So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. The protective decree from Abimelek is the covenant person's safety secured by a pagan king's justice. The protection Abraham and Isaac sought through deception is given freely — and more securely — through Abimelek's authority. The application: the protection you try to manufacture through dishonesty is sometimes available through the honest use of legitimate authority. The decree secures what the deception could not.

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