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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.
So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Genesis 12:10-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Abram had everything going for him.
God had told him to take his family and his possessions and go where He directed and Abram obeyed, heading to the land of Canaan. In return, God promised to bless Abram and make him into a great nation.
What could be better than what Abram had?
He had God with him and for him, providing what he, Sarai, Lot, and the traveling entourage with him needed. And yet, as we see in today’s passage, Abram faltered. Look again at these words as we continue to study from Genesis, chapter 12:
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.
So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. Vv.10-20
We never know what God will use to move us so we’ll be where He wants us to be so to do what He wants us to do. In the case of Abram and his group, we read where it was a severe famine that had struck Canaan, a famine that caused a shift to Egypt as a matter of survival.
This cultural shift began to play with Abram’s worries as he feared that Sarai would become an object of attraction for the Egyptian men and this might lead to him being killed. We know this through his own words:
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
Here’s where things went off the rails for this man of faith. Because instead of consulting God as to what he should do in the possible coming circumstances, Abram leaned on his own understanding instead and developed a plan that involved mistruth. Worse yet, he convinced his wife to participate in the lie.
It’s here that we are reminded that Abram was a sinner at heart. Like every other human being in the line of Adam and Eve, and that includes every single human being who has lived or will live until Jesus returns, he had a disposition to do wrong in the sight of the Lord. And wrong, he did in this instance. God had brought him this far and had promised to make him a great nation. Did Abram really think that God wasn’t going to provide the way as he brought his wife and the others into Egypt?
Going back to the scriptures, we see where the Egyptians bought Abram’s lie and Sarai was ushered into Pharaoh’s palace where she was made one of his wives. Abram was rewarded in return with "sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels", all adding up to a great accumulation of wealth. Everything was working out great, just as Abram had planned.
But there was only one problem.
As mentioned, this wasn’t God’s plan but Abram’s and it was a sinful plan at that. And so you had to know that it wasn’t going to work out as Abram expected.
For we read where "the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai." Abram’s lie had brought suffering to Pharaoh and his household and it didn’t take Egypt’s leader to put two and two together in figuring out the cause of the matter. He calls Abram and confronts him asking, "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife?"
At that moment, Pharaoh had every reason to kill Abram and yet, he didn’t. Although Abram had been unfaithful to his Lord, God had promised to bless Abram and He didn’t go back on that promise. And so instead of punishment, Pharaoh simply sent Abram on his way, "with his wife and everything he had."
So what can we take away from Abram and his mistakes in Egypt:
1. We should never lose our faith in God.
Abram allowed the potential cultural problem in Egypt to trump his faith in God, refusing to consider that his Lord would look out for him and Sarai in Egypt. This led to him forming his own plan grounded in a lie and everything went downhill from there.
We need to trust in God to help us through any circumstance even if it appears that peril might be ahead. For we serve a God that makes the improbable probable.
2. Never underestimate when sin might creep in.
As mentioned earlier, Abram had everything going his way and frankly, this might have made him more vulnerable to sin’s trappings.
In the end translation, we can never let our guard down for just when we think we are at our strongest, we need to realize that we might actually be at our weakest.
Why?
Because I think we tend to get comfortable and distance ourselves from God when things are going well. And when we’re furthest from Him, we can bet that Satan and sin are drawing closest to us and ready to take over.
Don’t let your guard down like Abram.
3. Lies never lead to anything positive.
Abram thought his lie would lead to good but it was only because he was looking out for himself. His selfish attitude and subsequent fibbing only brought suffering on other people who were innocent.
The bottom line is that when we lie, others often get hurt and this truth is revealed every day. God expects us to tell the truth because at His core, we find absolute, perfect integrity and it’s this same integrity that He expects it to be at the heart of His people. We can ensure that happens when we always put Him at the center of our hearts and lives.
Abram didn’t in this matter and it cost him his integrity. We need to learn from him to not repeat his error.
4. God is true to His promises.
God had promised to bless Abram. Despite what had to be obvious disappointment in the way Abram conducted himself in Egypt, God still watched over him and ensured he and Sarai made it out of Egypt alive.
We need to remember that our God is true to His promises for us as well and He promised to never leave us or forsake us. Keep this in mind whenever you might be facing your own personal challenges.
God is true to His promises.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.