Recently, I read the portions in Genesis where Abraham (Genesis 20:1-13) and Isaac (Genesis 26:6-11) lied about their wives to escape death. Isn’t it fascinating to note how these two patriarchs felt the need to save themselves with a lie even after receiving the assurance of God’s promise (Genesis 18:10; 26:1-5)? Instead of fully entrusting themselves to God, they thought themselves wiser. These events well summarise a famous Charles Spurgeon quote, “The best of men are men at the best.”
However, in my recent reading, I saw that it might have even more lessons to teach beyond what is immediately apparent. In it, I believe there are lessons about our Christian witness to the world, especially in light of evangelism. These accounts ask whether we, as Christians, are truly the light of the world and the salt of the earth. They also beg us, as the church, to answer whether we are being the shining city on a hill (Matthew 5:13-16).
What Both Men Did
In both accounts, royal members of the Abimelech family were the victims of the deception. Both Abimelechs were kings of the Philistines, and the Abimelech of Abraham’s time might have been either the father or the grandfather of the Abimelech of Isaac’s time. Because of the kings’ authority and the beauty of Abraham and Isaac’s wives, the two patriarchs chose to lie. A quick caveat is that in Abraham’s case, it was more a lie of omission than a full-on lie; that Sarah was his sister. As he admitted to Abimelech, it was true that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 20:12). However, he chose to omit the part about Sarah being his wife. For Isaac, it was a pure lie, even though he was Rebekah’s uncle (Genesis 24:15).
Out for Self-Preservation
Both men chose to lie about their wives to preserve their lives despite God’s promise to them. Let’s look at ourselves when it comes to evangelism. Would you say that you are like our two patriarchs here? Are you always going out of your way to preserve yourself? Do you feel that instead of trusting the Lord, you’d rather just omit the truth or, in a sense, straight up lie about the gospel in order for it to be appealing to your listener? Sadly, many of us, especially in family settings, have chosen to either lie about the gospel or remain silent about it to avoid strained relations with those around us. It is easier to preserve the status quo than to rewrite it with the gospel. This is why most churches today are anything but gospel-centered. They’d rather smooth the sharp demands of the gospel than upend the culture they exist in.
However, the Bible clearly commands us not to be ashamed of the gospel since it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16-17). Therefore, Isaac and Abraham’s accounts teach us to trust that God knows what he is doing. When we veer towards self-preservation, we are, in essence, saying we don’t trust what God is doing. Inevitably, that leads us to either omit the whole truth or straight up lie about it. May we be those who don’t just say that God is sovereign, but also trust and live like it.
Gripped By The Fear of Man
It wasn’t just self-preservation that gripped the hearts of Isaac and Abraham. It was also that they feared man rather than God (Genesis 26:7). They looked at these KINGS as though they held their lives in their own hands rather than God. They didn’t believe that, “the KING’S heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will,” (Proverbs 21:1). They didn’t believe that, “the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD,” (Proverbs 16:33). For them, it seemed that God’s power had limits and thus they couldn’t trust him enough to admit what was true; that the women were their wives. They were also afraid of the consequences the truth would bring.
This is true of most of us. Because of our self-preservatory nature, we tend to be afraid to share the truth. I’ll grant that it’s because we have heard stories of those who have been persecuted for their faith. Those stories make us a bit fearful about what sharing the truth might bring our way. Even Abraham and Isaac were afraid because they knew kings who would kill men if they desired their wives. Therefore, one could say that’s a good excuse. Nevertheless, even if it is true that persecution might come because of proclaiming our faith, we must still proclaim it.
Yes, you might lose the relationship you once held dear, but our just God isn’t going to “overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name” (Hebrews 6:10). Therefore, my plea to us, dear saints, is to not live in fear of what man can do. Instead, look to the God who’ll never leave or forsake you and thus exclaim, “What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11)
Regarded Them Unworthy of the Truth
A desire for self-preservation, driven by fear, reveals something heinous within our hearts. It reveals that we might consider those we don’t share the truth with unworthy of hearing it. Look at how the Abimelechs reacted when they found out that they had been lied to. They were rightfully angry (Genesis 20:9-10; 26:9). However, the responses by our patriarchs probably didn’t help matters. Abraham, for instance, said he omitted the truth because he thought, “There is no fear of God at all in this place” (Genesis 20:11). In a sense, Abraham saw Abimelech as undeserving of the truth, and that is true of us as well. Our hearts, juiced up on self-preservation and fear, tell us that there is no way that proclaiming Christ will do anything; therefore, don’t speak of it.
However, we must never forget that we aren’t the ones to decide who will accept the truth or not. It is true that they might not accept the truth, but that isn’t our judgment to make. Instead, we are simply to proclaim the truth and hope that God will do a good work for his own glory.
Therefore, saints, let these two accounts of the best of men being men at best spur us to entrust ourselves to God all the more. Let them serve as a reminder that we are to look beyond ourselves to the One who has all authority. This should empower us to proclaim Christ, our Savior and King, to the ends of the earth since he promises to be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).