kadesh – Praying Pint

50.p. Wilderness – 14.v. “Stubbornness of this people”

Deu 9:22-29 “At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. And when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God and did not believe him or obey his voice. You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. “So I lay prostrate before the LORD for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you. And I prayed to the LORD, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin, lest the land from which you brought us say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’

The name Taberah means “burning,” and in Numbers 11, when the people of Israel first left Mount Sinai to head towards Kadesh Barnea and the Promised Land, they immediately complained, and God sent fires of judgment against them at a place they called Taberah because of the burning fires of God’s judgment.

Exodus 17:7 describes the naming of a place called Massah, which means “tempted,” because there Israel provoked the LORD by doubting His loving care and concern for them in the wilderness.

Kibroth Hattaavah: The name means “graves of craving” and was the place where Israel longed for meat instead of manna, and God gave them meat. However, it became plagued in the mouths of those with greedy and discontent hearts .

When the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea: Moses briefly remembered the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, where Israel doubted God’s love for them and refused to enter the Promised Land by faith – rebelling against the LORD. Israel’s disobedience to God began with their unbelief. They did not believe God loved them and was mighty enough to bring them into the Promised Land. Moses asked for mercy upon Israel because of God’s past faithfulness to them. Moses asked for mercy upon Israel because of God’s past faithfulness to the patriarchs. Moses asked for mercy upon Israel because of concern for the glory of God’s own name and His reputation among the nations. Moses asked for mercy upon Israel because they were God’s people.

Keeping these things in mind is also a way to refine our prayers. When we pray only for the things consistent with God’s glory, will we have our hearts set on the right things. (Guzik)

And it was not on this occasion only, viz., at Horeb, that Israel aroused the anger of the Lord its God by its sin, but it did so again and again at other places: at Tabeerah, by discontent at the guidance of God (Numbers 11:1-3); at Massah, by murmuring on account of the want of water (Exodus 17:1.); at the graves of lust, by longing for flesh (Numbers 11:4.); and at Kadesh-barnea by unbelief, of which they had already been reminded at Deuteronomy 1:26. The list is not arranged chronologically, but advances gradually from the smaller to the more serious forms of guilt. For Moses was seeking to sharpen the consciences of the people, and to impress upon them the fact that they had been rebellious against the Lord (see at Deuteronomy 9:7) from the very beginning, “from the day that I knew you.” (Keil)

49.g. Wilderness – 13.m. “Until they had perished”

Deu 2:8 So we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber. “And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’ (The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the LORD gave to them.) ‘Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.’ So we went over the brook Zered. And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.

The Moabites were also distant relatives to Israel; they descended from Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham. And as with Edom, God did not want Israel to harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle – their land was not the land God intended to give Israel. One of the more famous Moabites in the Bible was Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who married an Israelite man named Boaz and became grandmother to King David and one of the ancestors of the Messiah.

The Moabites were of note because they defeated a Canaanite people known as the Emim, who were a large, fearsome race as were the Anakim. The term translated giants here is actually the Hebrew word rephaim. The term rephaim is often translated “giants,” but it actually means “fearsome ones.” The Rephaim were a group of large, warlike people who populated Canaan before the Israelites. In the area east of the Jordan River. (Guzik)

We have the origin of the Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites. Moses also gives an instance older than any of these; the Caphtorims drove the Avims out of their country. These revolutions show what uncertain things wordly possessions are. It was so of old, and ever will be so. Families decline, and from them estates are transferred to families that increase; so little continuance is there in these things. This is recorded to encourage the children of Israel. If the providence of God has done this for Moabites and Ammonites, much more would his promise do it for Israel, his peculiar people. Cautions are given not to meddle with Moabites and Ammonites. (Henry)

For this reason Israel was to remove from the desert of Moab (i.e., the desert which bounded Moabitis on the east), and to cross over the brook Zered, to advance against the country of the Amorites (see at Numbers 21:12-13). This occurred thirty-eight years after the condemnation of the people at Kadesh (Numbers 14:23, Numbers 14:29), when the generation rejected by God had entirely died out (תּמם, to be all gone, to disappear), so that not one of them saw the promised land. They did not all die a natural death, however, but “the hand of the Lord was against them to destroy them” (Keil)

For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them,…. His power was exerted in a way of wrath and vengeance on them, for their murmurings at the report of the spies; and therefore, it is no wonder they were consumed, for strong is his hand, and high is his right hand; and when lifted up it falls heavy, and there is no standing up under it, or against it: it smote them with one disease or another, or brought one judgment or another upon them: as the sword of Amalek, by which many were cut off, and the plague at Shittim in the plains of Moab, in which died 24,000; besides the destruction of Korah and his company, which was quickly after the affair of the spies, and the plague at that time, of which died 14,700; and thus, by one stroke after another, he went on to destroy them from among the host until they were consumed, even all of them but two. (Gill)

49.e. Wilderness – 13.k. “The LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you”

Deu 1:40-46 But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’ “Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. And the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country. Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

The great excuse of Israel for their unbelief at Kadesh Barnea was, “If we go and take the land, our children will be killed” (Numbers 14:3). God answered their unbelieving excuse by saying, “You will be killed, and your children will possess the land.” “Anything, in fact, will serve as an excuse, when the heart is bent on compromise.” It is sobering to consider how easily, how quickly, and how completely, God sees through our excuses. We often feel confident in our excuses because other people can’t really challenge them – but God sees right through them. After hearing the consequences of their rejection of God, Israel had a change of heart. Yet they went forth in the flesh and not in faith, because God did not lead them. They did this in the midst of their supposed repentance. Their sorrow was not over grieving the heart of God but over forty more years in the wilderness. God therefore saw through their shallow repentance. After their total defeat, then they wept and wept – but again, this was over the consequences of getting caught, not over grieving the heart of God, and not over their sin of not believing the great love of God. (Guzik)

The Word of God must find purpose, meaning, reverence, and be more precious than gold and silver. If there is a lack of this in your heart and mind there will be room for tolerance, denial, and compromise which leads to and gives root to disobedience. Being lukewarm to God’s Word results in neglect and complacency. Things of this world become more enticing and things of God become less and less important in your life. Rejecting the leading of God will always put you on a path away from God.

Keep His Word ever before your eyes, feast on it, meditate upon it, learn what God has said and is saying to you. Our Christian lives should be ever-growing in our knowledge and understanding of the things of God so that we will honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.

48.s. Wilderness – 12.y. “Do not take us across the Jordan.”

Num 32:1-18 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them? Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them. And the LORD’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel! For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.” Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

Num 32:23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land lately conquered might be allotted to them. Two things common in the world might lead these tribes to make this choice; the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. There was much amiss in the principle they went upon; they consulted their own private convenience more than the public good. Thus to the present time, many seek their own things more than the things of Jesus Christ; and are led by worldly interests and advantages to take up short of the heavenly Canaan. The proposal showed disregard to the land of Canaan, distrust of the Lord’s promise, and unwillingness to encounter the difficulties and dangers of conquering and driving out the inhabitants of that land. Moses is wroth with them. It will becomes any of God’s Israel to sit down unconcerned about the difficult and perilous concerns of their brethren, whether public or personal. He reminds them of the fatal consequences of the unbelief and faint-heartedness of their fathers, when they were, as themselves, just ready to enter Canaan. If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it.

Here is the good effect of plain dealing. Moses, by showing their sin, and the danger of it, brought them to their duty, without murmuring or disputing. All men ought to consider the interests of others as well as their own; the law of love requires us to labour, venture, or suffer for each other as there may be occasion. They propose that their men of war should go ready armed before the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and that they should not return till the conquest of Canaan was ended. Moses grants their request, but he warns them of the danger of breaking their word. If you fail, you sin against the Lord, and not against your brethren only; God will certainly reckon with you for it. Be sure your sin will find you out. Sin will surely find out the sinner sooner or later. It concerns us now to find our sins out, that we may repent of them, and forsake them, lest they find us out to our ruin. (Henry)

48.l. “Wilderness” – 12.r. “Appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them”

Num 27:12-23 The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.

Moses explained that he did – on some occasion – ask God to relent from His judgment that Moses would never set foot in the land of Canaan. God did not relent, and Moses made himself content with knowing he would see the land and be gathered to His God. God reminded Moses of the reason why he would not be allowed to enter Canaan, because of his sin of misrepresenting God at Meribah. After hearing of his coming fate, Moses did not try to change God’s mind, and he did not complain. His only concern was for the congregation of Israel, for the people, not for himself. (Guzik)

Envious spirits do not love their successors; but Moses was not one of these. We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had signalized himself by his courage in fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith and sincerity in witnessing against the report of the evil spies. This man God appoints to succeed Moses; a man in whom is the Spirit, the Spirit of grace. He is a good man, fearing God and hating covetousness, and acting from principle. He has the spirit of government; he is fit to do the work and discharge the trusts of his place. He has a spirit of conduct and courage; he had also the Spirit of prophecy. That man is not fully qualified for any service in the church of Christ, who is destitute of the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit, whatever human abilities he may possess. And in Joshua’s succession we are reminded that the law was given by Moses, who by reason of our transgression could not bring us to heaven; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, for the salvation of every believer. (Henry)

47.s. “Wilderness” – 11.y. “Aaron Dies”

Num 20:22 And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, “Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.” Moses did as the LORD commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

God bids Aaron prepare to die. There is something of displeasure in these orders. Aaron must not enter Canaan, because he had failed in his duty at the waters of strife. There is much of mercy in them. Aaron, though he dies for his transgression, dies with ease, and in honour. He is gathered to his people, as one who dies in the arms of Divine grace. There is much significancy in these orders. Aaron must not enter Canaan, to show that the Levitical priesthood could make nothing perfect; that must be done by bringing in a better hope. Aaron submits, and dies in the method and manner appointed; and, for aught that appears, with as much cheerfulness as if he had been going to bed. It was a great satisfaction to Aaron to see his son, who was dear to him, preferred; and his office preserved and secured: especially, to see in this a figure of Christ’s everlasting priesthood. A good man would desire, if it were the will of God, not to outlive his usefulness. Why should we covet to continue any longer in this world, than while we may do some service in it for God and our generation? (Henry)

There is little record of what happened during these years. The history of the period is compressed into only five and one-half chapters, while the single year at Mount Sinai is given almost 50 chapters. This was to demonstrate these years accomplished nothing, except the death of the generation of unbelief. During those 38 years, there was much movement – but no progress. Our walk with God can be the same way. “The larger part of the sojourn in the desert is left without record. This may be deliberate on Moses’ part. It is as though the time of sojourn was time that did not really count in the history of salvation.”

The passing of Aaron was a significant landmark in the history of Israel. The high priest died, but the institution of the priesthood continued. It would continue through Aaron’s descendants until it was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah (Guzik)

After many years perhaps – perhaps after a whole lifetime – of wandering in dry places they find themselves once more at the very point to which they had come before, and not one step closer.” (Winterbotham)

It is one thing to be old and becoming aware of your time on earth is closer to death, and another to be told today you die. Imagine waking up in the morning and being told that you will pass your duties on to your son and then die. I think this was a blessing to Aaron in that he was able to know that the High Priest service was being passed onto His son and that he witnessed the transfer of honor. But still, hearing “today you will be gathered to your people”, die, has to be somewhat of a jolt.

When we are young we have all kinds of ideas about our future and we live out our lives with these thoughts, though they may change as time passes on, but we do not think “today I will die”. Even as we grow old we still make plans for today and tomorrow with little thought “today I will die”. No, very little, if any thoughts will be given to this being our last day. What if we gave this more than a glancing thought? What if we woke each morning with the thought this could be my last day? Would I think, act, or speak differently? Would I embrace coming into eternity? Would I rejoice knowing? Would I reflect on my life and wonder if I truly was giving honor and glory to Jesus Christ in all my thoughts, words, and actions? Would I be different for knowing today is the day?

We do not know the time or day of our death normally. We do know that it is coming. We know that every single person will die. We know God has created both heaven and hell. We know eternity in either place awaits every single person. We know that the gate to heaven is narrow and wide is the road to hell. We know God will judge every single person. Are you ready to enter eternity? Many will say they are ready and have based their “readiness” on how good they are. Others will say all this God stuff is foolishness. Others will say with confidence, Jesus Christ is my redeemer, my hope, and my salvation. In and through Him alone do I enter eternity into heaven. Trust, belief, reliance, and hope in anything else falls way short.

How would your life change if you knew today or tomorrow or next week you would die?

47.r. “Wilderness” – 11.x. “Edom’s rejection of passage”

Num 20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

20:14-21 The nearest way to Canaan from the place where Israel encamped, was through the country of Edom. The ambassadors who were sent returned with a denial. The Edomites feared to receive damage by the Israelites. And had this numerous army been under any other discipline than that of the righteous God himself, there might have been cause for this jealousy. But Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing; and now the hatred revived, when the blessing was about to be inherited. We must not think it strange, if reasonable requests be denied by unreasonable men, and if those whom God favours be affronted by men. (Henry)

The Edomites refused the visit of the Israelites in a most unbrotherly manner, and threatened to come out against them with the sword, without paying the least attention to the repeated assurance of the Israelitish messengers, that they would only march upon the high road, and would pay for water for themselves and their cattle. (Keil)

I don’t think it is hard to believe that the Edomites said no. They have heard of Israels release from Egypt by the mighty hand of God, how they have been able to survive close to 40 years in the wilderness, and now this relative is seeking to pass through their country. Up to now there had been no communication between the two. Can you imagine a county coming to your border and asking to pass through it. I don’t care how much assurance they give that they will not do any harm to your land or take from it, there is little chance of agreeing to it.

We do know that this was not the time or how God was going to move them into the promised land. It would have been man’s first thought that God would soften the hearts of the Edomites, their relatives, and allow them passage. Man’s ways are not God’s ways. Our thoughts are not His thoughts. His plans and purposes far exceed our understanding. He already knows the what is going to happen before it happens. We do well to stay close to Him in reverent fear and seek to follow, obey, trust, and rely upon Him in all things. His timing. His way. His purpose. His plans. For His honor and glory.

47.a. “Wilderness” – 11.g. “For we are well able to overcome it.”

Num 13:25-33 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The returning spies both spoke and showed all Israel what they saw in the land. The spies seemed to sense they were more on a mission from Israel than on a mission from God. What God had promised about the land was indeed true. The fruit they brought back – grapes, pomegranates, and figs – showed how fruitful and blessed Canaan was agriculturally. The message from most of the spies was, “The land is as wonderful as God promised, but we can’t conquer it.” It is hard to imagine a report more unbelieving and unfaithful to God than this. This report recognized the faithfulness of God’s promise, the truth of His word, and yet said, “Despite all that, we can’t conquer the land.” If the faith of the spies was tested over this 40-day tour of the land, they failed the test. They didn’t believe God could or would fulfill His promise to give Israel this land, as stated in the covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Caleb commanded the people to immediately (at once) trust God, obey God, and take the land. He understood that in the LORD they were well able to overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said: Their unbelieving response was a strong combination of truth, lies, and exaggeration. F.B. Meyer compared the perspective of the ten unbelieving spies to that of the two faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua: “They saw the same spectacles in their survey of the land; but the result in the one case was panic, in the other confidence and peace. What made the difference? It lay in this, that the ten spies compared themselves with the giants, whilst the two compared the giants with God.”

Significantly, two groups of men could see the same things – the same grapes, the same Canaanites, the same land, and the same cities. One group (Caleb and Joshua) came away strong in faith, and the other ten spies had a sense of certain doom. Ultimately, faith or unbelief is not rooted in circumstances or environment. Faith is rooted in a heart that trusts God and His promises. (Guzik)

But they distrusted God’s power and promise. How much we stand in our own light by our unbelief! At length the messengers returned; but the greater part discouraged the people from going forward to Canaan. Justly are the Israelites left to this temptation, for putting confidence in the judgment of men, when they had the word of God to trust in. Though they had found the land as good as God had said, yet they would not believe it to be as sure as he had said, but despaired of having it, though Eternal Truth had engaged it to them. All things are possible, if they are promised, to him that believes; but carnal sense and carnal professors are not to be trusted. Unbelief overlooks the promises and power of God, magnifies every danger and difficulty, and fills the heart with discouragement. May the Lord help us to believe! we shall then find all things possible. (Henry)

Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we:

Desired God’s Word
Spent time in His Word
Meditated on God’s Word
Listened to the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit
Intentionally choosing to pursue a life of obedience, trust, and reliance in God
And, trusted in the promises of God over the fears of the present and what is to come

36.x. “In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”

Genesis 20:1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham removed from the grove of Mamre at Hebron to the south country, hardly from the same fear as that which led Lot from Zoar, but probably to seek for better pasture. Here he dwelt between Kadesh (Genesis 14:7) and Shur (Genesis 16:7), and remained for some time in Gerar, a place the name of which has been preserved in the deep and broad Wady Jurf el Gerr (i.e., torrent of Gerar) about eight miles S.S.E. of Gaza, near to which Rowland discovered the ruins of an ancient town bearing the name of Khirbet el Gerr. Here Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar, like Pharaoh in Egypt, took Sarah, whom Abraham had again announced to be his sister, into his harem, – not indeed because he was charmed with the beauty of the woman of 90, which was either renovated, or had not yet faded (Kurtz), but in all probability “to ally himself with Abraham, the rich nomad prince” (Delitzsch). From this danger, into which the untruthful statement of both her husband and herself had brought her, she was once more rescued by the faithfulness of the covenant God. In a dream by night God appeared to Abimelech, and threatened him with death (מת הנּך en te moriturum) on account of the woman, whom he had taken, because she was married to a husband. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Twenty years before, Abraham had acted in the same way in Egypt, and Pharaoh had rebuked him, but sent him away with large presents. We learn from this chapter, Genesis 20:13, that the false representation which twice brought them into trouble was habitual with the two; nor does Abraham ever seem conscious that he was acting in it wrongfully. To us it seems cowardly, in one who had so many men trained to battle, thus to expose his wife to danger; and to have recourse to deceit, at the very time when such abundant revelations were being made to him, also shows an apparent want of faith in God. But Holy Scripture neither represents its heroes as perfect, nor does it raise them disproportionately above the level of their own times. Its distinguishing feature rather is that it ever insists upon a perpetual progress upwards, and urges men onward to be better and holier than those that went before. Abraham was not on the same high spiritual level as a Christian ought to be who has the perfect example of Christ as his pattern, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for his aid; and the fact that God rescued him and Sarah from all danger in Egypt may have seemed to him a warrant that in future difficulties he would have the same Divine protection. (Ellicott)

It is hard for us to know the purpose of Abimelech in taking Sarah. It could have been lust or a means of alliance that was custom at the time. I think we can take from this;

God is in control
God is ever-present
God is all powerful
Guard your faith
Stand firm in your faith against the customs of the culture
Innocence does not mean we have not committed a sin or a wrong
Praise God that we have been given the Holy Spirit to give us discernment and guide our paths