“And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” (Genesis 20:16–18, CSB)
For the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. When did nonchalance become the response to God’s words? We serve a God whose name is Almighty! Let that name roll off your tongue a few times. Go ahead, say it out loud right now a few of times a few different ways. “ALL–Mighty!” “All-MIGHTY!” “ALL-MIGHTY” Can you feel it? That’s the God who designed our marriage!
All too often, we forget that God is watching and that he is acting, intervening, thwarting, and even promoting different actions and attitudes in our lives. God is alive and active in our lives for our benefit and protection, even when we are on a path of disaster and destruction of our own making.
You can see here that God was applying what is called in basketball, “a full-court press” on King Abimelech. While Abraham foolishly left his wife in the arms of the King, God wasn’t about to allow harm to come to her. This is NO WAY justifies Abraham’s stupidity born out of fear.
God’s mercy and goodness overpower even the bad decisions our spouse makes. True, we often pay the consequences for those missteps. However, God often mitigates the severity of the consequences because of His unfailing love.
As Abimelech paid a generous “offering” to Abraham for his “almost adultery” we see God’s judgment on the matter. “Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
God takes the sanctity of our marriage seriously. So should we!
Magnificent Marriage Mondays are helpful hints, clues, ideas, and solutions for the child of God who is looking for a spouse, in a relationship with someone, or are already married. Each post seeks to bring help, hope, and honesty to your life and make the rest of your life, the best of your life. They are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his 38 years, 5 months and 2 days experience with his wife, Melodee, who was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. He is currently seeking God’s will for his new life partner. He welcomes your comments below.
What is the first thing you remember about your dad? Is it his laugh, his smile, his anger, his grumpiness? First remembrances are often the most powerful ones … and they have the tendency to shape our life memories.
“Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. So when God had me wander from my father’s house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’ ”” (Genesis 20:11–13, CSB)
You may have witnessed it this past Mother’s Day. Missing chairs where there should have been family members. Most of us have experienced the pain of broken relationships in our families … someone’s mad at sister Emily. That one isn’t talking to the Uncle Joe. Jim and Bill haven’t spoken in years. Ugh! What’s up with all of this?
Being nice to the people in our family can be a chore sometimes. Selfishness can get in and harsh words can be spoken. Relationships can be strained when we are not on our best behavior behind closed doors.
It’s Mother’s Day! That special holiday where godly men and children take care of their mother like she has taken care of them the other 364 days over the past year!
