Genesis 20-23

Yet again we read of this whole issue where Abraham pretends that Sarah is his sister.  This is technically true since they are half siblings, but it is still wrong to mislead people.  In any case, there is yet another mishap.  What's interesting is that it's stated how God keeps Abimelech from sinning.  I have been reading a book recently and it mentions how God has the ability to keep people from sinning.  Here in Genesis 20, we read one example of this.

Well, in this case, Abimelech does not send Abraham away but instead allows him to simply choose where he would like to live in this land.  Abimelech and his people have also become sick because of this mishap.  Specifically, God had closed the wombs of Abimelech's wife and female slaves.  So, Abraham prays over them and God heals them.

One interesting thing that was brought to my attention by my wife was how old Sarah is at this point.  More specifically, how she is so old yet people still find her beautiful.  Can you imagine someone wanting a 90 year old as their wife because of her beauty?

Isaac is born and Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away.  Wandering in the wilderness, they run out of water and are about to die.  However, an angel speaks to her and God opens her eyes to a well of water.  So, they survive and the boy grows up to be good with the bow.

Abimelech realizes that Abraham is blessed by God.  He asks Abraham to promise to deal well with him and his descendants.  There is also an issue about a well.  Abraham agrees to deal well with Abimelech and his people and there is an exchange of sheep and oxen over a well that Abraham dug.

Now we get to the famous story where Abraham has to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  This is quite a story because he finally has a son in his old age and God asks Abraham to sacrifice him.  God even told him about the blessings through Isaac, which would be weird if Isaac was to die already.  In the book of Hebrews, we actually get an inside look to what was going through Abraham's head.  He thought that God would raise Isaac from the dead.

Just before Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, an angel stops him and they sacrifice a ram instead (which God provided).  This was obviously a test, seeing whether or not Abraham was willing to give up his son for God.

What's interesting is that when Isaac asks Abraham about not having an animal to sacrifice, he tells him that God will provide a lamb.  God does provide in the end, but he provides a ram, not a lamb.  I remember hearing of some significance to this very fact.  It is a possible reference to how God will provide a lamb, meaning Jesus.

Many years pass and Sarah dies at the age of 127.  Abraham seeks for a place to bury her and the people he is living among, the Hittites, are happy to provide him with a place to bury Sarah.  This shows that Abraham is well liked and respected among the people of the land.  He wants to buy a cave from a man named Ephron, but Ephron wants to just give it to Abraham.  They argue and he finally agrees to receive payment for this cave (and field).  So, he buries Sarah in the cave that he now owns because he bought it.