Abram/Abraham & Sarai/Sarah's (for Zeb) BeBold

Prophecy comes from the root word PHOS a ray of heaven's light that breaks through the clouded skies... od spoke to Abraham and revealed His promises

For Zeb from Bob-Bob

To The Young Man of God and Potler Tribe
The B-Boys and The Starmen and Starwomen,
Blessed be the name of Jesus Christ
by whom we have eternal life
#BeBoldBelieveBig

As said by G.K.Chesterton

A Thing Worth Doing by ACS
QUESTION: I keep hearing people quote Chesterton as saying,

"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

Where did he say that? And what on earth did he mean by it?

ANSWER: To answer your first question first, he said it in his wonderful and timely book, What’s Wrong with the World, which was written in 1910.


Your Question
Why in Genesis does Abraham and his wife keep going into kingdoms and saying they are just brother and sister?   Zeb 11/8/16

In the following three parts I will at least try to answer your very good question badly! Love You! bob-bob

Part One: 
Background: Brief outline of the life of Abraham
Take a look at the first part summarizing the chapters in Genesis that have to do with Abraham's life.   

Part Two: 2 Chapters you refer to in your question
Genesis Chapters 12 and 20 in two columns

Part Three: Below the 1st Song 
A Brief Commentary
Man's Fallen Condition
God's Continued Love & Grace
Before the Law of Moses,
During the Law of Moses and finally
in the days of God's love shown in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus to the full day. 


PART ONE
Descendants of Noah - Shem, Ham & Japheth

Genesis 11
verse 10 These are the records of the generations of Shem [from whom Abraham descended]. Shem was a hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood.

There were 9 generations from Shem and Abram was the tenth generation since the days of Noah. 

Noah - Shem - Arpachshad - Shelah - Eber - Peleg - Reu - Serug - Nahor - Terah - Abram, Nahor and Haran <-firstborn and was father of Lot

verse 31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there.

Genesis 12 see below

Genesis 13  
Abram and lot go their separate ways

Genesis 14
Abraham rescues Lot and defeats 4 enemy kings and kingdoms and rescues 5 'friendly' ally kingdoms and takes the spoil of victory with 318 men! It was lot, his nephew that was his motive for asking and finding divine deliverance. Then Melchizzadek, King and high Priest  of Salem appeared bringing Bread & Wine and Abraham responded by 'tithing' 1/10th of all the spoils of war and did war no more! From then on The Lord dd all the judgment and warfare - from heaven! He intervened with dreams, angels, visions and other supernatural revelations blessing those who blessed his family and brought destruction on those who refused him or his people. In Abrahams life and the life of his sons, Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau we see the honor of god for the people He loves by covenant or agreements until the days of Moses, David, Elijah and the 1st Coming of the Word made Flesh - God become man giving Him the name Jesus!

http://www.communionfire.com/blog/first-mention-of-the-elements-in-communionfire-part-iii-then-melchizedek-brought-out-bread-wine

Abram and Melchizedek

17 Then after Abram’s return from the defeat (slaughter) of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

18 [c]Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of [d]God Most High. 19 And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,

“Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High,
Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth;

20 And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High,
Who has given your enemies into your hand.”
And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle].

Genesis 15
God Promises Abraham  son

Genesis 16
Barren, Sarah offers Hagar to have the promised son

Genesis 17
God creates the Covenant of circumcision to set apart Abraham's children from the rest of the world, begining with Ishmael and Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah (the "ah" means the name of God so as to ratif the covenant of circumcision.)

Genesis 18
The Three Angels visit Abraham to announce that Sarah will give birth to the son God promised Abraham and to warn Abraham about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; Abraham intercedes for Lot and his family. 2 angels go to rescue Lot and family and Abraham. Type of Jesus and foreshadow of angels and deliverance of God's family. 

Genesis 19
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, death of Lot's wife. Lot and his family relocate, daughters get him drunk and sleep with him and one gives birth to Moab father of the Moabites and the other daughter gives birth to Ben-Ammi, father of the Ammonites. Type of the last days

Genesis 20 see below

Genesis 21
Isaac Born; verse 4 So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. Shadow of the Covenanted people

Genesis 22
Isaac on Mount Moriah as type of Golgotha

Genesis 23
Death and Burial of Sarah as type of Mother Mary? (Isaac) 

Genesis 24
Bride (Rebekah) for Isaac as type of Bride of Christ, second coming and wedding feast of the Lamb  

​Genesis 25
​Abraham's Death and the children of Ishmael and Isaac

Part Two
The Green indicates the Brother/Sister references
The Black indicates general text of the story
The Yellow indicates where or how the Lord intervened
The Red Burgundy is where we follow Abraham
Blue headers and names

Abram Journeys to the Negev then to Egypt Blessed but Deceptive

​Genesis Chapter 12 

​Now [in Haran] the Lord had said to Abram,

“Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house,
​
To the land which I will show you;

Promise One
2 And [a] I will make you a great nation,

Promise Two
And I will bless you [abundantly],

Promise Three
And make your name great (exalted, distinguished);

Promise Four
​And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others];

Promise Five
3 And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you,

Promise Six
And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you.

Promise Seven
And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed.”

Abram at 75

4 So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 

5 Abram took Sarai his wife (age 66) and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the people (servants) which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 

6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the [great] terebinth (oak) tree of Moreh.

Now the [b] Canaanites were in the land at that time. 

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said,
“I will give this land to your descendants.”

So Abram built an altar (at Sheckem at the great oak tree of Moreh)
there to [honor]
​the Lord who had appeared to him. 

8 Then he moved on from there

Between the House of God and Heap of Ruins

to the mountain on the east of Bethel (house of God), and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai (heap of ruins) on the east;

and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord 

[in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving]. 

9 Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev (the South country of Judah).
​
10 Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive and severe.

11 And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife,

“Listen: I know that you are [c] a beautiful woman; 12 so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live. 

13 Please tell them that you are [d] my sister... so that things will go well for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.” 

14 And when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 

15 Pharaoh’s princes (officials) also saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken [for the purpose of marriage] into Pharaoh’s house (harem).

16 Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

17 But the Lord punished Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 

18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 

19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and go!” 

20 So Pharaoh told his men concerning him; and they escorted him on his way, with his wife and all that he had.

​Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

​Abraham’s Deception to King Abimalech of Gerar Back in the Negev 

​Genesis Chapter 20

​Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev

Negev (desert in the South country)
= negeb: From an unused root meaning to be parched; the south (from its drought); specifically, the Negeb or southern district of Judah, occasionally, Egypt (as south to Palestine) -- south (country, side, -ward).

and settled between
The Sanctuary and The Wall

Kadesh =
The same as qadesh; sanctuary; Kadesh, a sacred place in the Desert
and

Shur =
Shur: a desert region Southwest of Pal. on E. border of Egypt; From shuwr; a wall (as going about)
 
then he lived temporarily in Gerar

Gerar. Probably from garar; a rolling country; Gerar, a Philistine city – Gerar – Drag away
 
Abram 99 years old (who became Abraham  (abr–jah–am) "exalted of God”; father," the father of the Jewish nation [about 99-100 years old at the time]

said [again] of

Sarai 90 years old (princess) who became Sarah = sar/jah (princess of God); wife of Abraham [Sarah was about ninety years old at this time.],

“She is my sister.”

So Abimelech
Abimelek: "father is king," a Philistine name, also an Israelite name; From ‘ab’ + ‘melek’; father of (the) king; Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two Israelites -- Abimelech.

king of Gerar sent and took Sarah [into his harem]. 

note: [The word “Abimelech” may be a royal title instead of a proper name. In either case this man is probably the father or grandfather of Abimelech king of the Philistines encountered later by Isaac (26:1).]     
 
But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night, and said,“Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken [as your wife], for she is another man’s wife.” 
 
4 Now Abimelech had not yet come near her; so he said,

“Lord, will you kill a people who are righteous and  innocent  and blameless [regarding Sarah]? 

5 Did Abraham not tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’  In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” 
 
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this in the integrity of your heart, for it was I who kept you back and spared you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not give you an opportunity to touch her. 7 So now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her [to him], know that you shall die, you and all who are yours (your household).”
 
8 So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were terrified. 
 
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him,

“What have you done to us? And how have I offended you that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin?

You have done to me what ought not to be done [to anyone].” 

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered or seen [in us or our customs], that you have done this [unjust] thing?” 
 
11 Abraham said,
“Because I thought, ‘

Surely there is no fear or reverence of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 

12 Besides, she actually is my [half] sister; she is the daughter of my father [Terah], but not of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her,

‘This kindness and loyalty you can show me: at every place we stop, say of me,

“He is my brother.”
 
14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him [as God commanded]. 

15 So Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” 

16 Then to Sarah he said, “Look, I have given this brother of yours a [d]thousand pieces of silver [Perhaps about three years’ or a thousand days’ wages.]; it is to compensate you [for all that has happened] and to vindicate your honor before all who are with you; before all men you are cleared and compensated.” 
 
17 So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, and they again gave birth to children, 18 for the Lord had securely closed the wombs of all [the women] in Abimelech’s household because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
 
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Amazing Grace Breaks Every Chain 
Covenant is About Being Part of
God's Family First and Always
The Revelation of God's Love Melts Away
The Icy Grip of Knowing Good and Evil
The Ocean of God's Eternal Love
Constantly Pounds My Heart with Waves of Jesus' Grace

Part Three:
​Commentary
Your Question
Why in Genesis does Abraham and his wife keep going into kingdoms and saying they are just brother and sister?   Zeb 11/8/16


Abraham was called by God to become the father of His Holy People Israel. He did this by Agreements He made with Abraham. His intention was to have a people for His name that would have an eternal relatonship with Him. The Trinity of God is Love because God is love and He needed to extend the object of His love so He made man in His image. Man fell but God's love or him never failed. (The word "Man" is inclusive of all mankind; ie., men and women, mankind and womankind).

Man had to be given the free choice to love Him back but that did not change His eternal love for His created family. Man fell pray to the serpent's cleverness who manipulated Adma and Eve into thinking God's command not to eat from one tree He created, The Tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil.

God said they would die if they disobeyed this one little demand among the thousands of blessings, trees, produce and great provision He created for them to live in free of labor and filled with the presence of His love.

So for the next era of generation from Adam to Noah there was a progression of children, Cain and Abel on through to Enoch,  Methusela, Lamech and Noah. (10 generations Genesis 5)

Father Adam actually lived almost to the days of Noah's flood so that he saw most of those ten generations.  Then the earth was destroyed by a global flood and Noah began where Adam and Eve left off by his 3 sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth to create a people for His name. Now man was fallen and corrupt by the serpent's deception of Eve and Adam and Eve's disobedience. So, God created a covenant with Noah (the rainbow) to assure them he would not destroy the earth by flood ever again.

So from the sons of Shem came 10 genrations to the birth of Abram. By that time another set of fallen humanity had evolved through the sons of Ham and Japheth. God was preparing through Abram's seed to create then next event of the Patriarchs of the Hebrew people.  This would lead to the advent of Joseph and benjamin the first and the last of the sons of Jacob, who both shared the same mother Rachel, Then through a series of events came 400 years in Egypt, the miracle preservation of Moses and 80 years later the release from slavery and Egypt of a nation of people destined to inherit the promised land establiished by the Patriarchs 440 years earliier. 

So in the days of Abraham God gave him power to conquor the inhabitants of the land God promised to him. After defeating the enemies of God, Melchizzadek the High Priest and King of Salem brought bread and wine and Abraham dd war nomore. This advent of peace meanth that God would protect and battle for Abraham and Sarah, nomatter what the situation. Abraham was suspicious of everyone and knew that if he was killed Sarah would not survive and God's plan for a nation that would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth would perish. So Abrraham to protect himself and the promise of God took it upon himself to insure a future.

The first threat came from Pharoah's request to have the 65 year old "sister" of Abram, Sarai become a part of his 'harem'. God intervened and told Pharoah he could not have Sarai because she was married to Abram. So he dealt with Pharoah and Pharoah came to Abram and said, "Why did you decive me and compromise me with your God?"

Abram got his sister/wife Sarai back, plus slaves, livestock and treasures. Abraham points out that Sarai is the daughter of his father but from a different mother. So, in his mind, he was protecting the future of a promised people and a covenant with God. He no longer did war so he offered Sarah in place o taking up arms with Egypt.

The second threat came from King Abimalech of Gerar of the Negev. Abraham convinces himself that he needs to protect God's covenant and his life and the life of Sarah and leave the rest up to God. So he aske Sarah to go along with him and say that she is his "sister"! She goes along with him and, again, God intervenes. This time through a series of supernatural events that included an encounter with God by Abimalech, Sarah was returned to Abraham from a terrified king who met God. He blessed Abraham 

So whydid Abraham do this?

1) He was not Adam - He was a man whose faith counted as righteousness but still bound by the same fallen condition and sin of Adam + 20 generations of people who did not know God personally like Abram. 

2) Though a man of faith, Abraham had been an undefeated warrior, and for lack of military tact reacted in despration to a circumstance he was ill- equipped to deal with.

3) The situaton with Pharoah, God directly intervened and for all he knew, was surprised that somehow Pharoah figured out that Abram and Sarai were married. There were no 'laws' of marriage in those days... but God made it clear that Pharoah's desire for Sarai was unacceptable.

4) With Pharoah Sarai was 64-65 yeas old and Abram was 75 years old. Somehow grandmom was still so beautiful that Pharoah wanted her for his harem. 25 years later Sarah was 90 years old and Abraham was 99 years old. On top of that Sarah may have been pregnant with Isaac when they faced off with King Abimalech, because Isaac was born when Sarah was 91 and Abraham was 100 years old. So at 90 years old she was still so beautiful that the King wanted her for his harem!

It is the failing of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah to understand the eternal scope of God's covenant promise so they reacted to their situation without 'violence' and not knowing what to do relied on their own intellect to 'handle' both situations 25 years apart from eachother. But The Lord did not hold it to their charge but to the natural appetite of those that had the power to separate and kill them before God could fulfill His promises to them. The enemy is always trying to distract God's family by twisting the situation n such a way we try to solve things ourself instead of trusting the Lord, His promises and the great love he has for those He covenants with.  

5) How do we see Jesus in all of this? It is during their lives that Abraham meets King and High Priest Melchizzadek (perhaps an OT appearnce of 'the Word of God') alone, bringing Abraham bread and wine (the law of first mention for Communion as seen in the upper room with Jesus!

6) Then after that there were the three angels for whom Abraham provided bread, wine and meat in addition to supplies. 2 of the angels leave for Sodom and the other Angel (again a type or forshadow of Christ - and perhaps was another OT appearance of Jesus) is negotiated with by Abraham to 'save' Sodom. Are there enough righteous to make it worth saving? When the Angel said no, then Abraham interceded for His nephew Lot and his family to be delivered from Sodom before the fire fell. 

7) what do we learn about the nature and character of God here? Abraham becomes the friend of God and they become "blood brothers" by virtue of a covenant that God outlines in Chapter 12. So in effect Abraham grows in his relationship with God and God makes him victorious over all the power of the enemy. Then, after Communion with Him in the person of Melchizzadek, Abraham gves Melchizzadek a tenth of all the spoils of war and does war no more. Now he enters another covenant when the three angels come and tell Abraham that Sarah will give birth at 91 years old! Sarah laughs but God fulfills his promise and protects her through the decision of Abraham to try and help God. Before the Covenant of a Communion meal God delivers Abraham from a half truth and after the Communion 25 years later He still delivers Abraham and Sarah a scond time; from the exact same decision made by fear rather than by faith 25 years earlier!

Old Covenant or New - the only ransformation that can happen is from God's end. He loves us first, cares and provides for us, protects us and gives us a peace that ony comes from Him. We see this in both Abraham and Sarah's life and then in the lives of those who are his direct descendants even if He has to show up Himself to insure the safety of His Covenant with us!

When Jesus said, "It is finished" it was. There's nothing else He can do to save you any more than that. If you believe, He promises you eternal life and that He will raise you up on the last day. When we respond to His invitation to sit down at His Table to dine with him and upon Him, He gives us daily our daily bread and drink with enough revelation or his life and love that it satisfies our hunger and thirst, igniting our heart with His fire and passion to get through each day!

In the face of Jesus we awaken to His reality for He is truth. When we dine with Him by dining upon and drinking in His provison of Himself, it is to lead us into His presence personally so that He might fill us and flood us with the glory of His presence! Commuunion = Christ in you the hope of glory! Alleluia!


The Greater Glory of the New Covenant
(Ratified by the same meal that Melichizzadek brought to Abraham, that God provided to the 73 on Mount Sainai (Exodus 24) and by Jesus at the Last Supper or First Communon. Jesus said (John 6) if you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have eternal life and i will raise ou up in the last day!)

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 

7 Now if the ministry that brought death,
which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory,
so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 

8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 

9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious,
how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 

10 For what was glorious has no glory now
in comparison with the surpassing glory. 

11 And if what was transitory came with glory,
how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 

13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. (The glory faded after his encounter with God) 

14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.

It has not been removed,
because only in Christ is it taken away!

15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 
​
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory (as in a mirror or glass),

are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory,

(from glory to glory to glory to glory)

which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

"Give us calendar day by calendar day our daily Communion Bread of your flesh & Wine of your blood!"

Thanks be to God for His eternally amazing gift of Himself every day!

Love,
Bob-Bob 11/14/2016

Chapter 20