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In the last article we took a look at how Lot and his daughters fared after the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. We learned that the daughters of Lot had gotten their drunk in order for them to lay with him, so they could get pregnant. The daughters of Lot would indeed get pregnant by their father, which would lead to them both giving birth to there very own son. The oldest daughter would name her son Moab which signified (of my father). And the younger daughter would name her son Ben-Ammi which signified (the son of my people). Now as we move forward, the Sacred Record confirms that after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham had moved away from Mamre which was the place that he had lived for the past twenty years. The Sacred Record would inform us that he headed south, and Abraham would dwell in the desert region of the Negev, which was located somewhere between Kadesh and Shur. The Sacred Record also points out that somewhere between him moving and settling in the desert region of the Negev, Abraham had stayed for some time in a Philistine town and district that was known as "Gerar". Now the Scriptures doesn't give an exact time frame on how long Abraham resided there. But we are told about the events that had taken place during his stay at Gerar. Come to find out, Abraham had again placed himself in an uncomfortable and dangerous position, just like he had done with Pharaoh, back when he had enter Egypt for the first time, not too long ago. Just like the plan that he had came up with, right before he had enter Egypt, we find that Abraham is hatching the same plan right before he enters the Philistine town. Abraham would once again lie and speak of Sarah, as if she was his sister instead of his wife. With Abimelech the king of Gerar believing this story that Abraham had told him, the king sent for Sarah and took her back to his palace. It's at this point that the Scriptures would confirm that Abimelech had taken Sarah, so she could be his wife. Now, when we compare this situation with the one that had happen in Egypt, we would learn that Pharaoh was very attracted towards Sarah and her beauty. But in this case when it comes to Abimelech, we are not given these same kind of details, so we can only assume that the king was attracted to her as well. So now we find that Abimelech is sleeping when the Lord comes to him in a dream: "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, she is a married woman," the Lord would tell the king. Understand that Abimelech had not yet touched Sarah and did not know that she was Abraham's wife. Because of this mishap Abimelech would plead his case before the Lord: "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother?' I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands." -- Genesis 20:4,5 After hearing this, the Lord would warn and instruct Abimelech on what he needed to do next: "Yes I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I didn't let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die." -- Genesis 20:6,7 And although Abimelech had been lied to, he wasn't completely cleared of wrongdoing, for there was a judgment that was placed on him because he had taken Sarah against her will. Understand that Abimelech was cleared of taking Sarah as being another man's wife, but he wasn't cleared for taking Sarah against her will with the intentions of making her his wife. This is why Abraham would have to pray for Abimelech in order for him to be saved from God's judgment. Just because Abimelech was deceived, still did not make him completely innocent of his actions. Plus, God knew the king's heart and this is why he told him, that if he did not return Sarah immediately he would surely die along with his entire household. Early the next morning after Abimelech had awakened he summoned all of his royal officials. The king had told them all about his visitation from the Lord and how Abraham had deceived him. After the king's officials had heard the story that Abimelech had told them, they had become very much afraid. A short while later, the king would call Abraham to come and be before him: "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done. What was your reason for doing this?" the disturbed king asked him. After hearing what Abimelech had to say, Abraham responded by saying: "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother,"'" Notice that with the statement that Abraham had given Abimelech, it would be in defense of what he had done against the king. Abraham wanted Abimelech to know that he did not do any of these things as a personal attack towards him. He wanted the king to also know that he and his wife Sarah had this understanding and arrangement -- no matter where they had went. So the king brought sheep and cattle along with male and female servants and gave them to Abraham. Abimelech would also return Sarah back to her rightful place, "My land is before you; live wherever you like," the king would tell Abraham. Then Abimelech would turn his attention towards Sarah: "I'm giving your brother a thousand shekels of sliver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated," the king would tell her. Now real quick, notice how Abimelech was being sarcastic towards Sarah, when he called Abraham her "brother?" : "I'm giving your brother a thousand shekels of sliver." This shows that Abimelech was still very angry, even though he's showering Abraham and Sarah with gifts. Be that as it may, then Abraham had prayed to God and asked Him to heal Abimelech, his wife and his servant girls so they could have children again. For the Lord had made every woman in Abimelech household barren, because Abimelech had taken Abraham's wife Sarah against her will. So once again, the Lord allowed the wicked to be punished behind Abraham's fear of being killed because of his wife. Abraham would once again be spared and blessed by the Almighty God, just like he had been while he was back in Egypt some time ago.
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE** Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty 01) Introduction of Abraham - Before He was Called 02) The Divine Calling of Abraham 04) The Strife between Abram and Lot 06) Abram's Mission to Rescue Lot 10) Abraham the Father of a Multitude 11) Sarah the Mother of Nations 13) Abraham Bargains for Sodom 14) Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 15) The Judgment of Lot's Wife 17) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 
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