Is the purpose of this story to tell us that Abraham was a coward lacking in faith that he would use his wife to protect him from death? No, God brought Abraham there to teach Abimelech a lesson.
This incident gave Abimelech a good dose of humility as well and that’s a lesson we would do well to learn. It’s more pleasant to learn from other people’s mistakes than our own.
This chapter is about justice and judgment, just as the book of Revelation is about justice and judgment. God could have taught this lesson to Abraham privately, yet God wants us to know He knew Abraham well. The LORD knew Abraham would keep God’s ways and would also make sure that his family and household would also keep and follow God’s ways. God knew that those who follow Abraham would follow his example.
People find it easy to criticize Sarai and Abram for their impatience in waiting for the son God promised them, but our insight is simply nothing more than hindsight. We aren’t any smarter or more faithful to God than they were.
Apostle Paul used as illustrations the two women, Sarai and Hagar, and the covenants God made with their sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Once you transgress a covenant, you have no hope, unless Someone better than you steps in with a second, better covenant.
The mysterious covenant God enters while Abram sleeps is prefigures a time when Israel was captive in Egypt yet not consumed by it.
If we consider ourselves his “children” by having similar trust in God, we should follow his way. Lot chose the easy way, but that was not Abram’s way. Why did Abram go to war? Who are these kings? What is the story behind the story? Does God have anything to do with this?
The seemingly strange account of Abram and Sarai faking out Pharaoh is a microcosm of the later Exodus account. Abram and the descendants of Israel initially were welcomed and exalted, but then they were seen as a curse and told to leave, sent away with many gifts and riches.
Sukkot, the festival of Booths or Tabernacles, is more than just remembering Israel had to live in tents between deliverance from Egypt and entrance into the Promised Land. Part of preparing to live in God’s presence is learning how to keep ourselves “clean” and holy — set apart from the evil of the world while in the world — so that we can prepare for a prophesied time when God’s people will teach the nations.