Genesis 20:1-18
"Sarah Rescued from Abimelech"
Abraham, it seems, doesn't learn. Once again, when staying in a foreign country, he and Sarah pose as siblings. In a repeat of the last time (see Gen. 12:10-20), the king, Abimelech, takes Sarah as his wife, but doesn't consummate it (God kept him from sinning, thus). Nevertheless, God came to Abimelech and confronted him of his sin adding the consequence of death if he did not make right with Abraham.
Now you're probably thinking "It wasn't Abimelech's fault!" So was Abimelech. Note that this reason (that he was unaware and married Sarah out of a clean conscience) was enough for God to keep Abimelech from further sinning (i.e. consummation of the "marriage").
Here we have a description, an account of God showing mercy as a response to sin. The sin was still punished, but the punishment was lessened due to Abraham's misinformation and Abimelech's ignorance thereof. God showed mercy to Abimelech because his sin was largely caused by another. This mercy is the first depiction of mercy by lessening the punishment of sin. Here we have a prelude, albeit incomplete, to Christ's actions. Here we see God's will to save man from sin. 16 pages into the Bible (by my Bible's pagination) we can already see God's heart.
Again, I'm not saying Abimelech received no punishment, but that God, in His mercy, kept Abimelech from greater sin and gave him the chance for reparations and restitution. Sin still had its punishment, but it was not as great a mess, thanks to God, that it could have been.
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