Genesis
chapter 20 is an unpleasant one to read because Abraham, makes the
same mistake he had previously made. We read, “Abraham
moved on from there…and lived between Kadesh and Shur…And there
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “she is my sister”. Then
Abimelech, king of Gerar sent for Sarah an took her“.
This is exactly the same thing that Abraham did in Egypt with
terrible consequences, yet he does it again. So often we repeat our
sins and we become frustrated. Often we think that we just are
beyond help and we are tempted to quit trying to resist that sin. As
Paul says in Romans 7:24, “Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death?“.
Paul goes on to make the point that on our own, we can’t resist sin.
He reminds us that those that try to be righteous through following
the law will fail. It is only by taking hold of the truth that, “The
Law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of death.
For what the law could not do (keep
you from sinning ) …God
did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh“.
“There
is therefore no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus“.
We did not earn God’s love through our actions, we became children
of God through faith. Paul reminds us, “The
Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you“.
It is only by the power of God’s Holy Spirit that we can become
victorious over sin.
Once
again God interceded to prevent His promise to Abraham from being
broken. “But
God came to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You are as good as
dead because of the women you have taken, she is a married women“.
Abimelech, pleads his innocence to God, “I
have not gone near her…Did he not say she is my sister…I have
done this with a clear conscience“.
God tells Abimelech, “That
is why I did not allow you to touch her. Now return the man’s wife
for he is a prophet and he will pray for you and you will live“.
“Then
Abimelech called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to
us?“.
Abraham give a pitiful defense, but Abimelech gives Abraham sheep
and cattle and slaves and silver and says, “My
land is before you, live wherever you like“.
And notice, “Abraham
prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech“.
God continues to use Abraham, and God continues to use you and I
when we blow it.
The
Apostle Paul concludes Romans chapter 8 with a wonderful reminder.
After urging us to call on God’s Holy Spirit when we are not able on
our own, he says, “and
He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the
Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will“.
You and I are the saints Paul is talking about. He ends the
chapter, “For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord“.
AMEN!