Genesis 20:1–2: “And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.”

October 5th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This story warns of the problem and persistence of sin as Abraham again journeyed out of the Promised Land. There is no mention of God sending him out of the country or of Abraham asking permission from God. The first lesson we can learn from this is that we are always in danger when we make major decisions without consulting God. Perhaps Abraham was only trying to move away from Sodom and Gomorrah after the destruction, but he ventured out without God and as a result he fell hard in an old area of sin.

Abraham fell into the same sin he had committed 25 years earlier. After such a lengthy time of walking with God, Abraham probably thought he would never fall into that sin again. The sin of being a coward, of hiding behind the skirts of his wife, of lying, and of endangering his wife. But sure enough, 25 years later, he fell into the same sin of allowing his wife to be taken into a harem to save his own skin.

How we must be careful not to become confident in our own abilities. We may think we have a handle on something that used to defeat us. You know that attitude of, “Oh, I could never do that again!” Every one of us has an area where we are vulnerable, some Achilles’ heel that Satan will use to take us down. Hebrews 12:1 says, “lay aside . . . the sin which so easily ensnares us.” It might be the tongue, as in lying or gossiping; or it might be alcohol, drugs, or porn. The potential for falling back into old sins will stay with us as long as we are breathing. We must watch those areas of our lives every day. We must keep walking with the Lord daily, so we don’t fall again years later like Abraham.

“LORD, hold us in Your hand this day we ask in Jesus’ name.”