God Tells Abimelech the Credit for His Restraint Belongs to Heaven

"And Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, Lord, will You slay even a righteous nation?" (Genesis 20:4). He said: if You judged this way the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, were they righteous? Rabbi Berekhiah said: "if You will slay this nation, You will be slaying a righteous one." "Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister, and she, even she herself said, He is my brother" (Genesis 20:5); even the donkey drivers and camel drivers and the members of his household, all of them said so. "In the innocence of my heart and the cleanness of my hands I have done this." He said to him: as for innocence, you have it; as for cleanness of hands, you do not, as is shown by His answer, "I also knew that you did this in the innocence of your heart" (Genesis 20:6); this teaches that there had been a touching of hands there. "Therefore I did not let you touch her" (Genesis 20:6). It is like a mighty horseman riding upon his horse, and the horse was galloping beneath him, and he saw a child thrown in the road, and he reined in the horse and it caused no harm. Whom does one praise, the horse or the rider? You must say the rider. So too, "Therefore I did not let you touch her, from sinning against Me": your inclination, which would have led you to sin, was given into My hand, and I prevented you from sinning, I held you back from the sin, and the credit is Mine and not yours. "And now, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet" (Genesis 20:7). He said to Him: who will persuade him and let him know that I did not touch her? He said to him: for he is a prophet. He said: and who will make it known to all? He said to him: "and let him pray for you, and live." And if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die. From here we learn that there is no formal warning for the descendants of Noah. "And Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants" (Genesis 20:8). Because they saw the smoke of Sodom rising like the smoke of a furnace, he said: perhaps these are the angels who were sent to Sodom and have come here; therefore, "and the men were greatly afraid." "Deeds that ought not to be done you have done to me" (Genesis 20:9): everywhere relief used to precede your coming, but here famine preceded you. "And Abraham said, Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and also indeed she is my sister, my father's daughter" (Genesis 20:11-12). "What have you done to us; you are a dead man because of the woman"; "and what wrong did I do to you; know that you shall surely die, for you brought upon me"; "for the LORD had closed up every womb" (Genesis 20:18).