What He Does in the Night

Being taken somewhere against your will would be pretty frightening. Don't imagine that I haven't considered this. Frightening, that is, unless you're clued into the rest of the story.

"And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said, 'Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman you have taken.'"

Sarah is taken against her will. Okay, maybe not violently, but still against her will. Awkward turtle. But there's a hero in this story, and it's not her husband.

Last time we see her having contact with this hero's messengers, they rebuked her for not believing him. He's especially a hero because he showed up when she didn't deserve it at all. I wonder if she ever had any idea what he said to Abimelech. Remember that these are the days when he's sending a lot of angels to speak on his behalf. But he shows up in person in a dream this time and says to Abimelech, "Buddy, you're dead meat for having Sarah."

Of course he and Abimelech have a conversation about how it's not really Abimelech's fault (and it's not), but the hero tells Abimelech what to do and threatens him again: "Give her back, or you are dead man--you and your whole family." Can you hear the implication? Don't mess with me or my property.

Okay, so if I really, really believed that if I got taken against my will, God would show up and threaten the life of my captor, I might not be so scared about it. Yes, there are the million and one times that God's people have suffered and he has apparently done nothing. But that's not because he can't. And actually, could Sarah have known what he did for her? As far as we know, all she knew was that she was released because of Abimelech's fear of God. Maybe palace scuttlebutt told her more of the story. Maybe she guessed because she was learning the character of God. Maybe this was a turning point in her walk.

And just maybe that hero is doing things for suffering people that we have no idea of. And just maybe he'll watch out for us. And just maybe he will someday write the sentence, "By faith _______," and put your name in it.