Beware of Bad Assumptions

Gen 20:11
Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’”

A bad assumption is like a teaspoon of vinegar in a glass of milk – it sours the whole drink. Gen 20 is a sour story and verse 11 is the vinegar.

Abraham took up residence in the region of the Negev and made some immediate assumptions about the people. He formed a view that the people of Gerar had no spiritual fiber and no association with his God. He assumed that because they did not fear the creator they would not act ethically and could not be trusted. And so Abraham acted in a contrived and highly questionable way lying about his marriage. (He did the same thing earlier in Gen 12:13 and his son Isaac would later imitate him in 26:7.)

I note four things about Abraham’s assumption:

1. It was dead wrong! Abimelech the King of Gerar was a spiritual man. He had the sensitivity to hear and understand God addressing him in a dream. He took the message to heart and acted decisively. And when he told his officials they showed considerable fear of how God was dealing with them (verse 8).

2. It caused the people of Gerar much grief. The whole community was stricken with bareness, the king’s life was put at risk and they lived in fear under the threat of judgment. All this because Abraham was so concerned to protect his own interests. He left the citizens of the Negev exposed and abused.

Faulty assumptions, even if they promote a well meaning program, can do much harm.

It is both wrong and dangerous to assume that God is not going ahead of me. He is already present and at work in the places of mission to which he calls me.

3. It led to a second unfounded assumption. Abraham believed he was unsafe. This caused him to take matters into his own hands and to act without the wisdom of God. This in turn led to selfish and rash behaviour. It is sobering to realize that a leader can cause so much hurt and harm by taking a selfish approach.

4. It is a mistake still made today. Where am I at risk of doing the same thing? It is too easy to suppose that others are not as “in tune” with God as I am. It is a 21st Century way of thinking to imagine that earlier generations were less wise, that distant places are less knowing and that those who don’t see it my way know less of God than I do.

Abraham’s mistake was “talking to himself” rather than to the people of Gerar or to God. His assumptions were formed in a vacuum and his actions hurt everyone.

Lord, help me to listen to you and others before I talk too much to myself! Amen.

Questions:

• How do you avoid Abraham's mistake of "talking to self" when you could be talking to others?
• What have you learned about the spirituality of people you thought had no fear of God?