Day 22 of 939
GEN 20
GEN 20 · MAT 9:9-17
Not written yet
The reading for this day is below. The commentary has not been written and reviewed yet — it is added a book at a time, and every day is read by a person before it appears here.
GEN 20
1Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.” 4Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” 6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that 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. 7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.” 8Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified. 9Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ 12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. 13So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” 16And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.” 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— 18for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
Secondary reading — MAT 9:9-17
9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. 10Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. ” 14Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”