Questions:
3.
Same: Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister, taken by King, not gone to, God intervenes – people get ill, “what have you done to me/us?”, Abraham gained monetarily.
Difference: Run out of Egypt not Negev, Explanation of why they lied (habit and prior agreement), no mention of Sarah’s beauty, Abimelek knew God although Abraham didn’t recognize it, ended in prayer
4.
a.
He is an idiot and horrible role-model for being a husband. He was afraid and rather than rely on God relied on his own wit and intellect. Twisted truth to attempt to satisfy his own needs/desires. This lie must have been a deep rut he fell back in to.
b.
When afraid but feeling they can “weasel” their way out. They know it is wrong but justify it because it is “partially true.”
5.
a.
Missed opportunity. Rather than being a witness to Abimilek and the nation he was a source of disease and problems
b.
We can only be a blessing if people see God in us. If we deny God the opportunity to be at the forefront and relegate him to cleaning up our messes how can we be a blessing?
(text) vs 10: he was not treated as his sins deserved or repayed according to his iniquities
6.
a.
vs 10: he was not treated as his sins deserved or repayed according to his iniquities
b.
He formed a treaty with him, swore not to deal falsely, stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time
c.
He has treated me with compassion and not once given me what I truly deserve. He has blessed me and my family and encouraged me to be an honest husband.
My Daily Journal:
In the children’s lecture, one of the principles talks about restoration in this section. This brought to mind the illustration of restoring a piece of furniture. To truly restore furniture requires stripping it down to the bare wood and carving out any weak or decayed pieces of wood, joints or fabric.
We saw Abram and Sarai (names back then) pull this same stunt in Egypt. While God protected them at that point, it does not appear they really dealt with the lie. I equate this with putting another coat of paint on the furniture instead of refinishing it correctly.
That doesn’t work here because (1) Abimilech is a believer and (2) God’s plan is for Abraham to spend some time in this land raising his son. For this to work Abraham needed to be able to form a bond with Abimilech, to reach a covenant with him. But you cannot form a strong bond in furniture without stripping off the old varnish. Abraham and Sarah show their old varnish in their lie, but God’s response to Abimilech leads to Abraham’s prayer and ultimately to Abraham’s promise to Abimilech that he will not lie to him ever again.
Side Note: What’s with the 7 lambs? In order to have a lasting relationship with Abimilech, Abraham had to reach the understanding that it could not just be about me, me, me. It also had to be about “ewe”. (sorry, couldn’t resist!)
The Notes are Good 