Genesis 20 & Sinning through Ignorance

The big, overarching story of Genesis 20 has to do with Abraham and Sarah lying about being married, once again, to a king. The couple tells Abimelek that they are brother and sister, which is technically half true, but they mention nothing of being married. Then God appears to Abimelek in a dream and reveals to the king that Sarah is a married woman, and he's as good as dead for taking her. Consequently, all of Abimelek's female slaves aren't able to conceive once Sarah comes into the picture. The happy ending: Abimelek apologizes to Abraham and gives Sarah back to him.

What confuses me the most is that God faulted Abimelek for taking Sarah as his wife even though Abimelek had no idea of the truth about Sarah and Abraham. He hadn't a clue that Sarah and Abraham were actually married. He clearly states that he did this with a clear conscience, and God agrees. So why is he to blame? Now, Abimelek had yet to actually touch Sarah, which apparently means he never actually sinned. But again, why does God say that had he touched Sarah he would have sinned? I'm not sure why Abimelek got all the grief here.

And for that matter, why is it okay for Abraham and Sarah to lie? Why is it okay for them to hide their marriage? We learn in this chapter that Abraham is, indeed, a prophet. (Ge 20:7) And it's my impression that he's the first prophet. Again, why is it okay for a prophet to lie? And why is God backing him? This all seems so backwards to me.

I also feel like this is a contradiction to the Book of Job. In Job, we learn about the difference between chastisement and trial. And I was under the impression that we know when we are being chastised and we know for what reason. Abimelek's female slaves couldn't conceive. That seems like God punishing them for Abimelek taking Sarah as his wife. But Abimelek didn't know Sarah was married to Abraham, so he couldn't have made the connection that Sarah's presence caused his slaves to go without children, right? I know the Bible doesn't contradict itself, which means I've interpreted something incorrectly. Someone help me clear this up!

One other thing I noticed in this chapter is that God tells Abimelek to let Abraham pray for him. This reminded so much of the Catholic religion and the huge misconception that we pray to saints and even worship them. (And for emphasis, misconception means those thoughts are COMPLETELY wrong.) If I weren't Catholic I would think, "Why doesn't Abimelek just pray to God on his own? Why does he need Abraham to pray for him?" Well, in my eyes, Abraham, in a way, is closer to God than Abimelek. I mean, the guy's a prophet. Having Abraham pray for you, at least the way I see it, gives your prayers a lot more merit. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if this is the proper way to explain it, but it's how I justify this whole "praying to saints" thing in my head and to non-Catholics. It's very much like asking a friend to pray for you.

Anyway, another reason I wanted to read the Bible was to get some things straight about Catholicism, Christianity as a whole, and where exactly I fall within it all. I don't know if this particular story is where the tradition of asking saints to pray for us came from, but I couldn't help but see the similarities. And just to put it out there, there's nothing wrong with Abraham praying for Abimelek; God said it had to be done that way.

I also read this article the other day, which explains some misconceptions about the Catholic faith, and I just think it's awesome for anyone who doesn't quite understand what Catholics believe. I'm still making my way through the Bible for the first time, and I still have many questions that have yet to be answered. But I'm excited to get those answers, and I'm praying that they will help to cement my thoughts/views on Catholicism and the entirety of my Christian faith.

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Why does God place Abimelek at fault for taking Sarah as his wife even though Abimelek had no knowledge of Abraham's marriage to Sarah? Does this suggest that being with a married person is a sin regardless if you know he/she is married? Furthermore, is it possible to sin through ignorance? 

How do the Book of Job and Genesis 20 not contradict one another? What interpretations have you made about these stories to help you understand their true meaning? 

Also, why do you think it's okay for Abraham and Sarah to lie about their marriage? Why is God okay with this, support it even?

And what are your thoughts about Abraham praying for Abimelek? Did you make a connection between this and the Catholic tradition of asking saints to pray for us? Did the article I shared have any effect on you?