Welcome to Daily PBJ Devotionals. If you're reading through the Old Testament with us according to schedule this year, read Genesis 20, Nehemiah 9, and Psalm 19. This devotional is about Genesis 20. Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, she is my sister. So Abimelech, king of Gerar, had Sarah brought to him. One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman. Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent? Didn't Abraham tell me she is my sister? And she herself said, He is my brother. I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands. Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die, you and all who belong to you. Early the next morning Abimelech got up, summoned all his servants, and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said, What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done. Abimelech also said to Abraham, What prompted you to do such a thing? Abraham replied, I thought to myself, surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife. Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father, though not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife. So when God had me journey from my father's house, I said to Sarah, this is how you can show your loyalty to me. Wherever we go, say of me, he is my brother. So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, men's servants and maid servants, and gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. And Abimelech said, Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please. And he said to Sarah, See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you. You are completely cleared. Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children. For on account of Abraham's wife Sarah, the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household. This is God's word. Abraham and Sarah did this we're brother and sister thing before back in Genesis chapter 12 verses 10 through 20. On that occasion, they were in Egypt. Here, they're in Gerar. In Genesis 12, God protected Sarah just as he did here. But this was equally stupid both times. In Genesis 12, 11 and 13, Abraham told Sarah, I know what a beautiful woman you are. Say you are my sister. That's the NIV's reading. If they were merely brother or sister, then this beautiful woman would be single and available for anyone who wanted her. Predictably, that's what happened. She was added to the harem of Pharaoh in Genesis 12 and Abimelech here in Genesis 20. In both cases, Abraham lost his wife and put God's promises in jeopardy. In both cases, God's miraculous intervention preserved Sarah and allowed her to become the covenant mother that God had promised she would be. So why would Abraham do this? knowingly and predictably put his wife in a situation where she would be taken by other men. The answer, in both cases, was fear. Abraham was afraid of being killed so that someone could get to Sarah. We see that in verse 11. So he just lied and made Sarah available. This was unloving to her and unbelievable in that Abraham and his men had just defeated a cohort of kings in Genesis 14. If Abraham and his men were powerful enough to liberate Lot and Sodom from those kings, surely they could have protected Abraham's life and Sarah from being abducted. This incident shows what happens when we live in fear instead of faith in God's promises. When we live in fear, we make foolish decisions. God protected Abraham because of his covenant promises to Abraham so that he could become a great nation through the son born to Sarah. But God would have been just to allow the consequences of Abraham's foolish actions to happen. Are you living your life in fear instead of in faith? Do you use lies and deception to manipulate others instead of trusting God to care for you and provide for you? It is easy and tempting for us to fall into a similar trap as Abraham. Learn from his negative example in this instance and trust God instead of acting in fear. 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