God Issues No Idle Threats

The message was loud, clear and quite menacing: “You’re a dead man!”  It’s never a good thing when someone threatens you.  But, it’s the worst possible scenario when God is the one doing it.

Genesis 20 begins with a nightmare.   This was not the sort of dream that you could lift your head off the pillow and simply dismiss what you just imagined as absurd and then calmly go back to sleep.  No trip to the fridge for a nighttime snack would allow enough time to forget it so you could salvage some rest from what remained of the night.  No, this vision was real and the messenger was dead serious. 

So, what had this man done that had so angered God?  The Scripture says: "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

Contrary to what many in our culture currently think, God takes marriage seriously.  In fact, the Bible shows that He does indeed care about the nature of marriage.  After all, He, not society, is the Creator and final authority on the subject.  Long before the nature of marriage was up for debate in Western societies, God held those who threatened the purity and permanence of this sacred institution in contempt of His marital court. 

That is why God tells the ancient Philistine king, Abimelech: “You’re a dead man!”   Kings are used to getting what they want.  Abimelech looked at a woman he found attractive and after making some inquiries with her “brother,” he took her to be his wife.  But, the woman’s “brother” had failed to tell Abimelech the entire story.  As a result, it landed him in the direct crosshairs of the Holy God.

Sometimes, a white lie or a half truth can land you in hot water.  Other times, the collateral damage of a deceptive scheme puts others in peril.  Unfortunately for Abimelech, he fell victim to Abraham’s lie.  I imagine Abraham hoped his introduction of Sarah to Abimelech as his sister rather than as his wife would have been received with a “Nice to meet you” and nothing more.  But, Abimelech took it to mean she was available. 

Every decision, whether good or bad, impacts others.  As John Donne, the British poet and preacher wrote during the Renaissance:  “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” 

Abraham’s fearful lie sets a series of events in motion that put innocent people at risk.  Today’s message in Genesis 20 should serve as both a reminder and warning to all of us that the impact of our sinful choices is never limited to ourselves.  

This article is an excerpt of this Sunday's sermon in my series in Genesis.  All are welcome to join us for worship every Sunday at 10:30 am.  Lighthouse Community Baptist Church is located at 22 Pequot Trail in Pawcatuck.