How is your Bible reading going? In one of the first churches I served, I challenged our members to read through the Bible in a year. One dear lady who was attempting it for the first time, made it this far into Genesis and said, “I had no idea these things were in the Bible.” Here is the story: Abraham told Sarah to tell people she was his sister so that they would not kill him in order to marry her. In fact, he and Sarah were related. This lie becomes part of a pattern of lies in Abraham’s family for at least four generations. What are we to make of this?
First, the scriptures are descriptive but they are not always prescriptive. Just because our heroes of the faith engaged in activities does not mean that we are supposed to be like them. They needed a Savior just as we do. When Melanie and I went to a new place as a young married couple, I joked with her and said, “Tell people you are my sister.” She did not laugh, nor did she comply. The Bible reports the behavior of God’s people, but it does not mean that we should emulate it. In fact, Eugene Peterson observed that the Bible reports and subverts polygamy and primogeniture (favoring the firstborn) again and again. When the scriptures show us how polygamy and primogeniture imploded on themselves, the Bible is teaching us.
Second, even though Abraham appears to value his life over his marriage, God takes marriage very seriously. For Abimelek, the consequences of trying to marry Abraham’s wife were terrible. In the end, Abraham prayed for healing in Abimelek’s household. We may think, “All’s well that ends well.” Abraham received his choice of the land. Sarah was safe because God protected her. Abraham made money on the deal, getting a thousand shekels of silver. In the end, Abraham prayed for his new neighbors and they knew more about God. All true. But there is more to be learned.
The story does not say that God told Abraham to do this. Often in this story, Abraham and Sarah came up with their own ideas about how to protect themselves and get what they wanted. It usually did not go well. What if Abraham had trusted God to protect him and Sarah? There is no record of Abraham praying as they entered Gerar. I know in my own life that if I get out of the pattern of prayer, I am at risk of making poor decisions. Peter failed at prayer before he denied Jesus. When I am talking to God and listening to him, he leads me to better decisions.
Where is the good news in this story? God is still working even when we don’t trust him as we should. This should make us trust him more. Our failures are not fatal. God redeems us even when we make foolish choices and keeps his promises even when we don’t. Once again, the Lord ends up blessing Abraham and making him a blessing to those around him. There is hope for those of us who have acted foolishly. Today is a new day. We ought to talk to God about it!
