More Light, More Responsibility
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From My Notebook
Genesis 20:6 "And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."
I recall once while working as an Instructor that we had a storm blow through the area, and the power went out a few times. You know, it's awfully hard to get any work done when it's dark. It is during those times that you realize how important it is to have light!
The same is true spiritually. Without spiritual light-knowledge of God's will and way-it is impossible to live pleasing to God. But, as is pictured so clearly in this story, with more light comes more responsibility. Abraham, a man of great faith, really messed up this time. His faith in God's protection faltered, he asked his wife to stretch the truth, and he ended up in a real mess.
We see two sins committed (or about to be committed) in this story: the sin of adultery and the sin of stretching the truth. Which sin do you think was worse? Well, both sins are wicked in God's sight, and neither sin will go unpunished. But God did hold one man more responsible than the other because the one had more light.
Abraham was a godly man who communed with God and knew what was expected of him. He had seen God work mightily in the past. He knew that stretching the truth would be taking things into his own hands-it would be a step of unbelief. Because Abraham went against what he knew, God allowed Sarah, his wife, to be taken into King Abimelech's harem. Abraham was held completely responsible for his actions.
Obviously, King Abimelech was not completely on the straight and narrow path himself-he had a harem! We know that God does not condone such things, but Abilmelech did not have as much light as Abraham had. He was a heathen king. And yet, we know that he had a healthy fear of Jehovah. After he had taken Sarah into his harem, God appeared to him in a dream and said, "Behold, thou art a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." That was quite a wake-up call!
King Abimelech responded in humility, pleading his case: "Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this." In other words, "Lord, it was an honest mistake! I didn't know that she was Abraham's wife." The Lord agreed with Abimelech and said, "Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her." Because King Abimelech didn't have much light to go by, God showed him great mercy and prevented him from sinning against Him.
(Just as a side note, notice that the sin of adultery would not have been primarily against Abraham but against God. All sin, no matter who else it hurts, is first and foremost a sin against God.)
Yes, Abilmelech was shown mercy, but now that he had been given light, he was given more responsibility. God tells him, "Now therefore restore the man his wife...." With more light comes more responsibility.
What about us? We have been given much light because we have the Word of God in our hands. Let's not take that truth lightly. Let us recognize our responsibility before God and live according to the light we have been given. Like King Abimelech, if we have a heart that wants to know what is right, God will give us the light we need to live according to His will.
I recall once while working as an Instructor that we had a storm blow through the area, and the power went out a few times. You know, it's awfully hard to get any work done when it's dark. It is during those times that you realize how important it is to have light!
The same is true spiritually. Without spiritual light-knowledge of God's will and way-it is impossible to live pleasing to God. But, as is pictured so clearly in this story, with more light comes more responsibility. Abraham, a man of great faith, really messed up this time. His faith in God's protection faltered, he asked his wife to stretch the truth, and he ended up in a real mess.
Abraham was a godly man who communed with God and knew what was expected of him. He had seen God work mightily in the past. He knew that stretching the truth would be taking things into his own hands-it would be a step of unbelief. Because Abraham went against what he knew, God allowed Sarah, his wife, to be taken into King Abimelech's harem. Abraham was held completely responsible for his actions.
Obviously, King Abimelech was not completely on the straight and narrow path himself-he had a harem! We know that God does not condone such things, but Abilmelech did not have as much light as Abraham had. He was a heathen king. And yet, we know that he had a healthy fear of Jehovah. After he had taken Sarah into his harem, God appeared to him in a dream and said, "Behold, thou art a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." That was quite a wake-up call!
King Abimelech responded in humility, pleading his case: "Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this." In other words, "Lord, it was an honest mistake! I didn't know that she was Abraham's wife." The Lord agreed with Abimelech and said, "Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her." Because King Abimelech didn't have much light to go by, God showed him great mercy and prevented him from sinning against Him.
(Just as a side note, notice that the sin of adultery would not have been primarily against Abraham but against God. All sin, no matter who else it hurts, is first and foremost a sin against God.)
Yes, Abilmelech was shown mercy, but now that he had been given light, he was given more responsibility. God tells him, "Now therefore restore the man his wife...." With more light comes more responsibility.
What about us? We have been given much light because we have the Word of God in our hands. Let's not take that truth lightly. Let us recognize our responsibility before God and live according to the light we have been given. Like King Abimelech, if we have a heart that wants to know what is right, God will give us the light we need to live according to His will.
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