Sorry takes action

Genesis 20:14- 17
14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."

This is a good glimpse into the attitude of God on unknowingly sinning. While Abimelech did wrong by accepting another mans wife into his house as his own, he do so unknowingly. We Also know during this time that Abimelech did not lay with Sarah. When God comes to Abimelech he make him fully aware of the sin. At that point for Abimelech to continue his ways would make him knowingly sinful, and God promised death to him and his family.

Once the sin is known to all, immediate actions are taken to re-join Sarah with her husband. I believe there is an important lesson to be learned from Abimelech. Notice what actions he takes once he is made aware of the situation?

14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."

He not only returned Sarah quickly, but he sent livestock, and servants, he gave 1000 pieces of silver……he not only recognized the sin, he made it right. He offered restitution, he restored Sarah’s name. So often today when we hurt people or our actions cause trouble with out our knowledge, we are all quick to say I am sorry……well most of us will say I am sorry. However, we as a society today tend to forget the important question. “How can I make it right?”
Somehow we have moved to a place where sorry is supposed to cover any type of wrong. To make matters worse we have found ourselves at a point where the word sorry is knee jerk, we say it, but very few mean it, especially when it was not our intention or we think we are acting with integrity but later find out we were wrong. We think that our ignorance is some type of shelter. This chapter shows that while sinning without knowing we are sinning might be excused to a point, once that sin is known to us we have to not only quit the action, but make the situation right. Just because we did not know at the time, does not excuse us form our actions once the truth is brought to light. We must takes steps to right the wrong and clear the name of those who we might have slandered. That is the hard part. Saying you are sorry is easy, making it right is the challenge.

Peace,
Rev. T