Ignorance Is Not An Excuse

Then God said to him in the dream,

“Yes, I know

that in the integrity of your heart

you have done this,

and I also kept you

from sinning against Me.”

Genesis 20:6

Once again, Abraham has his wife lie. They are in the Negev and come across Abimelech, king of Gerar. Abimelech takes Sarah in as his wife. This amazes me in itself and makes me smile; we have to remember that at this time, Sarah is about ninety years old.

Now God appears to Abimelech in a dream and lets him know that Sarah is a married woman and he has no right to her as his wife; God actually says, “You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married” (Genesis 20:3). God holds the marriage covenant to a very high standard, even if we sometimes do not.

Abimelech immediately begins to explain to God that he didn’t know that she was married, and God assures Abimelech that He knows that. God knows the integrity of our hearts, and He can keep us from sinning against Him when our actions come from a heart that truly did not know it was in the wrong.

Does that bring you peace?

It does me.

God could have struck Abimelech then, but He didn’t. Once again we see God’s mercy displayed. Once again we see God opening the eyes of man to His standard and making His ways known. Once again we see God not acting in secret, but giving man an opportunity to repent.

We need to understand that once the truth is known, we must make a choice. God gives Abimelech a choice: return Sarah, and live; keep her, and die. Even though Abimelech’s sin was committed in ignorance, he still had to make it right. He still needed to repent before God and be obedient to what he had heard in order to be saved.

Repent and be saved—the same choice God gives us. Even if we feel that we have sinned against God in ignorance; even if we were raised in a country or in a home that worshiped false gods or never spoke of the One True God, once we have heard, once we have seen, once we know, we must choose.

You know about Jesus Christ.

Receive him, and live; refuse him, and die.

Oh Father,

How grateful I am that You know my heart. What peace I have in knowing that when my words are twisted and distorted, when my emotions are manipulated, when someone is searching for evil against me, You know the truth. As long as I know that You know

I am without blame, what anyone else feels or thinks is irrelevant. As long as I am true to the truth that I know, my heart is at peace and it is well with my soul. My Jesus, thank You for the cross! Thank You for being a God who judges by the intent of the heart. You see not as man sees, but You see the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Oh Father, may I make wise decisions when You have laid out the truth before me.

My Jesus, it is in your name I pray,

Amen.