Abimelech on Trial

In Genesis 20 Abraham lied about his wife. As a consequence Abimelech, king of Gerar, had taken his wife thinking she was free.

But she was Abraham’s wife, a sin of ignorance was done and thus Abimelech was to come on trial before a God who is defensive for his erring people.

This trial gives us an insight into how God’s process of judgment works and how we are involved.

First of all we must take into consideration the accused.

Gerar was probably a not too righteous nation. Abraham was terrified of it. And when his wife was taken, he feared that he would be killed. Of course this was unbelief and lying on his part, but we have reason to believe that this nation wasn’t that pure.

[Gen 20:11 KJV] – 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.

Abimelech was king of this nation, Gerar.

So we can assume this nation was already not in a favorable position before God and that Abraham had some justified fears to lie. This might be the reason why God was so harsh against Abimelech while He seemed to be quite soft on Abraham and Sarah.

Then the accusation is presented and the legal punishment that goes with it:

[Gen 20:1-3 KJV] – 1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 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.

Abimelech deserved death. We also know that a judgment had already come. In verse 17-18 it tells us that his entire house couldn’t bear children. This was the initial and just pronunciation from God. Abimelech had taken Abraham’s wife, which seems to be a rather strong language. And Abraham probably had reason to fear.

But the accused was allowed to make an appeal. Our prayers and appeals actually have value in the court of God. Though God already knows everything and He plans things accordingly, it is a rule in His process of judgment that our prayers matter. God Himself has a reputation to uphold and our prayers and appeals have a legitimate weight in the scales. 

As of right now, Abimelech was a dead man.

But Abimelech was bold enough to protest:

[Gen 20:4-5 KJV] – 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 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.

Abimelech protested. He had done this specific act in integrity and innocence. Abraham had lied and he simply didn’t know. And even though it was a real sin and offense, he had not yet had intercourse with her and everything he had done was in integrity. We can sense his fear which we later also see in his servants. Sodom and Gomorrah had just been destroyed and we can imagine that people had heard which may have added to the fear.

But he simply didn’t know and this was his appeal.

God hears this kind of appeal. Ignorance is a valid appeal in His hall of justice because of grace and mercy:

[Gen 20:6-7 KJV] – 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. 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.

God already knew this and yet it had a real weight in this judgment. We have to remember God’s own reputation is in question because of Satan. His judgments are to be clear, fair, transparent and right. If He had killed Abimelech it would have been right from the position of a Judge. But in God’s system of judgment prayers matter, at least in these kinds of judgments.

God’s disinclination to condemn is shown here as well. God had specifically prevented him from having intercourse with Sarah to mitigate the offense. He knew Abimelech had done what he did in integrity and for this reason he withheld him from sinning in a way far worse.

God had already made a way for this prayer to be valid and it was heard.

God pronounced that he had to restore Sarah and that Abraham would pray for him and in this way the whole judgment would be taken away. If he however didn’t restore her he would still die.

And so it was done:

[Gen 20:8-9, 14-18 KJV] – 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. 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. ... 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave [them] unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land [is] before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 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. 17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare [children]. 18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

Abimelech restored her and gave even more. Abraham prayed and he was healed.

Abimelech, of course, was not one of God’s people. He was an outsider. 

We can see that the prayer of Abraham, a friend of God, had a real weight in this matter too.

Abimelech’s protest was heard but the prayer of Abraham was still needed. In this way one who knew God and was blessed of Him would put his weight in the scales of judgment too. Before all of heaven the prayer would be seen and God would be more justified in the eyes of all to retract His judgment which He was not inclined to give. He has placed value on the prayers of the righteous and this proves it. It can have actual weight in heaven since God had promised to listen to these prayers. If He has promised it will have actual value in these kinds of smaller judgments.

It may also be interesting to notice that the whole kingdom and the house of Abimelech was involved in Abimelech’s sin.
His sin could be on his kingdom and could be a reason for a righteous nation to be slain. All that are thine would be slain with Abimelech if he didn’t return Sarah. And all the wombs of the house of Abimelech were closed.
This is what we may call collective guilt. We have to remember the nation was probably already wicked, but the specific sin of Abimelech could be on the whole kingdom as a collective.

And even though it was the sin of one person, the whole kingdom could have been judged for it. This is another principle in God’s system of justice that is sometimes applied. He considers some collectives as a body that can be judged as a whole. 

This was supposed to be something good. Jesus Himself saves us this way. But unfortunately sin had entered and this principle became a reason for much condemnation.

And yet God is merciful. He didn’t want to judge Abimelech or his kingdom. He listened to his prayers, He prevented more sin from happening, He cared about his ignorance. But at the same time He also clearly shows He cares about the safety of His people and the promises He made to them. In this case He had promised Abraham a child through Sarah.

And He was very zealous as is seen in the fact He initiates this judgments in the first place.

We can extract these principles from this process of judgment: 

1. God judges for His people

2. God does not wish to punish

3. He withholds people from sinning sometimes

4. He hears someone’s protest in judgment

5. The prayers of the righteous have real value in His court

6. He is very merciful