Gen 20:1 | KingComments | STEP | Without being told why Abraham leaves Mamre, where he has been for almost twenty years, we are told that he leaves from there. He goes back to the land of the Negev, that is to the south. What Abraham is doing now reminds us of Genesis 12, where he also travels south and ends up in Egypt ( ). Here he doesn’t go as far as that. He comes to Gerar, the border area. It was not a way of faith at that time, nor is it a way of faith at this time. At that time he had to learn a humbling lesson. Now he has to learn that again. We too sometimes have to learn the same lesson a few times. This teaches us what slow learners we are. God allows these histories of great believers to be recorded to show that they too are ordinary, fallible people. Abraham comes to Gerar, which is in the land of the Philistines. Egypt is a picture of the world. The Philistines are a picture of nominal Christians, people who confess that they are Christians, but do not take God into account ( ). They do live in the land God promised His people and even claim it – as can be seen from the name Palestine derived from Philistia – but they have no right to it. Nominal Christians claim to know and do God’s will, but distort the Scriptures and give them their own interpretation. Spiritually speaking, Abraham ends up with them.

‏ Genesis 20:1

Abraham Sojourns in Gerar

Without being told why Abraham leaves Mamre, where he has been for almost twenty years, we are told that he leaves from there. He goes back to the land of the Negev, that is to the south. What Abraham is doing now reminds us of Genesis 12, where he also travels south and ends up in Egypt (Gen 12:10-20). Here he doesn’t go as far as that. He comes to Gerar, the border area. It was not a way of faith at that time, nor is it a way of faith at this time. At that time he had to learn a humbling lesson. Now he has to learn that again.

We too sometimes have to learn the same lesson a few times. This teaches us what slow learners we are. God allows these histories of great believers to be recorded to show that they too are ordinary, fallible people.

Abraham comes to Gerar, which is in the land of the Philistines. Egypt is a picture of the world. The Philistines are a picture of nominal Christians, people who confess that they are Christians, but do not take God into account (2Tim 3:5a). They do live in the land God promised His people and even claim it – as can be seen from the name Palestine derived from Philistia – but they have no right to it. Nominal Christians claim to know and do God’s will, but distort the Scriptures and give them their own interpretation. Spiritually speaking, Abraham ends up with them.