The Untouchables

David wrote in Psalm 105 about the wondrous works of God. The judgements and miracles he did for Isreal who are the offspring of Abraham. God remembers his covenant to Abraham and his chosen offspring, for a thousand generations. He swore this covenant to Isaac and confirmed his statute to Jacob. “saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance”” (Psalm 105:11). Even when they were few in number and travelled between different nations, God did not allow anyone to oppress them. He rebuked kings on their behalf and told them not to touch his anointed ones, or do any harm to his prophets. We saw an example of this with Abraham, when he and Sarah visited Gerar and he told them that Sarah was his sister. King Abimelech sent for Sarah, perhaps to keep among his concubines as she was beautiful.

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by 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”” (Genesis 20:3). Abimelech had not yet approached Sarah, so he asked God if he would kill an innocent man. Abimelech reasoned with God that he was innocent, because both Abraham and Sarah told him that they were brother and sister. God responded to Abimelech that he knew that he had done this out of innocence and said that he had kept him from touching Sarah, in order not to sin against him. He instructed Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham, who was a prophet and would pray for him so he would not die. He was warned that if he did not return Sarah that he would die, along with everyone who was around him. When Ambimelech told his men about the encounter with God, they were afraid. He then called Abraham and asked him why he had tricked him, into thinking that Sarah was his sister.

“Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife’” (Genesis 20:11). It turns out that Abraham was afraid. He also explained that Sarah was in fact his half sister, so they agreed that they would always tell people this. Abimelech not only returned Sarah to Abraham, but he also gave him oxen to work the land and gave him male and female servants. He also gave him permission to live and work in whatever part of the land that he chose. He gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver, as a sign of his innocence and as a means of vindication for the wrong which he had done. Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and he healed him, his wife and all the female servants so they could bear children. God had closed the wombs of all the women in the house of Abimelech, because he took Sarah from Abraham.

In this story in Genesis, God was not playing about Abraham, his chosen or about his wife Sarah. This was based on the covenant which God made with Abraham and his offspring. As the righteousness of God, we are grafted into the family of God and are part of the Abrahamic covenant. We are off limits to the agents of darkness, as we are the anointed children of God. A special demarcation was made about the prophets, because of the role which they play in revealing the heart and mind of God. Prophets were and continue to be messengers of God, who have faced a lot of persecution historically and in modern times. Prophets sometimes have to deliver messages that are hard for people to hear, especially when people’s hearts are hardened by sin. God does not take kindly to anyone who tries to oppress his children, and especially when they cause harm to his prophets.

A.P.-Y.

Published July 23, 2024