A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
GENESIS 20
Lesson #34
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD WITH RESPECT TO HIS PERFECT WILL AND HIS PERMISSIVE WILL
- Memory verse: Ephesians 1:18
- Read Gen 20:1-18
- Review:
- In Genesis 18 we saw Abraham’s level of faith at a high point.
- Remember the Lord and 2 angels visited him.
- Sarah was given the promise of a son to be born in one year.
- We saw Abraham pray for the city of Sodom and that prayer answered in Gen 19 when Lot and some of his family were dragged out of the city.
- In Genesis 20 we have the same old story!!
- Does this story sound familiar?
- It is the same kind of situation that we saw Abraham in back in Gen 12:10-20.
- Why do we see Abraham repeat this pattern of sin?
- It worked for him before. He came out of Egypt a wealthy man. Because he escaped the punishment of the lie, he did not learn his lesson.
- He limited the power and influence of God in an ungodly world. (11)
- This is another failure at faith on the part of Abraham.
- In Genesis 18 we saw Abraham’s level of faith at a high point.
- This story is proof of the authorship of the Bible by the Holy Spirit.
- If we were going to write a biography of the towering giants of faith, we would not include their shameful embarrassing failures such as this. The tendency of man is always toward hero worship.
- God has a purpose for including these failures:
- They show how weak man is and how much we fall short of the glory of God.
- They show how we must often repeat the same lessons over and over before we learn.
- They show the patient love God has for man to endure our failures.
- Abraham moves (physically and spiritually)
- Abraham’s physical move:
- We are not told why Abraham leaves Hebron for Gerar. The timing is such that it occurs before Isaac is born. In fact, Sarah is not even pregnant yet.
- Therefore, the move takes place a month or two after the destruction of Sodom.
- Abraham’s spiritual move:
- Abraham was not an inexperienced disciple of God. He was an experienced believer having walked with God for 25 years.
- Abraham was not overtaken in a surprisingly sudden fault. It was the occurrence of an old sin. He and Sarah had an agreement before they left Ur that she would tell people she was his sister. (20:13) Even after walking with God for some time, he did not discard all his ties to the “old man of the flesh”.
- Sometimes we go through evil temptations in our lives that we have not fully dealt with.
- Then when a similar circumstance occurs, we find that we respond similarly to the same weak spot in our character.
- It’s a hangover from our old flesh nature. This was the case with Abraham.
- We can never know what is truly in our heart until circumstances rise to draw it out.
- Peter did not imagine that he would deny Jesus, but when the circumstance occurred, his point of weakness was brought to the surface.
- God uses these recurring situations (the stress of circumstances) to bring them to our attention so that we will deal with them.
- The inconsistencies of faith
- Like Abraham, faith is always inconsistent in our lives.
- We can have faith to trust God for our eternal soul, and fail to trust him with our bodies and the daily temporal things in our lives.
- Abraham’s physical move:
- The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
- Read Rom 11:29
- We see God’s faithfulness to Abraham despite Abraham’s failures in faith.
- God’s gifts and calling are not based on the worthiness of the individual. Abraham would do nothing to merit them, nor could he do anything to demerit them.
- In light of God’s promise to Sarah to have a child in 1 year (Gen 18:9-14), the actions of Abraham and Sarah were very risky.
- From the time of the Lord’s visit to Sarah, her womb was opened to having a child.
- She was now in danger of having a child with Abimelech.
- It was necessary for God to intervene to prevent men from spoiling God’s plan. Like Abraham, many times we live our lives in God’s permissive will.
- What is “God’s permissive will”? You must remember:
- God is the Almighty Sovereign with all power and authority over everything.
- God gave man a will to either choose to follow God or to rebel against God.
- God has ultimate knowledge of the end result.
- God has determined to show love to men who have a heart for him.
- God has a perfect will for each life.
- However, as human beings struggling with varying levels of faith and the flesh nature, we walk the path of God’s perfect will more like a drunken sailor weaves back and forth across a pathway. Abraham is a prime example.
- God sometimes permits us to have our way, and sometimes He over-rides our will.
- In the case of Abraham and Sarah, God intervened between Sarah and Abimelech in order to guard the purity of the covenant blood line leading to Christ.
- God’s Perfect and Permissive Will for Believers
- Review:
| God’s Perfect Will | Man’s Will | |
| God’s perfect plan for your life.
His desires for you. His patient love and grace. His ultimate knowledge. |
Your rebellious nature.
Your selfish desires. Your human fleshly perspective. Your lack of faith. Your self-determination. |
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| God’s Permissive Will | ||
| God’s sovereign decision based on His superior knowledge that allows you to fall short of His perfect will with the resultant suffering of consequences so as to produce some good in the end for the individual involved. | ||
| God’s Ultimate Sovereignty | ||
| If your will terribly violates the overall good, God will not allow your will but will intervene to prevent it. |
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- Examples in the life of Abraham:
- God’s perfect will for Abraham — Isaac, the promised son.
- God’s permissive will for Abraham — Ishmael, the son of the bond woman.
- God’s ultimate sovereignty – the prevention of a son with King Abimelech (Gen 20)
- Examples in the life of Abraham:
- Summary:
- Which principles does this chapter teach you in regards to God’s working out his purposes in the life of a believer?
- There is a perfect will and plan that God wants for my life.
- God will permit me to wander, but not too far.
- God will allow me to suffer the consequences of his permissive will when it will produce an ultimate good for me.
- God will intervene on my behalf to prevent my rebellious will when His sovereignty decides to do so.
- Which principles does this chapter teach you in regards to God’s working out his purposes in the life of a believer?
- Abimelech and God
- Who was Abimelech?
- He was a heathen Philistine king.
- Later the Philistines become Israel’s greatest and most persistent enemy.
- Abraham thought there was no fear of God in heathen Gerar. (20:11)
- Like Abraham, we, as believers, often limit the influence and power of God in the hearts and lives of non-believers. However, the Holy Spirit moves where He wills. (Pro 21:1)
- Abimelech had more fear for the Lord in this chapter than did Abraham.
- Despite his heathen background, Abimelech recognized adultery as a great sin. Unbelievers are aware deep within their hearts that certain acts are sinful even though they do them. (Rom 2:15)
- Abimelech saw Abraham as a deceptive lying man of God.
- This is not the kind of testimony a believer should have in relation to a non-believer.
- However, God tells Abimelech that Abraham will pray for him (20:17) and that all Abimelech’s household would be healed of being childless.
- At times God vindicates believers in the eyes of non-believers.
- Here in Gen 20, there is no condemnation of Abraham. (Rom 8:1)
- Who was Abimelech?
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Homework
Genesis 21
- Application of Gen 20:
- Review your life for recurring patterns of sin. Then examine them for the weak points in your character. Next examine them for the stress of circumstances that prompt you to fall into the same sinful pattern. Write your discoveries here:
- Commit these weak points in your character to God and ask Him for a little warning bell to alert you to the stressful circumstances that prompt your sinful response. Ask Him for his strength in this area.
- Preparation for Gen 21
- Read Gen 21:1-21 Birth of Isaac
- In what ways do you see that the birth of Isaac prefigures and pictures the birth of Jesus Christ?
- What do you think is the significance spiritually of God casting Hagar and Ishmael out of Abraham’s household?
- Read Gal 4:22-24,28-31 Gal 5:1
- Read Gen 21:22-34 Abraham and Abimelech
- What Godly principles do you see for settling a dispute with another person?
- Read Gen 21:1-21 Birth of Isaac
- Memory verse: Gal 4:31
