Don’t Neglect God in Your Thinking – Genesis 19:30-20:18
19 (30) Lot left Zoar and lived in the mountains with his two daughters; because he was afraid to stay in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. (31) Then the older said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth with whom we may have sexual relations according to the practice of all the earth. (32) Come, let us make our father drunk with wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve a family line for our father. (33) So they made their father drunk with wine that night; and the older daughter went in and lay with her father. He was unaware of when she lay down or when she left. (34) The next day the older said to the younger, Last night I lay with my father; again tonight let us make him drunk with wine; and this time you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve a family line for our father. (35) So that night also they made their father drunk with wine; and the younger went in and lay with him. He was unaware of when she lay down or when she left. (36) Thus both of Lot’s daughters were pregnant by their father. (37) The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. (38) And the younger daughter also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
20 Now Abraham moved from there toward the land of the South, and stayed between Kadesh and Shur. Then he moved to Gerar. (2) And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. Then Abimelech the king of Gerar sent for Sarah and brought her to himself.
(3) But God came to Abimelech at night in a dream and said to him, You are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife. (4) Now Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, will you destroy a righteous nation? (5) Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this. (6) And God said to him in the dream, Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her. (7) Now, therefore, restore the man’s wife to him. He is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and your whole household.
(8) Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants. He told them all these things privately; and they were greatly afraid. (9) Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us? In what way have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that ought not to be done. (10) And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you see, that you have done this thing? (11) Then Abraham replied, I did this because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; they will kill me because of my wife. (12) Furthermore, she indeed is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. (13) When God caused me to wander from my homeland, I said to her, This is the kindness you shall show me: Everywhere we go, say of me, He is my brother.
(14) Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and menservants and maidservants, and gave them to Abraham, and he restored Sarah his wife to him. (15) And Abimelech said, Look, my land is before you, settle wherever it pleases you. (16) And to Sarah he said, Listen, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. This money shall pay for the offense against you before your whole household; you are completely vindicated. (17) And Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants. Then once again they were able to bear children; (18) for Jehovah had firmly closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
