But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “LORD, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” And God said, to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her.” Genesis 20: 3-6, NKJV.
Holy Father Your justice is astounding! Please draw near, we pray, and teach us to be like You, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
As we looked at the story of Abraham during the past week; we could not help but notice, how the decisions we make, and our actions, affect others, for good, or for evil. In the case of Abimelech, unfortunately, Abraham and Sarah’s decision to deceive, affected him and his household adversely. But thank God, God would provide the rememdy, for, God is no respecter of persons!
I love the manner in which God dealt with Abimelech! The great God, creator of heaven and earth, considered Abimelech important enough, to pay him a visit in the night seasons and talk to him concerning his situation. But God went further than that. He intervened directly, and kept this man from committing a sin unwittingly. Abraham had jumped to his conclusion regarding the kind of people residing in Gerar (Genesis 20: 11). As far as he was concerned, no one of any moral judgment, could be living in this city! But God who looks at His creatures with indiscriminate eyes, can detect His image in us! Praise God! I believe that we are going to be very surprised when we get to heaven and see all who the Lord saved; in spite of our opinion.
Somehow we seem to believe that we have the perfect measuring rod to determine people’s worthiness, or lack of the same. I thank God, that He will not play our game! God saw in Abimelech integrity, and He told him so! That is what Jesus does. He builds us up! He works to bring out the best in each of us; and encourages us, at every step of the way! Abraham was reasoning very much like the people in Jesus’ day, “Can anything good, come out of Nazareth” (John 1: 46)? Even when Nathanael was doubting if Jesus could be the Messiah because of where He came from; Jesus was saying of him, “Behold an Israelite, indeed, in whom there is no deceit” (47).
In Acts, chapter 10, we find the story of Cornelius “a centurion of the Italian Cohort” (1), and the apostle Peter. In answering Cornelius’ prayer, God had given both men a vision. The only way Peter would enter the dwelling place of a non-Jewish person, was for God Himself to tell him to do so, “And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled, and he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean” (27, 28, NRSV).
I thank God, that His love for us is so profound, that He will use visions and dreams and whatever He needs to use, to get our attention, and inform us, that, “…God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation, he [or she] that feareth [H]im and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him”(34).
I say, thank God for that!