I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Genesis, chapter
20. Genesis, chapter 20. I'd like to finish this chapter
tonight, but bringing us up to where we ended last time, In this chapter, we behold two
great truths of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. First, we observe the struggle
between the old man and the new man. And secondly, we perceive
the indescribable mercy of God toward the objects of his grace. Now, concerning that first point,
the struggle between the old man and the new man, Abraham,
out of fear of being killed for Sarah's sake, because of her
beauty, she's 90 years old, He told her to say, to agree
with him, he was going to tell everybody that he came in contact
with that she was his sister. And he wanted her to agree with
him, which she did. And when she told and he told
the king of Girar that he was her brother, she was his sister,
he took her into his palace. But God intervened and came to
Abimelech in a dream and declared unto him who she really was and
told him, you're a dead man. The God of all truth, in the
midst of Abraham's deception, He told Abimelech, I want you
to restore the man, his wife, for he's a prophet. And as a
prophet, God's prophet, he's accepted of God in Christ, and
this prophet is going to pray for you. You know, we see that old man in us. We see it. The struggle that we have not
only within, but without, when others see something of our inconsistencies. Here the Lord told Abimelech,
this man that told you that Sarah was his sister, she's not his
sister. She's his wife. If you touch her, I'm gonna kill
you. And this man's a prophet, and he's gonna pray for you.
And I'm gonna hear his prayer. Now that's mercy. That's mercy. We need to give much care. Turn with me to Philippians 1,
27. We've got to be careful, seeking
the Lord, asking the Lord, keep us, direct us. Philippians 1,
verse 27, concerning our walk before men. The scripture says, only let
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. That whether
I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs
that you stand fast in one spirit, one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel. We see ourselves as we really
are. We're born in Adam, we're feeble,
spiritually poor, stumbling, inconsistent, wretched creatures. That's what Paul said of himself.
Oh wretched man that I am. But being who we are in Christ,
and knowing that the Lord God of heaven sees us in Christ. Now listen to this. in Christ,
without spot, without blemish, or any such thing. That which is born of God sinneth
not. It cannot sin because it's born
of God. That new creation, vitally joined
with the Lord Jesus Christ, That new man, born from above, that's
who God says we are in Christ. But all the struggles that we
have in our flesh. That's the tenor of this 20th
chapter right here. But there's one other thing that
I want us to look at tonight. It's a blessed revelation concerning
the type and figure of Abimelech, the king. And in him, I want
us to consider for a few minutes a picture, a shadow of God's
mercy to undeserving sinners. I want to look at Abimelech. Now, I don't know if Abimelech
was a believer. I don't know if he was or not.
May have been, some say it was, some say it wasn't. I don't know.
Scripture doesn't bear it out. But I can tell you that he's
in picture and type. There's some things about this
man that set forth the character of a believer. All because of
God's mercy to him. God's grace, not because of anything
in Abimelech or anything, me and you. I don't know where he
stood with God, but I can tell you this. I can see a picture
of God's people in him. Now let me see if I can make
good on this. Look at verse 3. He's got Sarah in his palace
now. Abraham told him that he was
Sarah's brother. That's what Abraham told him.
Sarah was privy to it and she went along with it. So that's
what he knows. That's what Abimelech knows.
This is this man's sister. So he got her in his palace there. But God came to Abimelech in
a dream by night and said to him, Behold thou art but a dead
man, for the woman which thou hast taken, she is a man's wife. Now I'll say this. What he did,
he did ignorantly. But let me ask you again. Have
we not all found, or were we not all found in the ignorance
of our era? Turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1.
I'd like to read verses 13 to 14. Now here's us, here's what Scripture
says about us before the Lord revealed Himself to us in mercy. 1 Peter chapter 1, 13-14. Wherefore gird up the loins of
your mind, be sober, hope to the end for the grace that is
to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as
obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former
lusts in your ignorance." Bimelech was a man who had another
man's wife. And God said, I'm going to kill
you. You touch her. I kept you. I kept you. The Lord came to
the king. He came to Abimelech. And here's
Abimelech trying to defend himself concerning his integrity with
Sarah, but he was mercifully corrected by the Lord. The Lord
corrected him. And here we're taught something
of God's compassion. not to leave his elect, his sheep,
not to leave them to perish in their ignorance. Consider the
mercy of God that came to this man. If God left him alone, what's
God going to do to him? He's going to kill him. He'll
kill him. But the Lord came to him. And does the Lord not come to
us? Does he not cross our paths with the hearing of the gospel?
Here we see the mercy of Almighty God, not to leave us alone. Truly, whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth and scourgeth every son he receiveth. What compassion. There was Saul of Tarsus on his
road to Damascus. He's got papers of authority
in his hands, and he's going to go, and he's going to take
those of the way, and he's going to bring them back bound to Jerusalem,
suffer the consequences, and Almighty God arrests him, stops
him, stops him. from sinning against God, stops
Him in His tracks, just as He's done all of His people. He stopped
them. I'm telling you, there's not
a bit of difference between any of us here when it comes to the
mercy of God Almighty. They just stopped us. If you'd
have left it up to me, I ain't coming. I have no desire. I have no desire whatsoever.
No love for the Gospel, no love for Christ. I was doing just
fine. And Almighty God was pleased
to stop me. He comes to Abimelech. And when
He came to Abimelech, Abimelech pleaded his own integrity. But
again, the Lord revealed to him that it was God's good pleasure
to stop him, to restrain him. And then the Lord revealed unto
him God's appointed means of mediation between the sinner
and the Lord God of heaven, a priest. Look at verse 7. Therefore restore
the man his wife, for he is a prophet. He shall pray for thee, thou
shalt live, and if thou restore her not, know that thou shalt
surely die, thou and all that are thine. God is going to be
approached by a priest, a mediator, an advocate. Men don't just approach
God. Men are approached in His priest. Abraham was, according to the
Word of the Lord, God's priest. Oh, a true and perfect type and
picture of a great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, whoever
liveth to make intercession for his people, the one accepted
of God, who pleads his own merit, the efficacy of his own blood,
shed for his people. I died for them. I bore their
guilt. I live before you. The priest
himself, accepted of God, He who has suffered for our sins,
the just for the unjust. Why? That He might bring us to
God. Being put to death in the flesh,
quickened by the Spirit. And then with the revelation
of God's mercy to Abimelech, another beautiful characteristic
of a regenerated sinner was made manifest. God told him what to
do in verse 7. What did He say? restore the
man his wife. That's what he said. What did
Abimelech do? Look at verse eight. In Abimelech,
yeah, verse eight. Therefore Abimelech rose early
in the morning, called all his servants, told all the things
in their ears, and the men were sore afraid. Now, you talk about
mercy. What did God's people do? in
the day of God's power. They're willing. They come. They
move. Noah moved with fear. You heard
what God said? And there was an urgency. He
got up. He got up early in the morning. I don't know how early, but I
guarantee you, it was early. He woke up, and he went, and
there was one thing I noticed about this. He rose up early
in the morning, and here's a characteristic of a believer, and told all those
things in their ears. He didn't embellish it. He didn't
try to water it down, build it up. He told them this is what
God said. This is what He said right here.
This is what we do. We tell men in their ears what
the Lord has said. That's all we do. A preacher,
rehearses in the ears of his hearer what the Lord has to say.
And that's all he wants to say, and that's all the believers
want to hear. And the scripture says, and the men were sore afraid. There was fear, there was respect
for what the king was saying that God had said to him. He
was obedient. My sheep, hear my voice. and I know them and they follow
me." The king heard that arresting message of God's warning and
he repeated it to his hearers. And not only was there found
to be respect for God's word found within the king, but it's
also found to be the king, King Abimelech. He was also found
to be the means of God's correction to the very one that God had
sent into Abimelech's country, Abraham and Sarah. Look at verse 9 and 10. Then Abimelech called Abraham
and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? And what have
I offended thee? What have you done And what did
I do to you to cause you to say what you said? What have I offended thee that
thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Thou
hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham,
What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing? Was there something
that you saw or heard or was there something that caused you
to jump to this conclusion? I don't get it. Why? Why did
you tell me that she was your sister? Why did you do that?
The Lord came and told me what was going on and now you've brought
this great sin upon us. Why did you do that? You know, there was found to
be respect for the word of the Lord. And he related to Abraham. He related to Abraham, this is
what you did. Turn with me to Galatians 6.1. Galatians chapter 6.1. This is a blessing. Sometimes
a very painful blessing, but a blessing. Galatians 6, 1, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, and obviously Abraham was. He was overtaken in a fault. Sarah wasn't his sister the way
he wanted him to believe that she was. If a man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness. That is in submission unto the
Lord. Considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted. Now Abimelech, he wasn't hard-mean,
he was just straightforward. Abraham, I want to know something. Why did you do what you did?
Brethren, we're redeemed children of God. We're redeemed children
of God. The blood of Christ has been
shed for us. The Lord has borne our guilt
and carried our sorrows. He was stricken of God. He was
afflicted of God. And the Lord has put away our
debt. Therefore now no condemnation
to them which be in Christ Jesus who walk after the Spirit, not
after the flesh. There's no condemnation. But
I'm going to tell you something. We're still indwelt by this This
old man. We still struggle. And the motions of sin and the
desires of our flesh are still there. The Spirit of God was
pleased to show us. Abraham was a man that believed
God. He believed God. The Scripture
bears that. Father of the faithful. Father
of the faithful. example of how God saves a sinner,
keeps him, guides him, directs him, holds him, won't let him
go. But this man right here was like
all of us. He had an old man in him and
he struggled with it. And God used this king, Abimelech. Again, was he a believer? I don't
know. But he did what we're admonished
to do in Galatians chapter 6. And when we stumble, it's right that our stumbling
be addressed in kindness, meekness, according to the leadership and
direction of God's Spirit. And if we speak to a brother
or a sister, let's be careful not to come to them with a holier-than-thou
attitude, thinking that ourselves are above reproach, but rather
in a spirit of humility and meekness. For we know that we all have
that potential to commit any sin. See, I tell you what, I
may do this, but I'd never do that. Don't ever say you won't
do that. Because I'm telling you, the
Scriptures are filled with men that knew God, that were just
before God, who did succumb to the temptation of their flesh.
David, Noah, What? How many? Me, you, all of us. We stand alone by the grace of
God. But with the words of rebuke
from Abimelech came this confession from Abraham. Look at verses
11 to 13. And Abraham said, because I thought. Oh boy. Now here's where we often
find ourselves in trouble. I thought. I thought. You know
there was a man named Naaman. Remember that, Neil? He was a
leper. Captain of the host of the king
of Assyria, his army. By him the Lord had given deliverance
unto Assyria. But he was a leper. A little
maid there said there's a prophet. Prophet. He went over and he
was going to Elijah. And Elijah sent his servant out
there. Prophet didn't even go out. He
said, go dip in the Jordan River seven times. He said, the Jordan
River? He said, we've got better rivers
than that back where I come from. I ain't doing that. Remember
his servant said, he was leaving. He was mad. He said, if the prophet would
have asked you to do something hard, you would have done that,
but he just said, go dip in the river. Why don't you do that?
But he goes back, and he comes up, and he says, he said, I thought
that you'd come out, and I thought you'd do this. This is what Abraham
did. I thought. That's where we get
in trouble. What does God say? That's what we need to think,
right there. This is what the Lord says, I
thought, I thought, surely the fear of
God is not in this place. How did he know that? How did
he know that? And they will slay me for my
wife's sake. And yet, indeed, she is my sister.
She's the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.
And she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God
called me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her,
this is thy kindness, which thou shalt show unto me at every place,
whither we shall come. Say of me, he's my brother." You know this thing I noticed? in that confession. We always try to put a pleasant
twist on our frailty and our inconsistency. He said, I thought that there
was the fear of God wasn't here and really she is my sister.
You know a half-truth is a lie. She was his half-sister, she
was his half-sister, but that's not the way he said it. If we
say something and we say it in a way that we just kind of glaze
over the truth of it, it's a lie, it's a deception is what it is,
and that's what we wanted to do. Even in his confection, That
struggle with the old man is still there. Oh, how wonderful it is when
God brings man to woman. You know I was talking about,
turn to Psalm 51. I was talking to somebody the
other day and we were talking about prayer and I was sharing
with him about how hard it is, how hard it is to pray openly,
openly. Now you that know Him, you know
what I'm saying. There's a big difference in praying
unto the Lord in your closet and leading in prayer. You men,
there's a big difference. There's a big difference. Why?
I'll tell you why. We just can't get honest in front
of anybody but the Lord. Listen, David. Have mercy upon
me, O God. according to thy loving kindness,
according unto the tender mercy of most of thy tender mercies,
blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression,
and my sin is ever before be against thee. Thee only have
I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in my And in sin did my mother
conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in
the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me
to know wisdom. Purge me with ism, and I shall
be clean. Wash me, I shall be whiter than
snow. Listen, let me tell you something.
There's some things that every believer knows in his heart that
he's done. He knows he did it. And in the
closet, We can just be honest. Lord, this is what I thought.
Lord, you know it already. I'm just telling you what you
know. You know what I thought. You know the evil that I thought. You know that spirit that I thought
it in. You know what I did. I'm sorry.
Please forgive me. I can't say that in front of
you. I can't bear my heart to God in front of you. And what
Abraham's done, he kind of misinterpreted Sarah's
relationship. She really is my sister. I mean,
it's just... No. I lied. I lied to you. Lied to you. Oh, but here's the promise. First
John, chapter 1. First John 1. 1 John 1 verses 8 and 9. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. Oh, if
we confess our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And with the admittance of Abraham
concerning his attempt to justify himself admitting to Abimelech
what he had done, I want you to consider as we wrap this up
the spirit of graciousness found in Abimelech. Oh, look at 1416. And Abimelech took sheep and
oxen. men's servants, women's servants,
gave them unto Abraham and restored him Sarah, his wife. And Abimelech
said, behold, my land is before thee. Dwell where it pleaseth
thee. And unto Sarah he said, behold,
I've given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, he
is to thee a covering of the eyes unto all that are with thee
and with all other. Thus she was reproved. She was
corrected for what she did. She went along with it, you know. Abimelech exhibited that which
a believer is admonished to do. 1 Thessalonians 5, 15, see that
none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that
which is good, both among yourselves and to all men. You know, retaliating
and seeking Vengeance, that's not to be the way of God's people. Holding grudges. Remember old
Maurice Montgomery, how many times have I told you? One of
the last things I remember Maurice telling me before he died, Marvin,
you can always be gracious. Always be gracious. Man, life,
how many times have I tried to remember that? We're to endure
injuries. with patience and show kindness
toward those who have injured us. What did Abraham do to Abimelech? He lied to him. Put him in a
very tough situation. God came to him and stopped him.
Wouldn't let him touch her. He said, I'll kill you if you
touch her. He comes to Abraham and Abraham kind of side swipes
it a little bit. He confesses, but he doesn't
come clean, he just kind of glazes it over. And what does Abimelech
do? He says, see the land? Take whatever
you want. Here's men's servants, maidservants.
And concerning Sarah, that word of reproof that was given unto
her, Abimelech in verse 16 used the same word that she used. And the scripture says in the
last part of verse 16, and thus she was reproved. He reproved
her. The Lord did. Spirit of God did.
Through Abimelech. What did he do? He said, now
who was Abraham to Sarah? Her husband. Who did she say
he was? My brother. And unto Sarah he said, behold
I have given thy brother. Don't you know that just cut
her. Giving him a thousand pieces
of silver. Behold, here's Abimelech telling
Sarah who Abraham is. This is your husband. This is your husband, Sarah. Don't say he's your brother.
Behold, He is to thee a covering of the eyes, to protect you,
a veil to you, unto all that are with thee. This is the One that loves you. This is the One that has taken
you to be His wife, to love you and cherish you, watch over you. And he said, I've given 1,000
pieces of silver for restitution to you, for the harm that was done to
you. I've given 1,000 pieces of silver.
That's what he said. Behold, I've given thy brother,
Abraham, 1,000 pieces of silver. That was restitution. A payment for harm is what it
is. Harm that was done to her. And
who was the guilty parties? Who were the guilty parties,
really? Abraham and Sarah. And what did Abimelech do? Here's
a glorious picture of a believer, yes, but even more so here, right
here. Here's a picture of Christ. Here's one to whom the harm was
done. The sin was committed against
Abimelech. And what did Abimelech do? He
gave restitution. He gave all for them. The ones
that were offended. The ones that had offended, I
mean. The ones that had offended. A thousand pieces of silver. She was put into bondage, into
harm's way. And Abimelech gave a thousand
pieces of silver to Abraham. for the harm that was done to
her. He took the burden himself and gave it to Abraham. And concerning
our bondage, let me ask you this, were we not the guilty parties?
Was our debt not paid by another? Who really owed the debt there?
Who owed the debt? Abraham and Sarah. They were
the offending parties. Who bore the debt? Who bore the
debt? Abimelech. We, the recipients of God's mercy,
deserving death and the restitution, the restoring of that which was
lost before God. The restitution for that, the
debt that was paid, the restoring of that which was lost The Lord
Jesus Christ took it and bore it, paid it himself. So Abraham
prayed unto God and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his
maidservants and they bare children for the Lord had fast closed
up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah,
Abraham's wife. Oh, the closing words of this
chapter. I want you to note the mercy of Almighty God toward
all that was involved. The Lord had said that Abraham
would pray for Abimelech, and he did. Abraham prayed for the
king, his wife, his maidservants, those whose wombs had been fast
closed up. Closed up, the scripture says,
for Sarah's sake. because of the treatment that
she received. And the guilty party, Sarah and
Abraham, they received all the blessing. They got all the blessing. Abraham prayed unto God Almighty
for Abimelech, and our great high priest prays for us. We're the offending party. And
those wounds that had been closed up because of the harm that was
done to Sarah, God was pleased to bless, give life. Oh, the
life that we've received in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a beautiful picture of God's mercy to undeserving sinners. I pray God bless it to our hearts
for Christ's sake and our good. Amen.