, "Melek is father" or "my father is king", a title much like Pharoah, Caesar, etc.

3.     Why would an old man fear that his old wife would be coveted by a king?

a.      Sarah is near 90 years old yet Abimelech thought enough of her to take her as his wife, this tells us that either:

·        Abimelech had strange taste in women, or

·        Sarah looked much younger than her age

o       Possibly God renewed Sarah’s youth in preparation for her conception in order to carry Isaac and nurse him after birth

C.    Genesis 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.

1.     God reveals His Will in dreams throughout scripture (20 separate instances) some of the more prominent include:

a.      Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven - Gen. 28:12

b.      Jacob dreams of separating cattle - Gen. 31:10

c.      Joseph dreams of sheaves and stars - Gen. 37:5

d.      The baker and butler Gen. - 40:5

e.      Pharoah dreams of cows and stalks - Gen. 41

f.       Solomon’s request for wisdom - I Kings 3:5-9

g.      Nebudchadnezzar - Daniel 2:3

h.      Daniel’s dream of end times – Dan. 7:1

i.       Joseph is told to remain with Mary – Matt. 1:20

j.       Wise men warned of God not to return to Jerusalem – Mat. 2:12

k.      Pilates wife before Jesus’ crucifixion – Mat. 27:19

l.       Last days prophecy – Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17

2.     That would be fairly convincing

a.      How many of us have dreams that we just blow off?

b.      Do all dreams have meaning?

·        Probably, but interpretation is not simple

·        There is far more to our subconscious than we know

·        We can see from scripture that this is a frequent method of communication from God.  Are all dreams from God? Probably not.

·        How are our minds affected by subliminal messages?

D.    Genesis 20:4 – But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

1.     Abimelech expected that God would destroy the entire nation

2.     Or sees himself as so important that the nation would not be able to survive without him

3.     We can see later in the chapter that the Lord actually prevented women from becoming pregnant until Sarah was returned to Abraham.

E.     Genesis 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.

1.     Sure he is innocent of knowing that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, but it appears that he is a tyrant

2.     We often act as though we are innocent, but we are all guilty of something

F.     Genesis 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.

1.     God withheld him from sinning…

a.      God will sometimes withhold us from sinning when we do so out of ignorance

·        God has a reason for everything He does, why would God prevent Abimelech from sinning here and allow countless other sins similar to this to occur?

·        God was preserving his chosen bloodline

b.      Would have corrupted God’s promise in that he promised that this time Sarah would conceive and give birth to Isaac.

·        Satan is very aware of God’s promises and tries his best to undermine them

2.     Sinning against me

a.      God would have considered a union between Abimelech and Sarah as a sin against him, why?

·        There has yet to be any law given to man

·        Is it only a sin against God because it is Sarah or is that irrelevant?  Seems is would be more of a sin against Abraham

·        What law would Abimelech have been held to? Appears there is support for Natural Law here.

G.    Genesis 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.

1.     Abraham called a prophet for the first time

2.     Prophet – נביא nabiy', masculine noun,  spokesman, speaker, prophet

3.     Prayer associated with prophecy and delivering from God’s judgment, calling upon His mercy. 

4.     Abraham acted as an intercessor, God instructed Abimelech that he would hear prayers from Abraham suggesting that he would not hear prayers from Abimelech.

5.     Christ is our intercessor allowing us the ability to make our requests known, we no longer need an earthly intercessor:

a.      Philippians 4:6 -  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

H.    Genesis 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.

1.     Only the men were afraid? Why not the women?  Did Abimelech only have male servents for it said that he called “all his servents”?

a.      Verse 14 confirms that he did have female servants

2.     men - אנוש 'enowsh, masculine noun, man, mortal man, person, mankind

a.      Seems to be a noun that can be used to represent a mixed group of men and women

b.      Seems that all of the servants were afraid, both men and women.

I.      Genesis 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.

1.     Abimelech is upset that he was deceived, Abraham would probably have been in danger of losing his life if not for the fact that Abimelech knew that he was a prophet of God.

2.     We see that Abraham, a man of great faith, even he had shortcomings and found it difficult to be honest with confronted with the possibility of losing his life.

J.      Genesis 20:10 – And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

1.     Why did you do this to me?

K.    Genesis 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.

1.     Abimelech asked what Abraham saw, Abraham replied with what he thought.

a.      What would Abraham have seen to lead him to this conclusion?

b.      Were Abraham’s actions justified?

2.     The enemy can place fearful thoughts in your mind

a.      Abimelech knows if what Abraham is saying is true or not

b.      Would expect some truth to this since Abraham was called a prophet

c.      Abimelech would have been convicted in his heart

L.     Genesis 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.

1.     Abraham confirms that Sarah is his half-sister

2.     Daughter of Terah Abraham’s father

3.     The book of Jasher says that Sarah was Haran’s daughter, Abraham’s brother who died before Abraham’s calling.

M.   Genesis 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.

1.     When he left Ur of the Chaldeans

N.    Genesis 20:14 – And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave [them] unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

1.     Strange that he lavishes these gifts upon a man who deceived him, was this out of fear?

2.     We see here that Abimelech did in fact have female servants

O.    Genesis 20:15 – And Abimelech said, Behold, my land [is] before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

P.     Genesis 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.

1.     Abimelech refers to Abraham as Sarah’s brother instead of her husband

2.     brother – אח 'ach, brother,

a.      brother of same parents

b.      half-brother (same father)

c.      relative, kinship, same tribe

d.      each to the other (reciprocal relationship)

e.      (fig.) of resemblance

3.     “he is to thee a covering…” a concealment, an article of clothing used for covering

a.      I Corinthians 11:5 – But every woman that prayeth or prophecieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven”

b.      I Corinthians 11:10 – For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Q.    Genesis 20:17 – So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare [children].

R.    Genesis 20:18 - For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

1.     Must have been there for a while for this to have been noticeable

2.     The parallels of Sarah on a micro level foreshadowing the children of Israel on a macro level are very clear:

a.      When Sarah was first taken to wife of Pharoah she clearly represented Israel going into captivity to Egypt and with a mighty hand she was set free

b.      Here we have a similar foreshadowing in that in the coming years the Philistines will be a formidable opponent as God called up a deliverer in Moses against the Egyptians He called a deliverer Samson against the Philistines after they were in bondage to the Philistines 40 years.

Genesis 19:22-38

 

V. Genesis 19:22 - Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

1.     This changes the entire paradigm of the story because up to this point we are under the impression that Lot and his family must rush to leave the city before the Lord destroys it, but here it says “I cannot do anything till thou be come tither” making Lot’s departure from Sodom a pre-requisite and destruction cannot begin until he is out.

a.      What does this tell us about God’s character?

b.      God left Abraham agreeing not to destroy the city for the sake of ten, but in reality He would not destroy it for the sake of one for He would not destroy it until that one had fled.

c.      Would God have destroyed Sodom if Lot chose to remain?

·        If Lot chose to remain he would be in direct disobedience to God and would likely not be considered just.

·        God can look into the heart and what our motives are for the things we do, what often seems like an open and closed case may not be so easy when motives and intentions are taken into consideration.

·        God is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2.     Shows the value of righteousness, we are of tremendous value to God, so much that He made it mandatory that Lot escape before destruction begins.

W.     Genesis 19:23 - The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

1.     What does this mean? 

a.      The sun is always risen upon the earth somewhere. 

b.      Obviously this is limited to the geographical region, but this word earth was used.

·        Earth – ארץ 'erets, feminine noun, land, earth

·        Just a rabbit trail here but is the way the word earth (ארץ 'erets ) is used here possibly the way that the word was intended to be used regarding the flood, was it a worldwide flood or a geographically isolated flood covering the entire middle eastern region?  It appears that a worldwide flood is what the text is conveying, but note the different uses of the word.

2.     So the destruction began at sunrise as Lot entered Zoar.

3.     Zoar must have been close in proximity to Sodom in order to reach it by foot in this short period of time.  Probably 10 miles maximum.

II.              The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

A.    Genesis 19:24 - Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

1.     Brimstone – גפרית gophriyth, feminine noun, inflammable materials, specifically sulfur

2.     Wars of the Jews, Josephus Book 4, Chapter 8 – …The length of this lake is five hundred and eighty furlongs, where it is extended as far as Zoar, in Arabia; and its breadth is a hundred and fifty. The country of Sodom borders upon it.  It was of old a most happy land, both for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of that divine fire; and the traces of the five cities are still to be seen, as well as ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a colour as if they were fit to be eaten; but if you pluck them with your hand, they dissolve into smoke and ashes.  And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath these marks of credibility which our very sight affords us.

a.      Apparently during Josephus’ time the remains were still visible validating the claims of Genesis.

b.      Like the Wisdom of Solomon, Josephus mentions 5 cities rather than 4.

c.      For archeological verification of the Biblical accuracy of Sodom & Gomorrah visit the following video presentation: Revealing God's Treasure -Sodom & Gomorrah

B.     Genesis 19:25 - And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

1.     Deuteronomy 29:23 - [And that] the whole land thereof [is] brimstone, and salt, [and] burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

a.      Of the five cities that formed a coalition against the invading Babylonians these four were destroyed, only Zoar was spared

b.      The Genesis account only specifies Sodom and Gomorrah, they must have been the chief cities.

2.     Jeremiah 49:18 - As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

a.      To this day it’s a barren desert land

3.     The Wisdom of Solomon 10:7a - Who fled from the fire that descended on the Five Towns; to their wickedness a smoking waste still bears lasting witness, as do trees that bear fruit that never ripens, …

a.      Says here that the fire descended on five towns, not the four mentioned in Deuteronomy.  No mention of what the fifth town was, it could not have been Zoar because that is where Lot initially fled.

b.      The Bible only lists four there could have been a fifth that wasn’t named.

C.    Genesis 19:26 - But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

1.     The Wisdom of Solomon 10:7b - …and a pillar of salt that stands as a memorial of an unbelieving soul.

2.     Lot’s wife served as a memorial, a memorial of disobedience.

3.     Luke 17:32 - Remember Lot's wife.

4.     Verse 23 says that Lot was in Zoar, was his wife lagging behind and not safely within the walls of Zoar? Sodom must have been visible from Zoar in order for Lot’s wife to even see it

D.    Genesis 19:27 - And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

1.     Emphasizes the concern that Abraham had for Lot as he was up early to survey the damage.

2.     He went back to the place where he spoke with God.  Shows Abrahams humanity just  as we sometimes go to a specific geographical area to remember so to is Abraham remembering the Lord’s promise.

E.     Genesis 19:28 - And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

1.     The smoke of a furnace, representing God’s judgment, remember what walked between the pieces to form the covenant:

a.      Genesis 15:17 - And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

b.      Covenant of judgment and grace

F.     Genesis 19:29 - And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

1.     Here we can see the benefit Lot realized from the intercession of Abraham for God remembered Abraham therefore he rescued Lot.

2.     The cities, plural, in which Lot dwelt.  Up to this point we are only provided evidence that Lot lived only in Sodom, but here it states that he lived in more than one of the destroyed cities.

G.    Genesis 19:30 - And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

1.     Lot and his daughters left Zoar after how long?

2.     Did he just keep walking through before anyone got up? Or did he reside in the city for a time?

3.     Why did Lot fear to dwell in Zoar? 

a.      Was he witness to the same sinful behaviors that he saw in Sodom?

b.      Or was it because his wife was turned to salt either within the city or just outside the city walls?

c.      Could it be that the people who lived there blamed Lot for the destruction of Sodom which more than likely affected their livelihood?

4.     Remember in v. 17 he was originally commanded to escape to the mountain, it was Lot’s request to flee to Zoar instead.

a.      God said He would not destroy Zoar, does Lot not trust God’s Word to be true?

H.    Genesis 19:31 - And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father [is] old, and [there is] not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

1.     Lot’s daughters were under the impression that the destruction they just witnessed was worldwide.

a.      If they had just left Zoar this doesn’t seem to make sense since surely there would have been men living in the city of Zoar.

·        Possibly they just passed through the city in the early morning before anyone was up.

b.      Lends the reader to believe that some time has passed since leaving Zoar that this took place.

2.     Somewhat excuses their next actions as being out of desperation to preserve humanity.

I.      Genesis 19:32 - Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

1.     How long were they in the cave before this took place?

2.     If this wasn’t specifically spelled out, who would believe it?  To a non-believer this story seems too incredible, but these elements seem so revealing that it provides tremendous credibility

3.     Was this action a result of living in Sodom their whole lives under compromised moral and ethical values?

J.      Genesis 19:33 - And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

1.     They “made” their father drink?  It probably didn’t require much effort

2.     Lot was unaware of what happened

3.     Was this God’s plan?

K.    Genesis 19:34 - And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, [and] lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

L.     Genesis 19:35 - And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

M.   Genesis 19:36 - Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

N.    Genesis 19:37 - And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day.

1.     Moab - מואב Mow'ab, "of his father"

O.    Genesis 19:38 - And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

1.     Benammi – בן–עמי Ben-`Ammiy, "son of my people"

2.     Ammon – עמון `Ammown, "tribal"

       Zephaniah 2:8-9 - I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified [themselves] against their border.  Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.