1
¶ And Abraham journeyed from thence
toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in
Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his
wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
As proof that Sarah was still desirable to look at in
an age where people lived longer and were more youthful looking longer and as
further evidence of the customs of the time, the king of Gerar places Sarah in
his harem. Abraham repeats his same, what we would call today cowardice,
practice as in chapter 12 in Egypt in protecting himself from possible murder
but not his wife from this humiliation.
This shows us the dangers of travel in those days
particularly if you had a wife other men might desire. Abimelech king of Gerar is used here as Pharaoh king of Egypt is used in 41:46 and in other verses. The
question then arises as to whether or not Abimelech is a Philistine title for a
king or whether it is a name. Isaac will repeat this behavior in a few chapters
and dwell in this same city for a time. In 26:8 this king of Gerar is called
the king of the Philistines.
We see two characteristics of life in the ancient
world. One, the molestation of visitors to a city as revealed in the story of
Sodom and later in Judges 19 and, two, how ancient kings might forcibly take a
man’s wife and kill him if they felt like it.
This also shows us the political powerlessness of women,
used without their consent as commodities, sexual resources, or just
instruments to produce progeny. The woman had no right to say no to any of
this. Her value was in her usefulness to men, much like a farm animal, modified
only by affection and a sense of moral custom. But, when God’s directive will
was involved, by these cultural practices, women in the Bible were blessed by
being part of God’s plan of producing the line that He came to earth through in
His work of reconciliation of man to Himself. A woman’s lot in life, based on
the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin and man’s prevailing cultural custom,
was ameliorated only by the affection her husband might have toward her and the
love of and for her children, sons of which might care for her in her old age
if widowed.
Keep in mind again that man invents culture and
civilization and God permits him to do so by God’s permissive will. God alters
and modifies to lead man’s effort to an end He has ordained. Imagine that while
slave ships and ships for conquest went out a couple of hundred years ago
missionaries went out as well. And while many missionaries were simply
instruments of the conquering country or institutional church a minority simply
went out as God’s instruments to save souls. We need to reorder history in our
minds to see how God intervenes and directs. When you include God’s actions in
the course of history and cease thinking of Him as simply a first cause or
standing on the sidelines waiting for a prayer you get a different picture of
history. Of course, you get a different picture of everything from biology to
literature if you haven’t accepted the mental condition of modernity that
removes God from every equation.
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