Was Their Free Will Violated?

Q

In Genesis 20:1-7 God himself states that it was He who did not let Abimelech sin and touch Sarah. Now I know it says Abimelech had some very strong integrity which I assume to mean that he had some “fear of God” but even so, some of the “greats of faith” had a fear of God and still sinned. I also find throughout Scripture other instances where God “acts and/or intervenes” in certain circumstances. So how does this line up with mankind having complete free will/agency?

A

Sarah was under God’s protection so He kept her from harm. Since Abimelech was acting with a clear conscience (Genesis 20:5) the Lord was also preventing him from sinning unknowingly (Genesis 20:6).

If you were walking down a dark street and the Lord sent an angel to thwart a mugger who was ready to attack you, would you consider that to be a violation of the mugger’s free will?

Or if you unknowingly got yourself into a position where you were about to commit a grave sin and the Lord kept you from doing so, would that be a violation of your free will?

Both these examples would be viewed by most as cases of the Lord intervening to protect a loved one, like any father would want to do for his child.