Twice in his life, Abraham lied about his wife’s being his sister because he worried for his own life (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18). Abraham’s deception was cowardly and showed a lack of trust in God, and both times his lies were exposed.

In this passage, his son repeated his father’s mistake – and once again the lie was exposed. Interestingly, the person who confronted Isaac for his lie was Abimelech, which is the same name as the king who confronted Abraham about the second time he lied about Sarah in Genesis 20. This could be the same man or a descendant of the first Abimelech, sharing the same name. Some believe “Abimelech” may have been a title, much like “Pharaoh.”

Regardless of who this Abimelech was, the repeated deception by Isaac shows us the hopelessness of finding an upright man through whom God would form a nation. Like Abraham, Isaac was not the answer humanity needed – he was a sinful man in need of a Savior. Even the greatest of patriarchs needed another – like us, they needed Christ, the righteous One.

• How have you lacked trust in God this week? Confess those times to God and turn those situations over to Him.