Yes, I do laugh out loud sometimes when I read Scripture. Genesis 20 has always been one of those chapters that makes me swell with the tenuous joy of ridicule — “How can Abraham be such an idiot,” I wonder as he tries for the second time to pass his wife off as his sister to save his own hide. (Thankfully, I can say that the Holy Spirit usually brings to mind some equally repetitive sin of my own life that might look equally ridiculous if the horrid humiliation of having it told in the pages of Scripture occurred:-). Anyway, I wanted to share the story with you — definitely read that. And then if you want to read some good words about it, check this out from James Boice, excerpted from
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“Abraham’s lack of faith disturbed everything so far as he was concerned. Yet–this is a glorious point on which I end–Abraham’s lack of faith disturbed nothing so far as God was concerned. Abraham may have doubted God’s ability to take care of him, but God’s ability to do so was not altered in the slightest. He may have doubted God’s grace, but God remained as gracious as he had ever been.
I am especially impressed by the way God showed his grace to Abraham. God did so when he spoke to Abimelelch. When Abimelech learned the truth about Sarah, he must have thought of Abraham as a cowardly, hypocritical, two-faced charlatan–or worse. He had cause to. But this is not the way God spoke of Abraham to Abimelech. God said, “Return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live” (v. 7). God was not indifferent to Abraham’s sin. He would deal with it as he had on the occasion of its appearance in Egypt. But the sin did not change God’s view of Abraham. Abraham was still “a prophet.” He was still God’s man.” James Boice, quoted in Thabiti Anyabwile.
