8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death (Genesis 26:8-11).
So Isaac’s lie worked out. Maybe it was justified, but there were a lot of problems with it. Chiefly, he placed his wife in danger to save his own skin. And while it worked out, I find it hard to believe this was the Godly way to handle the situation. God does not punish Isaac and in fact says very little about the situation (He actually blesses Isaac). But we should not draw the conclusion that God wanted Isaac, or for that matter needed Isaac to, rely on deception and downright deceit to save himself. God is more powerful than that. We would do well to remember that God called the Universe into existence. Surely therefore, He can provide a way of true salvation. And we now know that He does just that.
So Isaac’s lie worked out. Maybe it was justified, but there were a lot of problems with it. Chiefly, he placed his wife in danger to save his own skin. And while it worked out, I find it hard to believe this was the Godly way to handle the situation. God does not punish Isaac and in fact says very little about the situation (He actually blesses Isaac). But we should not draw the conclusion that God wanted Isaac, or for that matter needed Isaac to, rely on deception and downright deceit to save himself. God is more powerful than that. We would do well to remember that God called the Universe into existence. Surely therefore, He can provide a way of true salvation. And we now know that He does just that.
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