Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

The Half-truth Read Genesis 20:1-18 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman." Genesis 20:3 As we go through the book of Genesis, we see that God dealt with not only the ‘chosen’ but also the ‘non-chosen’ people. After Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, he was called to be a blessing to all families. However, due to his self-centeredness, he brought trouble rather than blessing to the outsider, Abimelech (v 9). Abraham travelled and sojourned in the city state of Gerar where he told the same while lie that he did in Egypt (12:13). By now Abraham assumed that in every city, there was no fear of God (v 11). But it was Abraham who exhibited no fear of God in telling a half-truth to protect himself against imagined danger. Instead of being more outward looking, as was the case when he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was still focussing on himself. He was defensive and self-serving. God did not abandon Abraham for his lack of trust. On the contrary, God called Abraham a prophet. At the same time, God made Abimelech’s life dependent on Abraham’s intercession, since prophets were associated with intercession (I Samuel 12:23, Jeremiah 11:14). Abraham had already played that role when he voluntarily interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah. In this episode, God chose an outsider to convict Abraham of the sin of telling a half-truth. We see therefore that God does chose imperfect people to carry out His divine purposes. The important thing is to repent of our sins. God hears the prayers of repentant sinners. Pray for courage to tell the whole truth rather than half-truths.