But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. (12:17)
For the LORD had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife. (20:18)
This is one of the many times in the Old Testament when I read the passage, think “how could that person be so stupid or so faithless?” and then realize that I do the exact same thing in my walk with the Lord. In that light, there are a few applications I get from these two accounts:
1) Despite the fact that it seems contradictory, we are sometimes most prone to faithlessness after a “mountaintop” spiritual experience. In Genesis 12, Abraham refuses to walk by faith despite the fact that God had just promised to make a great nation from him and his wife. In Genesis 20, he commits the same exact (in every sense of the word) mistake as in Genesis 12. This time he had just been consulted by God about what to do about Sodom and Gomorrah and had his advice heeded. Experiencing a spiritual high does not keep one out of the reach of temptation. Perhaps we need to be even more guarded at those times.
2) We don’t always learn from past mistakes. Abraham made the same exact mistake twice in Genesis 12 & 20. Making a mistake does not necessarily mean I will be able to notice and prevent that mistake from happening again unless I am vigilant in standing guard against it.
3) Our sin can have negative affects on other people, even innocent parties. When we sin against God or even against another person, the effects of that sin do not stay with the people involved. The Egyptians and Abimelech’s family had not done anything wrong, but they did experience the negative effects of Abraham’s sin. When we sin, we end up hurting people we don’t mean to hurt.
4) It is my responsibility to hold firm to the promises and commands of God. God had promised Abraham that he and Sarah would produce a great nation, and Abraham turns around and almost gets Sarah married off to other men by pretending that she is his sister instead of trust in God’s protection and God’s promise. In the end, God has to intervene to keep this from happening. There are stories throughout the Old Testament of wives, relatives, or God himself having to intervene to keep people (usually men) from jeopardizing God’s promise. Whenever I have a choice between self-preservation through human means and trusting in God’s promise and protection, I need to trust God.
5) God will continue to use you despite your faults. These two accounts tell the story of a man who was willing to allow his wife to be taken as a wife by another man (twice). They also tell the story of a man who became the father of a great nation and the patriarch of the Messianic line. God uses people like Abraham, Moses and David, people who sin, and people with numerous faults to do his work.
Lord, open my eyes to see areas in my life where I am prone to sin. Help me to avoid making the same mistakes over and over again, and help me to trust in you and your promises. Help me also to realize that the consequences of my sin affect those around me that I would not want to hurt. Thank you that you continue to work in me and use me despite all my faults. Help me be less like Abraham in these passages and more like the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. Amen.