Text Summary:

Abraham moves to the southern part of Canaan (modern Israel).  Fearing he will be killed for Sarah, Abraham tells everyone she is his sister, which is true by their father but not mothers.  King Abimelech has Sarah brought to him.

In a dream, God tells Abimelech he is going to die for taking a married woman.  Abimelech tells God he is innocent, since he never went near Sarah.  God says he kept Abimelech from sinning with Sarah, but he needs to give her back to her prophet husband who will pray for him so he and all his people will live.

Abimelech gives Sarah back, plus sheep, cattle, slaves, land and 1,000 pieces of silver. Abraham prays to God to allow Abimelech’s wife and slave girls to be fertile again.

My Thoughts:

A Scam?  Okay, it might be sacrilegious to question the actions of Abraham, the father of half the current world’s religions, but doesn’t this seem like a scam?  Abraham lies about his wife being his sister, a king takes her in, God threaten death to the king, and the king lets her go and gives Abraham great wealth.  This is the second time Abraham has done this; remember the King of Egypt in Genesis chapter 12?

Caveat Emptor: Maybe the moral of the story is “Buyer Beware”.  These kings didn’t have to take Sarah before confirming her marriage status.  Similarly, don’t believe everything you read (or are told), like many of the email stories floating around.  Try to verify the facts before getting upset about an email or forwarding it to others.