Genesis 20

Here we find Abraham and Sarah on the border of Philistine territory where Abimelech is the King of Gerar. There are several men named Abimelech in the Bible and different translations have a different spelling of it. You see this name quite often in Scripture which led some scholars to believe that among some groups, Abimelech is not a name, but a title, sort of like Pharaoh, or king.

Examples of where it is used as a name, and not a title would be one of Gideon’s sons and a priest during David’s reign.

Let’s get back to our story of Abraham and Sarah. There they are in an area at the edge of Philistine territory and he runs into Abimelech, king of Gerar. He tells people that Sarah is his sister. Does this sound familiar? The King took Sarah. That’s it, he sent for her and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream.

Verse 3, God came to Abimelech in a dream. Before we get into dreams and visions, let me say that there are five pagans who God communicated to through dreams, and all were WARNINGS. The other four were Laban (Gen 31:24), the butler and the baker (Gen 40:5), and Pharaoh (Gen 41:1).

Let’s talk about dreams and visions. They are basically the same, but visons are waking dreams. Just because God has used dreams to communicate with man, doesn’t mean that all dreams are communications from God. Sometimes it’s the product of stress, anxiety, or something you ate the night before. Likewise, visions can be from God, but they can also be a symptom of schizophrenia (hallucinations) or you’ve been smoking marijuana (yes, of course, for medicinal purposes only).

How many examples are there of dreams and visions in the Bible? Go ahead, take a guess. Here’s a list of those that are recorded.

Abraham (Genesis 15:1): God used a vision to restate the Abrahamic Covenant, reminding Abram that he would have a son and be the father of many nations.

Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-7): God sent him a dream telling him not to touch Sarah because she was Abraham’s wife.

Jacob (Genesis 28:10-17): Jacob, stole Esau’s firstborn inheritance. Jacob fled Esau’s anger, and on his journey he had his famous dream of a ladder reaching to heaven on which angels ascended and descended.

Joseph (Genesis 37:1-11): Joseph had dreams and could interpret dreams of others. One showed him that his family would one day bow to him in respect.

Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (Genesis 40): While in prison Joseph interpreted some dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker.

Pharaoh (Genesis 41): Two years later, Pharaoh himself had a dream which Joseph interpreted. God’s purpose was to raise Joseph to second-in-command over Egypt and to save the Egyptians and the Israelites from a horrible famine.

Samuel (1 Samuel 3): Samuel had his first vision as a young boy. God told him that judgment was coming upon the sons of Samuel’s mentor, Eli.

The Midianite and Amalekite armies (Judges 7:12-15): The pagan enemies of Israel had a divinely inspired dream. God told Gideon to sneak into the enemy camp at night, and there in the outposts of the camp, Gideon overheard an enemy soldier relate a dream he had just had. The interpretation, from another enemy soldier, mentioned Gideon by name and predicted that Israel would win the battle. Gideon was greatly encouraged by this revelation.

Solomon (1 Kings 3:5): It was in a dream that God gave Solomon the famous offer: "Ask what you wish Me to give you." Solomon chose wisdom.

Daniel (Daniel 2; 4): Daniel interpreted a foreign ruler’s dream. Daniel himself had many dreams and visions, mostly related to future kingdoms of the world and the nation of Israel.

Isaiah had a vision when he was called to be a prophet (Isa.6).

Ezekiel had visions where he saw the fall of Jerusalem (Ezek 1-3 and 8-11).

Amos had a vision in Amos 7-9.

New Testament Dreams and Visions

Zacharias (Luke 1:5-23): God used a vision to tell Zacharias, an old priest, that he would soon have an important son. Not long after, Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, had John the Baptist.

Joseph (Matthew 1:20; 2:13): Joseph would have divorced Mary when he found out she was pregnant, but God sent an angel to him in a dream, convincing him that the pregnancy was of God. Joseph went ahead with the marriage. After Jesus was born, God sent two more dreams, one to tell Joseph to take his family to Egypt so Herod could not kill Jesus and another to tell him Herod was dead and that he could return home.

Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19): During Jesus’ trial, Pilate’s wife sent an urgent message to the governor encouraging him to free Jesus. Her message was prompted by a dream she had—a nightmare, really—that convinced her that Jesus was innocent, and that Pilate should have nothing to do with His case.

Ananias (Acts 9:10): It would have taken nothing less than a vision from God to convince Ananias, a Christian in Damascus, to visit Paul, the persecutor of Christians. But because Ananias was obedient to God’s leading, Paul regained his sight and found the truth about those he was trying to kill.

Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6): God spoke to an Italian centurion named Cornelius who feared the God of the Jews. In his vision, Cornelius saw an angel who told him where to find Simon Peter and to send for him and listen to his message. Cornelius obeyed the vision, Peter came and preached, and Cornelius and his household full of Gentiles were saved by the grace of God.

Peter (Acts 10:9-15): While Peter was praying on the rooftop of a house in Joppa, God gave him a vision of animals lowered in something like a sheet. A voice from heaven told Peter to kill the animals (some of which were unclean) and eat them. The vision served to show that Christians are not bound by kosher law and that God had pronounced Gentiles “clean”; that is, heaven is open to all who follow Jesus.

Paul had several visions in his missionary career. One sent him to preach in Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). Another encouraged him to keep preaching in Corinth (Acts 18:9-11). God also gave him a vision of heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-6).

John (Revelation): Nearly the entire book of Revelation is a vision John had while exiled on the island of Patmos.

That’s at least twenty-one. And these are only those that were recorded in Scripture. Did you ever imagine that there were so many dreams/visions in the Bible?

With the completion of the Bible, God does not have to use dreams and visions as much as He did before. That is not to say that He cannot or does not; God can communicate with us however He chooses. How do you know if a dream is from God? Well, if the message contradicts Scripture, it obviously is not from God. If it contradicts Scripture, you may have forgotten to take your anti-psychotic medication.

While we are on this subject of communications from God, let’s look at the other ways God has communicated with man. There is the theophany, which we talked about last week. Then there are miracles, which reveal the presence and power of God. Then we have direct communication, such as Moses on Mt. Sinai, dreams and visions, the Urim and Thummim, the casting of lots, an audible voice such as Moses at the burning bush. Then we have angels as when the birth of Jesus was announced, the incarnation and finally, by Scripture. With all of these communication tools, why are there so many misunderstandings? It’s like today, we have many more ways of communicating, but we don’t seem to be listening very well. Everyone is talking, no one is listening.

Let’s get back to the narrative and Abimelech’s dream. Now this is not the type of dream I would want to have. God doesn’t say, “Hi Abim, how are you? Say, did you know that this woman, Sarah, is a married woman?” No, God gets right to the point and says, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” This sounds more like a threat from a mobster than a message from God.

The king defends himself by saying that both Abraham and Sarah said that she was his sister. God says that he knows this and that He has kept him from sinning against ‘me.” Against me? Didn’t David use a similar expression after his sin with Bathsheba in Ps. 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” One commentary says that the expression means, no one knew of the sin but God. It also carries the idea that when we sin, it is “against God” as well as other victims. God then tells him, “Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet.” I hadn’t noticed this before, but God refers to Abraham as a prophet and he is the first person to be so identified. In what way was he a prophet? He is someone who has received revelation from God.

At first, I thought, why didn’t Abimelech get up right away and straighten this mess out before he was struck dead by God? Well, I don’t think he woke up during the night. Have you ever had a dream that was so realistic you wondered, “Did I dream that, or did it really happen?” I don’t think this was a common experience for the king. I think he was puzzled by this, as well as scared. What does he do in the morning? Verse 8, he summons all of his officials. Why? Perhaps he shared with them his experience and asked, “What do you make of this dream that I had?” They responded with FEAR and said, in effect, “Boss, you’d better take care of this just in case it really was God who came to you in that dream and get wacked.” So, he called in Abraham and read him the riot act.

Abraham’s response was almost an insult to the King and his people, saying that he thought this country was a moral wasteland. He said that he believed, “There is surely no fear of God in this place.” Abraham goes on to explain to Abimelech that whenever He and Sarah traveled together and people asked who Sarah was, she was identified as his sister (verse 13). This has been his long-standing practice of Abraham. They’ve been doing this for years.

As when he was caught in his deceptions by the Pharaoh, the incident made Abraham richer. Abimelech gave Abraham sheep and cattle and told Sarah that he gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver and told him that they could settle anywhere in the country that he wanted. The last time this happened, the Pharaoh ordered Abraham out of the country. I’m starting to wonder if Abraham had a bit of the con artist in him. Could he have been the Bernie Madoff of his day? Do you think he learned his lesson? The chapter ends with Abraham praying to God to heal Abimelech and his household so that they could have children. This suggests that some time had passed since the couple arrived. Enough time for it to become noticeable that no births had taken place while Sarah was in Abimelech’s household. They were being cursed. Remember, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”?

Keep in mind that the covenant that God made with Abraham was unconditional. His behavior here didn’t do anything to endanger the promise of land, seed and blessing for Abraham and his descendants. He would bless Abraham, in spite of his disobedience. And, he would curse those who hurt him in any way. 

Next, there will be some wonderful news for Abraham and Sarah. Finally, they will have a baby.