Genesis 20 (NIV)
Abraham and Abimelek
1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 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, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
These mass healings recorded in verse 17 and 18 is one of a kind in the Bible. King Abimelek was a very rich and powerful man. Therefore it is not an exaggeration to believe that there were hundreds or even thousands of female slaves in his household(Gen 12:5, 12-14, 13:2, 5-6, 14:14, 20:11) and all got healed by one prayer of Abraham.
It is also quite clear in the story that, Abraham, Sarah, Abimelek, Abimelek’s household, and God knew that what Abraham did was a very unrighteous deed, to give his wife Sarah to king Abimelek.
How can it be that God protects Abraham, rebuked Abimelek, kept all the woman in Abimeleks household from conceiving and even let Abraham perform such miracle?
The answer is given in vers 7
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, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.
Because Abraham was a prophet! However, Abraham is not known to be a prophet. Actually nowhere in the Bible did Abraham ever deliver a prophetic message such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or any other of the prophet. So how was Abraham a prophet? His prophetic ministry is found in the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 12:2-32;
I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
“and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Is a prophecy of Christ, the Gospel, delivered beforehand to Abraham. That we are saved, live our lives through faith and not by deeds – the law.
Gal: 3:7-9:
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
When God speaks about Abraham as a prophet He is relating this to His covenant with Abraham. The reason God protects Abraham and let him perform this mass healing is because: “God was in a covenant with Abraham! God is not a respecter of a person (Deu. 10:17, Acts. 10:34, Rom. 2:11, Gal. 2:6, Ef. 6:9) but a respecter of His own Words – His covenant. God keeps His promises for HIS name´s sake!
“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.” Psalms 89:34-35.
The whole foundation in a covenant with God lays on His character, He is a Holy God, He can`t lie (Heb. 6:18). That`s why the scripture tells us that God’s word is a higher authority than God Himself:
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalms 138:2b
Here is a key of understanding divine healing. It has nothing to do with you but that God will keep His word!
Even if Abraham did a unrighteous deed it will not change the covenant (Dom 16:1-3, Rom 3:1-4).
Understanding this will:
1) Get rid of all the stress and performance mentality that are usually involved in healing the sick. You don`t need to perform anything! Just have faith that God keeps His Words!
2) God the creator of the heavens and the earth which nothing is impossible for has given you promises concerning divine healing (Matt.10:8, Mark 16:15-20 Luke 10:1, 9, 17-19, John 20:21-22, Act. 3:16, Eph. 1:20-23), it puts you in a authoritative position against sickness and disease – which the Bible calls faith (Matthew 8:5-13, 10).
You need to have a clear understanding of Gods promises and then exercise this God given authority.
Summary:
Understanding, and using your authority in Christ are the fundamental keys of divine healing.
Aly-Sam Botros
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