Genesis 20:1-5: a reflection

1Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar. 2Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the 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.” 4Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation? 5Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister’? She, even she herself, said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

Abraham, sojourning in Gerar, falls into the very same sin he had committed years before in Egypt: out of fear, he says that Sarah is his sister, not his wife, and she is taken into the household of Abimelech the king. It is a repeat of an old failure, the same fearful deception he had resorted to before. And once again God intervenes to protect them, warning Abimelech in a dream. Abraham had fallen into his besetting sin again, and again God's mercy worked to protect and preserve despite it.

Notice that this was a repeat of an old failure. Abraham had done this before, in Egypt; God had rescued them then; and yet here he falls into the same fearful deception again. It is a sobering picture of how we can return to the same sins, the besetting failures we thought we had left behind, falling into them again despite past lessons. And yet, notice also God's mercy, which worked again to protect and preserve, despite Abraham's repeated failure.

Both are worth taking to heart. The repeated failure warns us how prone we are to return to our besetting sins, the particular failures we fall into again and again, despite our resolve and despite past consequences. Do not presume that because you have fallen before and learned the lesson, you are safe; Abraham fell into the same sin again. Guard against your besetting sins, the ones you are prone to repeat. And yet take comfort in God's mercy, which worked again despite Abraham's repeated failure; God does not abandon us to our repeated falls, but his mercy keeps working, protecting and preserving despite them. When you fall again into a familiar sin, do not despair as though God were finished with you; his mercy, which protected Abraham despite his repeated failure, is greater than your repeated falls. Guard against your besetting sins, and rest in a mercy that keeps working despite your repeated failures, as it worked for Abraham.

Lord, Abraham, sojourning in Gerar, fell into the very same sin he had committed in Egypt: out of fear he said Sarah was his sister, and she was taken; a repeat of an old failure, and again your mercy intervened to protect and preserve. Help me take both to heart. The repeated failure warns me how prone I am to return to my besetting sins, the particular failures I fall into again and again, despite my resolve and past consequences. Keep me from presuming that because I have fallen before and learned the lesson, I am safe; Abraham fell into the same sin again. Help me guard against my besetting sins, the ones I am prone to repeat. And yet let me take comfort in your mercy, which worked again despite Abraham's repeated failure; you do not abandon me to my repeated falls, but your mercy keeps working, protecting and preserving despite them. When I fall again into a familiar sin, keep me from despairing as though you were finished with me; your mercy, which protected Abraham despite his repeated failure, is greater than my repeated falls. Help me guard against my besetting sins, Lord, and rest in a mercy that keeps working despite my repeated failures.