Genesis 20:7

My Notes

What Does Genesis 20:7 Mean?

God appears to Abimelech in a dream and tells him that Sarah is Abraham's wife — and that keeping her will cost him his life. But then God gives an unexpected instruction: "restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live." Abraham — the man who just lied about his wife to save his own skin — is identified as a prophet (navi, the first use of this word in the Bible) and appointed as Abimelech's intercessor.

The irony is deliberate and uncomfortable. Abraham caused the situation by deceiving Abimelech (v. 2: "she is my sister"). And now God tells Abimelech that the liar is his only path to survival. The man who put you in danger is the man who will pray you out of it. The prophet's intercession is effective not because of his moral performance but because of his prophetic office. God doesn't wait for Abraham to be cleaned up before using him as an intercessor. He uses him dirty.

The conditional threat — "if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die" — creates urgency. But the promise — "he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live" — creates hope. The healing is available. It comes through prayer. And the one praying is the one who caused the wound. That's not how human justice works. It is how God works.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Have you been waiting to be morally qualified before you believe God can use you? How does Abraham's story challenge that?
• 2.Abraham caused the crisis and was appointed to pray for its resolution. Where has someone who hurt you also been used by God in your healing?
• 3.The first 'prophet' in Scripture is mid-deception. What does that say about God's standards for who He calls?
• 4.How do you hold together the reality of someone's failure and the reality of their calling — without excusing either one?

Devotional

Abraham lied. He told Abimelech that Sarah was his sister — the same lie he told in Egypt (Genesis 12:13), years earlier, having apparently learned nothing. He put his wife at risk to protect himself. And God calls this man a prophet and tells Abimelech: he will pray for you. The liar is your intercessor. The man who caused the problem is the one whose prayer solves it.

If you're waiting to be morally qualified before God uses you — waiting until you've stopped repeating the old mistakes, until your track record is clean, until the hypocrisy has been fully resolved — Abraham demolishes that expectation. He's mid-deception when God calls him navi. The first person in Scripture identified as a prophet is telling a lie to a king while God is simultaneously announcing his prophetic authority. God doesn't use clean vessels exclusively. He uses the vessels He chooses, and He chooses them before they're finished.

The other angle: if you've been hurt by someone God has used — a leader who wounded you but whose ministry is still active, a person whose prayers seem to work despite their obvious failures — this verse helps explain how God operates. The prophetic office and the personal failure coexist in the same person. Abraham's lie is real. Abraham's prophetic authority is also real. God doesn't revoke the calling because of the character flaw. He addresses the flaw (v. 9: Abimelech confronts Abraham directly) while maintaining the calling. The two tracks run in parallel. The man who hurt you may also be the man God uses to help you. That's not fair. It's grace — the same grace operating on both of you.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture