201 And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar; 2 and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.
3 And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, 'Lo, thou 'art' a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken—and she married to a husband.' 4 And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, 'Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay? 5 hath not he himself said to me, She 'is' my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He 'is' my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.' 6 And God saith unto him in the dream, 'Yea, I—I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her; 7 and now send back the man's wife, for he 'is' inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'
8 And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly; 9 and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, 'What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.' 10 Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, 'What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?' 11 And Abraham saith, 'Because I said, 'Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife; 12 and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 20:1-12
Commentary on Genesis 20:1-8
(Read Genesis 20:1-8)
Crooked policy will not prosper: it brings ourselves and others into danger. God gives Abimelech notice of his danger of sin, and his danger of death for his sin. Every wilful sinner is a dead man, but Abimelech pleads ignorance. If our consciences witness, that, however we may have been cheated into a snare, we have not knowingly sinned against God, it will be our rejoicing in the day of evil. It is matter of comfort to those who are honest, that God knows their honesty, and will acknowledge it. It is a great mercy to be hindered from committing sin; of this God must have the glory. But if we have ignorantly done wrong, that will not excuse us, if we knowingly persist in it. He that does wrong, whoever he is, prince or peasant, shall certainly receive for the wrong which he has done, unless he repent, and, if possible, make restitution.
Commentary on Genesis 20:9-13
(Read Genesis 20:9-13)
See here much to blame, even in the father of the faithful. Mark his distrust of God, his undue care about life, his intent to deceive. He also threw temptation in the way of others, caused affliction to them, exposed himself and Sarah to just rebukes, and yet attempted an excuse. These things are written for our warning, not for us to imitate. Even Abraham hath not whereof to glory. He cannot be justified by his works, but must be indebted for justification, to that righteousness which is upon all and unto all them that believe. We must not condemn all as hypocrites who fall into sin, if they do not continue in it. But let the unhumbled and impenitent take heed that they do not sin on, thinking that grace may abound. Abimelech, being warned of God, takes the warning; and being truly afraid of sin and its consequences, he rose early to pursue the directions given him.