Praying for Healing (2)
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Genesis 20:1-18 English Standard Version
1. Abraham’s Ruse (Genesis 20:1-2)
a. Genesis 20:1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
b. Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
i. Genesis 12:11-20
2. Abimelech’s Realization(Genesis 20:3-7)
a. Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
b. Genesis 20:4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people?
c. Genesis 20:5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
d. Genesis 20:6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
e. Genesis 20:7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
3. Abimelech’s Rebuke (Genesis 20:8-10)
a. Genesis 20:8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.
b. Genesis 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”
c. Genesis 20:10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”
4. Abraham’s Reasons (Genesis 20:11-13)
a. Genesis 20:11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
b. Genesis 20:12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
c. Genesis 20:13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
5. Abimelech’s Response(Genesis 20:14-16)
a. Genesis 20:14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
b. Genesis 20:15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”
c. Genesis 20:16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”
6. Abimelech’s Recovery(Genesis 20:17-18)
a. Genesis 20:17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
b. Genesis 20:18 For the Lordhad closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The Mystery of Healing
1. This is the first occurrence of the words prophet and pray in the Bible.
a. Genesis 20:7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
2. How can God use someone who acts like Abraham?
a. God works through imperfect people.
b. Bad examples tarnish God’s glory.
i. 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
c. Peter
i. Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
d. Paul
i. Acts 14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
e. Elijah
i. James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
3. Abraham prayed to God and God healed.
a. Genesis 20:17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
b. God is the healer; we are to pray.
i. James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
ii. James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.