Gerar was near the coast about 12 miles south of Gaza and about 50 miles south of Hebron, in the land of the Philistines (Genesis 21:34). So Gerar is located in the Gaza Strip, which has historically been the domain of the Philistines. They were from the line of Ham (Noah’s second son) while Abraham was from the line of Shem (Noah’s first and most righteous son. Abraham tells the king of Gerar that Sarah is his sister, a half-truth at best and really just another lie. The last time he did that (Genesis 12) he sought to protect himself from unrighteous Pharaoh as he left the Canaan famine instead of waiting on God’s provision. He was fearful then and he was fearful now too. We must remember that Sarah was either pregnant with Isaac or about to become pregnant with him and God would not allow Abraham’s stupidity to stop the promise line of the Jewish nation and ultimately its Messiah. The Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled regardless of what Abraham or Sarah did to appear to stop its fulfillment. God’s plan is always best and He always gets His will accomplished.
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