1 Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the 1Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? 5 “Did he not himself say to me, `She is my sister’? And she herself said, `He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 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; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her,know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
First of all, some people don’t learn their lesson the hard way. If this story seems eerily familiar, it’s because Abraham did this to Pharaoh once before, and made himself look like a fool. Now here he is again making the same mistake. The lesson here is pretty simple: learn from your mistakes the first time.