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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Genesis 20:6
Comments
Abimelech has not yet perfect light, but he has much more integrity than any of the other Philistines, and a recognition of the one universal God. ‘For I also withheld thee, says God, from sinning against me. Therefore suffered I not to the touch her.’ God had prevented him from that sin by this illness, which he is later going to be cured of. Even though it is true that Abimelech has not touched Sarah, his protestation of innocence needs to acknowledge that it is God that has held him back from what would have been a sin deserving death.Abraham was a prophet. To him were given promises on which the covenant of grace rests. Abraham was told in advance what would happen to his descendants, and how they would eventually inherit the land that he had been promised. To underline the fact that Abraham was a prophet, God tells Abimelech that God’s willingness to forgive him depends on Abraham’s prayer for him. This puts Abimelech in the uncomfortable position of needing to go to the one who has been less than straightforward with him and ask for his intercession. But God insists on this in order to honour his prophet even though he has not acted correctly.‘Now therefore’, says God, ‘restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet.’ What an awkward thing that the prophet, the representative of God, sent by God no doubt also to assist this Philistine king and to give safety to his extensive family; what an awkward thing that he should need this intervention. Abraham has blotted his copybook from the beginning, and the prophet representing God has done something quite wrong. But nevertheless God says, ‘Restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee’ – he will be instrumental in your healing – ‘and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine’, and Abimelech does it at once. In spite of his fall here, Abraham is going to be given instrumentality, and it actually clothes him with safety. The king's healing and the return of his fertility is going to depend upon the instrumentality of Abraham. The psalmist refers to this event and others when he says, ‘He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm’ (Psalm 105:14-15).
Application
When we avoid committing some sin, perhaps because circumstances stood in the way, or perhaps because some warning made us afraid to proceed, we need to evaluate our conduct soberly. We cannot take credit for not doing what we wanted to do, just because our way was blocked. If God counts the will to act as commendable in the case of good deeds (2 Corinthians 8:12), he certainly counts it as evil in the case of sinful deeds. Alternatively, if a warning has held us back, then we can hardly say that we were motivated by a love of righteousness. Rather, we ought to thank God that he protected us from our sinful nature, and give him the credit for our abstaining, and not ourselves.
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