Genesis 22:10

Genesis 22:10 says, And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  Abraham was committed to following God's command, no matter if it cost him his son.  We must be willing to lay everything on altar of God, in that nothing, even family, should ever come between God and us.  Verse eleven states, But the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.  One of the angels of God called out to Abraham from heaven.  The angel did not appear to Abraham, but simply called out to him, and Abraham heard and responded.  We, like Abraham, must recognize when God is speaking to us, no matter how He chooses to do so, and we must respond.  Abraham simply said, "Here am I," and that is really all we can say.  Verse twelve says, And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.   Abraham was told to not harm Isaac, since God now saw that Abraham was willing to follow God no matter the cost.  Though Isaac really wasn't Abraham's only son, he was the son of the promise of God.  We really cannot successfully follow God if we allow anything or anyone to come between God and us.  Verse thirteen declares, And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.  Abraham had told Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice when they started up the mountain, and He did.  God will always provide whatever we need to accomplish His plan if we will only obey in faith.  God has provided the only sacrifice that we need or can have to restore our relationship with Him, and that is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse fourteen states, And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.  Abraham named the place Jehovahjireh, which means the LORD will be seen.  Wherever we go today should be a place where God is seen if we are living in obedience to Christ.  Verse fifteen declares, And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,  Verse sixteen adds, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:  Verse seventeen continues, That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;  Verse eighteen concludes, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.   Abraham was once again promised that he would be the father of a great nation because he was willing to put God above everything else in the world, even his only son, as Isaac is called.  All nations would be blessed because of Abraham's obedience to God.  Through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, a descendant of Abraham through His human nature, the whole world is truly blessed.  Verse eighteen says, So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.  I am sure the trip down the mountain was more joyous than the trip up the mountain.  If we have what is referred to as a mountain top experience, the we should rejoice even as we go back down the mountain spiritually.  Verse twenty states, And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;  Abraham had left his family, but God now revealed to him facts about Abraham's brother and his brother's wife and children.  Verse twenty-one states, Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,  Verse twenty-two adds, And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.  Verse twenty-three continues, And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. And verse twenty-four concludes, And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.  God was still at work in the lives of other members of Abraham's family, whether they knew it or not.  God has never abandoned anyone, even if they refuse to accept His gift of salvation.  When they do refuse, they abandon God.  The verse introduce Rebekah, who will have a big part in carrying out God's promise to Abraham.

Genesis 22:1

Genesis 22:1 says, And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  I believe that a more accurate translation would be that God tested Abraham's faith.  I do not believe that God tempts us to disobey, but that He may test our faith.  Satan is the one who tempts us to sin.  Verse two declares, And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.  God told Abraham to take Isaac to the mountains which God would direct him to and offer him as a sacrifice.  God called Isaac Abraham's only son and said He knew Abraham loved Isaac.  Abraham had waited years for God to fulfill His promise that Abraham would be the father of a great nation, and now God was asking him to sacrifice the son who would fulfill that promise.  We will likely never face so great of a test of our faith.  Verse three states, And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.  Abraham did not attempt to bargain with God, but he got up early the next day and brought two servants, Isaac, and the wood for the sacrifice to the place that God directed him.  Even if what God asks us to do seems to be impossible, we must obey Him.  Verse four adds, Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.  They had been traveling three days when Abraham saw the place afar off.  That was three days that Abraham had in which to falter in his faith.  It is hard to imagine what he must have been thinking and going through emotionally.  We, like Abraham, cannot allow our thoughts and emotions to come between God and us, but must always be steadfast in our faith.  Verse five says, And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.  Abraham left the two young men and the ass and went on with Isaac alone.  He may have not wanted to have anyone witness what he was going to do or he might not have wanted anyone near by to stop him.  Abraham may have still had faith that God would somehow spare Isaac, because he said they would return.  Whatever Abraham's thoughts, he was continuing to follow God's instructions.  We must do the same when we know that God is instructing us to do something, no matter how hard it may be.  Verse six declares, And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  Isaac carried the wood and Abraham carried the fire and knife for the sacrifice.  Isaac was in effect helping prepare for what Abraham thought would be his sacrifice.   Even if what we are asked to do involves others close to us, we cannot disobey God's call to a certain action.  Verse seven adds, And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?  Isaac saw that something was missing.  Isaac asked Abraham where the sacrifice was.  Other people may sometimes question how we are going to accomplish what we know God is calling us to do, but we cannot allow that to stop us from doing it, even if they are family.  Verse eight states, And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.  Abraham told Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice.  We today must simply rely on God to provide what we need to accomplish His directions to us.  Verse nine concludes, And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.  Abraham prepared everything for the sacrifice, even Isaac.  We can only imagine what must have been going through both their thoughts at this time, but hopefully we will never experience such a situation.  Abraham remained true to his faith in and obedience to God, and so must we.

Genesis 21:22

Genesis 21:22 says, And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:  Those in power around Abraham noticed that he was being blessed by God.  As followers of Christ, even if we do not have great riches, people should be able to see that we are blessed by our relationship with Him.  Verse twenty-three adds, Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.  Abimelech asked Abraham to act honestly with him and his descendants from now own.  Abraham had not gotten off to a good start in this, but was now being asked to deal honestly from now on.  We should always deal honestly and fairly with those around us, even without them having to ask.  Verse twenty-four states,  And Abraham said, I will swear.  Abraham gave his word to Abimilech.  As followers of Christ, if we give our word to someone, we should always attempt to keep it.  Verse twenty-five declares, And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.  Abraham had a problem with some of Abimelech's servants taking a well of water from him, so he went to Abimelech to discuss the problem.  We should always go to those who are really in authority if we have a problem with someone who serves, or works, for them, but we should always do so with God's guidance and for His glory.   Verse twenty-six says, And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.  Abimelech said he was unaware of the problem before Abraham telling him of it at that time.  Abraham may have been blaming Abimelech for the problem when he wasn't the source of the problem.  We today must never just blame someone, especially those in power, for our problems without first making sure that they know that there is a problem.  Verse twenty-seven declares, And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.  Abraham gave a gift to Abimelech and made a covenant with him.  I believe that God expects us to do our best to get along with others, even if it costs us something materially.  Still, it should be done with God's guidance.  Verse twenty-eight states, And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.  Abraham set seven ewe lambs aside.  Then in verse twenty-nine Abimelech asks, And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?  Abimelech asked Abraham what the meaning was of this act.  As we worship and serve God today, the lost of the world may have questions about what we are doing.  Verse thirty states, And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.  Abraham said that when Abimelech took the seven ewe lambs that it would be a witness between them that Abraham had dug the well.  I don't believe that Abraham was attempting to buy Abimelech's good will, but that he was simply giving these lambs as a symbol of their agreement.  Verse thirty-one adds, Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.  Then verse thirty-two concludes, Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.  Abimelech and Abraham had resolved the problem peacefully, and Abraham named the place where they had entered into the covenant Beersheba.  I believe that this was so that every time someone came to the place they would be reminded of the covenant.  Every time we have dealings with other people, we should remember the covenant that we made with God when we came to the cross of Jesus.  Though this is not a physical place, it is a spiritual one.  Verse thirty-three states, And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.  Abraham planted a grove at the well, and called on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.  No matter what we do as followers of Christ, we must make sure that we are following God's will and give Him the glory.  Verse thirty-four states, And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.  Having made peace with Abimelech, Abraham was able to stay there for many days.  We should always pray that God will allow us to live peacefully, wherever we may be.

Genesis 21:11

Genesis 21:11 says, And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.  Though Ishmael was not Sarah's son, he was Abraham's, and Abraham was grieved at the thought of sending him away.  Abraham had willingly listened to Sarah about having a child with Hagar, but he was reluctant to listen to her about sending Hagar and Ishmael away.  Like Abraham, sometimes we are more easily lead into sin than we are led to deal with the results of that sin.  Verse twelve states, And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.  God told Abraham to not be grieved and to follow Sarah's wishes, because Isaac would be the one that Abraham would become the father of a great nation through.  As followers of Christ, our actions will never replace God's plan, though they may affect our joy in our salvation.  If we attempt to do things our way and make a mess of it, then we must ask God to forgive us and direct us in the right direction.  Verse thirteen adds, And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.  God told Abraham that Ishmael would not be forgotten, but that a great nation would also come from Ishmael.  It just would not be the nation of the covenant between Abraham and God.  God was not going to destroy Ishmael because of the sin of Abraham, but neither was He going to change His covenant.  As followers of Christ, if we sin, we cannot expect God to totally destroy everything that is a result of that sin, but if we repent and return to obedience to God, we should not continue to be grieved by the sin.  Verse fourteen declares, And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.  Abraham wasted no time in carrying out God's instructions.  He arose early and sent Ishmael and Hager away.  When God directs us to do something, then we must do so as quickly as possible.  Verse fifteen states, And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.  The water that Abraham had given Hagar was gone and she was ready to give up.  We cannot rely on our own provisions or those provided by the world to sustain us forever if we do not look to God for His help.  Verse sixteen adds, And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.  Hagar didn't want to see Ishmael die, so she moved a little distance away from him and lifted up her voice and wept.  It does not say that she was calling on God, but whether she was or not, God heard her.  God will always be there when people are in anguish, and He will provide comfort if they will only acknowledge and listen to Him.  Verse seventeen declares, And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.  God asked what ailed Hagar, and then He gave her assurance that she did not need to despair.  Sho had to listen to and believe God for His words to have any effect, just as we must listen to and believe God for His words to have effect in our lives.  Verse eighteen adds, Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.  God still required Hagar to act on His instructions in faith.  If God provides an answer to our problems, we must always listen to Him and act in faith.  Verse nineteen says, And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.  Like Hagar, we must open our eyes in faith in order to receive His promise.  For Hagar and Ishmael, it was earthly water, but if accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we receive living water.  Verse twenty states, And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.  God was with Ishmael.  Verse twenty-one concludes, And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.  Eventually, Ishmael married an Egyptian woman.  God has never forgotten anyone who has ever lived, even if they never acknowledge Him.

Genesis 21:1

Genesis 21:1 says, And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.  God had not forgotten His promise to Sarah, and He will never forget His promises to us.  The main promise of God is an everlasting relationship with Him to those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord.  God has not forgotten this promise, no matter how long it may be before it is fully implemented.  Verse two states, For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.   Sarah conceived, when the time was right for God.  I believe that one reason that God waited as long as He did was so that there could be little doubt that He was the One Who brought about Sarah's conception.  I believe, no matter the events leading up to a pregnancy, that God alone can give life.  I know many people would disagree, but this is my belief.  Verse three adds, And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.  At least Abraham was obedient in naming the baby Isaac.  Just because we may have doubted God or have been disobedient to Him in the past does not excuse us from being obedient in the future.  Verse four says, And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.  Abraham also obeyed God's command to circumcise Isaac.  Even if we have carried out God's law in the past, as Abraham had with the circumcision of all the males in his household, he still needed to continue to obey God's command.  Even if we have obeyed God in the past, that does not excuse us from obeying Him today.  Verse five states, And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.  This was no longer the norm as it was with the earlier generations, but this was a miracle of God.  Abraham and Sarah had both believed it was impossible, but with God nothing is impossible.  Verse nine declares, And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.  If Sarah was talking about when she laughed when God told her she was going to have a son, then it was not God but Sarah's lack of faith that caused her to laugh.  If she was referring to her joy at having a son, then God did indeed bring her this joy.  Following God's plan for our lives should always bring us joy.  Verse seven asks, And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.  Sarah was still looking at things through the eyes of the world and not through faith in God.  We should never be surprised when God fulfills His promises.  Verse eight states, And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.  When Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast.  It does not say that this was a feast to celebrate God's goodness, but was more simply to celebrate Isaac.  We must always make sure that we give God the credit when good things happen in our lives.  Verse nine declares, And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.  Hagars son was mocking the celebration for Isaac.  He was after all Abraham's first born, but I am sure had never had a feast of celebration for him.  Many people today, who do not believe in God and accept His gift of salvation will mock those who have accepted Christ..  Verse ten adds, Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.  Sarah saw Ishmael, the son that she had made the plan for his birth, mocking the celebration of Isaac, she demanded that his mother and he be cast out.  Sometimes, when our plans, made without God's guidance come true, we may create problems for others and ourselves.  Hagar and Ishmael were really not guilty of anything, other than being a part of Sarah's plan to fulfill God's promise her way.  We must be patient and wait on God to fulfill His plan His way and never believe that we have a better plan.

Genesis 20:8

Genesis 20:8 says, Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.  After God had spoken to Abimelech in his dreams, he got up early and called his servants and told them what had happened.  Abimilech didn't just claim he had a bad dream, but he actually knew that God had spoken to him.  I believe that when God speaks to a person, whether they profess to know Him or not, they will know.  Verse nine states, Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.  Abimelech called Abraham and asked him why he had done such a terrible thing to him.  Abimelech said that Abraham had brought a great sin to the kingdom.  We, as followers of Christ, should never be guilty of leading others into a sinful situation.  Verse ten asks, And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?  Abimelech asked Abraham what he had seen concerning Abimelech and his people that had caused Abraham to do this.  That was Abraham's problem.  He was looking at the power of Abimelech instead of the power of God.  We should never allow anything in this world to become more powerful to us than God is.  Verse eleven states, And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.  Abraham said that he believed that Abimelech and his people did not fear, or know God, and he was afraid that they would kill him and take Sarah.  If Abraham had put his trust in God, he would not have been afraid.  He acted out of a self made fear.  We today should never allow our personal fears to cause us to make our own way of dealing with a situation where we might possibly be in danger, but must always put our faith in God.  We certainly should never do anything that would be against God's law simply because we are afraid.  Verse twelve adds, And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.  Abraham was still trying to justify his actions.  He said Sarah was both his wife and his half-sister.  We cannot justify sin by half truths.  We must be totally honest in our relationship with others, and especially with God, no matter what it might cost us in this world.  Verse thirteen continues, And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.  Abraham said that God caused him to wander, but the plan to call Sarah his sister was strictly his plan.  After all God had done for him and the promises that God made him, Abraham was still lacking the faith to totally trust God.  When we become a follower of Christ, we must live by faith in God's promise that we are His children forever.  Verse fourteen says, And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.  Once again, Abraham benefited materially from his deception, but I believe that he suffered spiritually.  Even if we were to gain materially, we can never afford to go against God's will and teachings.  Verse fifteen adds, And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.  Abimelech told Abraham to take his choice of the land to dwell in.  We can never allow the end to justify the means if we are going against what God's law.  Verse sixteen states, And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.  Abimelech then told Sarah that he had paid Abraham for his actions concerning Sarah.  Verse seventeen declares, So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.  Abraham prayed for Abimelech and God healed him and his people.  Though Abraham had been the reason for the sin, when he prayed to God, God granted his request.  Had Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his people before hand and trusted God to keep him safe, the whole situation could have been avoided.  As followers of Christ, if we cause someone to fall into sin, we must first confess to God and then pray that God will heal them.  Verse eight adds, For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.  God restored the ability of the woman to have children, which had been taken away because of Sarah.  Sarah and her son with Abraham was still God's plan to make a great nation of Abraham.

Genesis 20:1

Genesis 20:1 says, And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.  Abraham was on the move again.  I am not sure if it was because of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or not, but after twenty years he was moving.  As followers of Christ, we are never permanently at home here in this world.  Verse two states, And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.  Abraham was no stronger in his faith at this point than he had been when he was still Abram.  Even though God had told Abraham that His promise to make Abraham the father of a great nation was through a child that Abraham and Sarah would have, Abraham was still passing her off as his sister and allowing her to be taken away by another man.  We should learn from our past sins and not fall into them again.  Verse three declares, But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.  God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and warned him that he was a dead man for taking Sarah, another man's wife.  Though Abimelech may not have been aware of the sin he was committing, he was no less responsible for it.  We cannot excuse sin simply because we are not aware of the sin.  I believe that God will always make people aware of their sins, whether they acknowledge them or not.  Verse four states, But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?  God spoke to Abimelech before he had been with Sarah in a sexual relationship.  Abimelech asked if God would destroy a righteous nation.  Though I am not sure that Abimelech was accurate in calling his a righteous nation, he was not totally to blame in his actions.  He was still guilty of taking Sarah for his own desires.  We cannot call ourselves righteous simply because we have not done what could be viewed as a greater sin in the eyes of the world.  Verse five adds, 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.  Abimelech said that both Abraham and Sarah said that Sarah was Abraham's sister.  Abimelech said that he acted with integrity of his heart and innocency of his hands.  Abraham had initiated the plan, Sarah went along with it, and Abimelech was caught up in it.  I don't believe that Abimelech was totally innocent though, because his actions were fueled by lust. Though we may be caught up in a sin created by someone else's actions, we cannot justify ourselves by blaming them.  Verse six declares, 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.  God again spoke to Abimelech in a dream and told him that He was aware that Abimelech acted in innocence as for as knowing that Sarah was married and that He prevented Abimelech from touching Sarah.  God was at work in this situation, and He is still at work today.  This should be especially true for those who profess to follow Christ.  Had Abraham put his faith in God keeping him safe, and had Sarah not gone along with his plan,this situation would have never occurred.  If there is sin the world, and there always is, we as followers of Christ should never be the cause of it.  Verse seven adds, Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.  God gave Abimelech a choice.  He could either return Sarah to Abraham, or Abimelech and all that were his would die.  God did not force Abimelech to obey Him, but gave him a choice.  Even after Abraham's actions, God still referred to him as a prophet.  As followers of Christ, if we commit a sin, we are still a child of God and still have an everlasting relationship with Him.