“Then God said to him
in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done
this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you
touch her.’” (Genesis 20:6 [NASB])
With God’s “I am” statements of the Old Testament and Jesus’
“I am” statements in the New Testament, especially in the gospel of John, God
teaches us about Himself, about His nature. When people speak of themselves
using “I” statements, they tell us about themselves, too. In Genesis 15:1, God
told Abram He is his shield. He used the Hebrew word anoki for “I am.” Bible
writers used the word anoki three
hundred fifty-nine times in the Old Testament to tell people about God and
other people. In Genesis 15:1, the shield God equates to Himself, as in Ephesians,
is Abram’s faith. It, by metaphorical connection, is Abram’s protection offensively
and defensively. By God saying He is Abram’s shield, He meant He is his King,
too. By telling Abram He is his King, Protector, and faith, Abram could have confidence
and faith that what God said would happen, i.e. His promise of Abram having a
host of descendants, would occur.
In Genesis 20, God tells us, and Abimelech, more about Himself
and His nature. What did God tell Abimelech, Abraham, Sarah, and us about Himself
with the two “I am” (anoki) statements
in this chapter? Let’s recap this story quickly then look at God’s anoki statements in verse six.
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was very beautiful. Abraham felt any
man would kill him to have her for his wife and/or in his harem, so he told Sarah
to tell whoever asked that she was his sister. In fact, Sarah was both his wife
and sister. She had the same father as Abraham, but a different mother, so they
would not have lied by saying she was his sister. It was not the whole truth though.
The truth was that God gave them a joint promise to have many descendants
through their marriage union, so in His eyes, they were husband and wife. Sarah
was dutiful, and several times she and Abraham told kings and other men she was
his sister. On this occasion in Genesis 20, they told this partial truth to
Abimelech, the King of the Philistines in Gerar. Abimelech felt, since Sarah
was Abraham’s sister, he could take her and put her in his harem. God had
something to say about that. He did not say it to Abraham and Sarah directly.
God spoke to Abimelech in a dream telling him He would judge him to death for
stealing another man’s wife. Abimelech protested in his dream he had not
touched Sarah and pleaded for himself and his nation by appealing to God’s
justness. God explained He knew what Abimelech said was true. He explained He
had kept him from touching Sarah, but now he had to do what He said and return
Sarah to Abraham. Abimelech confronted Abraham the next day about his
relationship to Sarah and his causing him to sin against Sarah, him, and God.
He returned Sarah to Abraham along with gifts to appease his conscience, prove
his innocence, and vindicate himself before people.
This story is interesting in several ways. God spoke to a
person not of Abraham’s line. He spoke through a dream. God revealed Himself
and His nature to people. He set a standard of obedience even to people who came
not from Abraham’s line. Consider closer God’s “I am” (anoki) statements in this chapter.
God used anoki twice
in verse six. He said to Abimelech in a dream, “Yes, I know that in the
integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning
against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her.” First, note God spoke to
the king in a dream, a way common to the people of the area. God speaks even to
people who do not believe in Him. He is Creator of all things, people included,
and wants a relationship with each person, not just Jews and Christians. God
knocks on the heart’s door of each person. This passage shows that even before
Paul spoke about Christ coming for the uncircumcised and circumcised God seeks
a personal relationship with every person.
The “I am” statements God used in verse six speak volumes. He
said, “I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this.” This
word “know” comes from the Hebrew word yada.
Yada is an experiential knowing.
First you see a person, then you hear about that person. Next you learn of the
person then personally speak with him or her. Finally, you begin to seek the
person as part of your every day life and get to know him or her very closely.
This kind of knowing is most often experienced in our relationships in getting
to know a person who becomes our husband or wife, or our best friend(s). It equates
to our relationship with Jesus Christ, too. God used the word yada when He told Abimelech “I know the
integrity of your heart.” God knows each person; He knows their heart. He knows
each of us better than we know ourselves. We can hide nothing from God. God
knew Abimelech had not yet slept with Sarah even before he protested he had not
touched her. He knew Abimelech’s integrity would not let him sleep with another
man’s wife. God’s statement to Abimelech meant He knew Abimelech-his heart, his
spirit, his mind, and his strength. God knew Abimelech intimately even though
he was not of the line of Abraham. He created Abimelech and had kept up with
him daily because God is intimate; He is imminent. God is right here with our
next breath. He is not just out there somewhere watching over all things in a
big intangible way. God is transcendent; He orders and cares for the world on a
macro level because He cares for His creation. God is both immanent and
transcendent. He knows people intimately, and He keeps things orderly. With
God’s first “I am” statement, He told Abimelech He is all-knowing. He knew
Abimelech intimately, and He knew the situations of the world around him.
In the second “I am” statement of verse six, God told
Abimelech, “I also kept you from sinning against Me.” This verb “kept” comes
from the Hebrew word chasak and means
to hold back, restrain, and withhold. Without Abimelech knowing Yahweh God as
his God, God knew Abimelech and cared intimately about him, so He restrained
him from sinning against Him, Abraham, Sarah, and himself-his integrity.
Sinning is not just harming the person whom you go against. It affects each
relationship a person has. Besides this, any sin is an act of unrighteousness
and unrighteousness is an action against God who is righteous. This was not the
main message God had for Abimelech in this part of verse six though. God
explained to Abimelech He is all-mighty and able to keep him from sinning even
though he did not know God intimately or recognize Him as his God. God cared
enough about Abimelech that He did not want him to wreck his relationship with
Abraham and Sarah before it began. He did not want him to cause confusion
within himself and undermine his own integrity. God also did not want Abimelech
to sin against Him even though he did not know Him as his God.
In these two “I am” statements, God revealed to Abimelech,
Abraham, Sarah, and later Bible readers, including us, that He is all-knowing
(omniscient). He knows us intimately because He created us and has been with us
closely (imminently) every day of our lives. God knows us better than we know
ourselves. God also revealed He is all-powerful (omnipotent). He can stop us
from harming ourselves and other people, and our relationship within our self,
with other people, and with Him without us even knowing Him intimately. He is
God over all things and people. When we know, yada, God, He gives us His power not to fall to temptation and sin.
He also gives us the knowledge we need for each situation. God is the fount of
knowledge and power.
These two “I am” statements do not end this story. God
reveals Himself to us, relates to us, and gives us power over temptation, but
we must act upon it. In verse seven, God commanded Abimelech to act upon what He
revealed to him. Because God gives each person freewill to obey Him or not, Abimelech
did not have to obey God’s command. What did God command Abimelech to do? “Now therefore,
restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will
live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all
who are yours.” God explained He knew Abimelech’s heart of integrity. He told Abimelech
He gave him the power to keep his hand from Sarah. God explained who He is with
this dream. He acknowledged and appealed to Abimelech’s integrity. God then commanded
Him to act upon that integrity with His power and do righteousness by restoring
Sarah to her God-given husband. Abimelech could have said, “No.” Still his
integrity and God’s stated judgment of him and his household if he did not obey
led him to obey God. Abimelech acted obeyed God with God’s power. He went
beyond what God required and gave to Abraham a vindication payment to prove his
integrity and prove he had not touched Sarah. Abimelech gave Abraham any land
in his kingdom he wanted and invited him to be a part of his nation.
God is all-knowing. He knows more about us than we do and even
knows those parts we think we have kept hidden from Him. God is all-powerful.
He can keep us from sinning even when we do not have a close relationship with
Him. God wants to have a relationship with each person, not just with the Jews
or the people from Abraham’s line. God created every person. He wants a relationship
with every person. God wants to give us His power to overcome temptation and
sin to keep us righteous. In being made righteous, our relationships with people,
with ourselves, and with Him remain faithful and pure. God keeps our hands and
hearts from sinning if we will accept and use His power to withstand temptations.
We each have a choice like Abimelech. God has revealed Himself
to us today. He has shown us His power and makes it available to us to fight
temptation. Will we be obedient to Him, accept His power, and be in a righteous
relationship with Him?
God provides the way to a right relationship with Him through
the salvation He offers by His Son, Jesus Christ’s, death and resurrection.
Will you accept God’s gift of salvation from your sins and have an
intimate relationship with Him?
God, I have tried to live
a good life. I know I haven’t always done the right thing because I want to take
care of myself. Please forgive me for choosing myself and my ways over You and
Your ways. Help me realize and live knowing You love and know me intimately, so
I can trust in You implicitly. Help me accept Your gift of salvation and live with
Your power each day so I can remain in a right relationship with You, other
people, and myself. Amen.
