Genesis 20 Day 1
Joy’s Notes
Gen 20:1
“Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh(kaydesh) and Shur (sure) and then he moved on to Gerar (grr-are) While living there as a foreigner”
• Abraham on the move again— living in a tent as a sojourner & foreigner on earth (a “Christian”)
• Abraham would normally build an altar when he pitched his tent - symbolizing Him calling, fellowshiping, leaning, listening & following YHWH!
👇
Abraham DID pitch tent— but DIDN’T build alter.
• it’s one thing to “pitch a tent” as a foreigner here on earth— it’s another to “build an alter”
• ALTER= “An altar usually represented a person’s desire to DEVOTE & SURRENDER himself fully to the Lord. God had worked in a person’s life in such a way that the person desired to create something tangible to memorialize it & REMEMBER IT!!!
2 chron 16:9 “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen & support those whose hearts are fully committed to him.’’ (ALTER-LIVING)
• Religion: pitches tents (Pharisees/behavior)
• Relationship: pitches tents AND builds alters (intimacy/heart)
Obedience without a SURRENDERED heart is just religion in disguise.
Pitching a tent without building an alter is like….
“Having a form of godliness— but denying its power.” 2 Tim 3:5
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(Fear & fraud)
Gen 20:2
“Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.” (To sleep with her)
⁃ King abimilek — king of philistine (Gerar)
⁃ Sarah is 90 years old!
And beautiful!!
⁃ Sarah was connected to one of the richest & most influential men of the region (Abraham)
⁃ In that day, WOMEN of these men were a political statement more than a romantic statement.
⁃ Same sin he did 25 years before! (In Egypt/pharaoh Gen 12:11)
⁃ Abraham was willing to unprotect his bride & place her in a position of trauma & pain (due to his fear)
(A man who’s intimate with God is not intimidated by man.)
Fear: Self-protects…. Not: other-protects
John 15:13: “There is no greater LOVE than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
👇
(opposite of LOVE is fear)
Moses’ “PATTER” of sin were both
1. Self protective
2. Self destructive
👉 our sinful-patterns give us something, but take MUCH more away!
Abraham had to live with the demonically heavy IMPOSTER SYNDROME due to his LIES!!!!
(Knowing he’s a fraud:(
• anxiety & depression are most common SIDE EFFECTS to being a “fraud.” (Satan wont tell you this)
⁃ his “patterns” left his wife unsafe & unprotected
-WHEN I operate from satans ways- everyone in my life is negatively affected!
But God…👇
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Gen 20:3
“BUT GOD that night came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”
- FUN FACT: this is the first time God “comes” to & speaks to someone in a dream! (& it was a pagan king)
⁃ 0ver 20x God speaks directly to someone in their dream.
⁃ DISCUSS MY DREAM
• Acts 2:17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
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Gen. 20:4-6
“4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why “I, God,“ kept you from sinning against me, and why I, God, did not let you touch her.”
👇
⁃ even though Abraham did not protect his bride, God did!!
⁃ Even though you may be in marriage (or not in marriage) & feel unprotected & uncared for, unsafe, you have a GOOD Husband who Is protecting & caring for you!
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Gen 20:7
“Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”
⁃ This the FIRST time “PROPHET” is used in bible!
⁃ Abraham is the very first prophet out of 133 named prophets (including 16 women!!) in bible.
⁃ Even in Abrahams sin, God sees him as a prophet! (Not a Problem)
⁃ God still sees you in your PURPOSE even when youre not operating out of your purpose!!! (Saint vs. sinner- Stanley)
⁃ We must walk in our position & not in our condition.
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Gen 20:8-10
“Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.
Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, are me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done! Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”
👇
(True translation: “What did you SEE that you have done this thing?”)
• What do I SEE when I fear? —> (leading to demonically influenced fruits of lying & assuming)
• do I SEE someone IN MIRROR who’s not good enough to be honest with others? Unacceptable ? UNWORTHY, inadequate, dispensable, insignificant…
Genesis 13:14 “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look (SEE) from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward
Genesis 15:5 “And He took him outside and said, “Now look (SEE) toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
• Fear blinds vision.
👉”Where there is no vision, the people perish“
(Prov 29:18)
What holds your GAZE, holds your HEART.
👇
What are you GAZING at?
Abraham was GAZING at demonically influenced FEAR!
• Matt 14 — Peter’s EYES on Jesus-
He walked on water.
BUT —> Peter’s EYES on circumstances, he sank
• fixing our EYES on Jesus= the pioneer and author & perfecter of faith” - Heb 12:2
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Gen 20:11-13
Abraham replied, “I thought, (his assumptions from own understanding- if he build alter- he would’ve been thinking with mind of CHIRST) “This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ (FEAR dictating his decisions)
12 “And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. 13 When God called me to leave (wander from) my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, this is HOW you can show your loyalty, kindness, love towards me—Do me a favor; Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’
• “a half-truth is always a whole-lie.”
Lot offers his daughters to men👇
⁃ In this culture, women were just one step higher than a slave.
⁃ They were something that you OWN!
And now Abraham offers his wife to King abimelek :(
BUT JESUS FLIPPED SCRIPT ON THIS!!
⁃ first rabbi to use women in parables
⁃ Martha sitting at feet (meant she was a disciple)
⁃ Mary Magdalene— first Christian/evangelist
⁃ Woman at the well
⁃ Woman being stoned
⁃ Woman with blood issue
⁃ JESUS ELEVATED THE WOMAN!
⁃ 100 billion dollar industry
79% of men in evangelical church view porn at least once month
8 out of 10 men
1 out of 3 viewers of porn are female (possible driven by desperation more than lust)
1 out of 10 viewers are under the age of 10
Theres an area of brain that’s severely damaged by only two things:
1. Head on collision
2. Viewing porn
⁃ this generation fights sex-trafficking more than any other generation
⁃ BUT This generation consumes porn more then any other generation
👇
⁃ porn and sex trafficking are integral
👇
“Watching porn & fighting against human trafficking, is like protesting a corrupt politician, and then giving money to his campaign.”
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Gen 20: 14-17
Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.” 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate YOU (Sarah) for any wrong I may have done to YOU! This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”
• This is God’s heart for elevating, protecting, providing, caring for women!
• Sarah must have been in Abimelech's household for a while before God appeared to him in the dream.
• She had to be there long enough for it to become apparent that the women of the household could not bear children. That's not something one can realize in a few short days, or even weeks.
• What this must’ve been like for Sarah?(:
• thinking God forgot about her?!? 🥲
BUT GOD SAYS:
⁃ He’ll strengthen you & protect you from evil one (2 thes 3:3)
⁃ God goes with you- He’ll never leave nor forsake you (Deut 31:6)
⁃ God will uphold you with His righteous right hand (Is. 41:10)
⁃ God spreads His protection over you (psalm 5:11)
⁃ God delivers you from all troubles (Psalm 34:19)
⁃ God is my refuge & my strength- my everlasting present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)
⁃ God hides me in the shadow of His wings until disaster passes by (Psalm 57:1)
In spite of Abraham’s sin to protect, God is giving double for her trouble and revealing how deeply he respects women!
• Isaiah 61:7 “Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”
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Gen 20:17-18
“Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. 18 For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.”
(By Skip Heitzig:)
When we’ve failed someone/ sinned against them, we can no longer “PREACH-to-them” but can “PRAY-for-them”
⁃ We’ve lost our testimony with them until we EARN their trust back (time+believable behavior)
⁃ BUT… we can secretly PRAY for them!!!
Job 42
• But God asked Job to pray for his friends (who misrepresented Gods heart to job.) WHILE Job was STILL SUFFERING
• “So The Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life, even more than in the beginning!” ~job 42:12
Abraham prayed a powerful effectual prayer from his POSITION & not his C
ONDITION
!!! (“Lot was righteous”= example)