Abraham settled into life in a new area. He fell back into an old behavior pattern of calling Sarah his “sister.” God had already once shown him how unnecessary it was to resort to calling her his sister in order to protect himself. But it was an old pattern, and he fell back into it. However, God intervened in the situation and protected both Abraham and Sarah as well as Abimelech’s household.
God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and warned him not to touch Sarah. Abimelech, being a man who apparently did have a fear of God, returned Sarah to Abraham, and God spared him and his household.
It’s interesting to me that Abraham’s resorting to an old, unnecessary pattern had negative consequences for everyone involved. It brought judgment to Abimelech’s household, and it would have destroyed Sarah and Abraham’s marriage had the Lord not intervened.
It would be easy to judge Abraham for being dull or slow to learn. Why did he not get it the first time? I thought he was the Father of Faith! Yet when I look at my own life, I see old patterns of behavior that were very comfortable to me — things the Lord has clearly shown me are not his will. I “learn the lesson” only to find myself returning to the same pattern when I’m not consciously aware of it.
Thanks be to God for his grace and continued leading in my life. On this journey of faith, I am learning different ways of living that involve greater trust. But it is a process. I’m so thankful to the Lord that he understands the process better than I do and will not give up on me.
Judy Linscheid
EFCC Member