Abram
At this point, Abram has not been renamed Abraham by God, that doesn't happen until chapter 17. All we know about him at this stage is that he has two brothers and a wife. He has travelled from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran with his father’s family, and they have settled there. His wife Sarai cannot have children. His name means ‘exulted father’, so I imagine he is not best pleased with his life so far.
God has spoken to him and told him to leave his country, his people, his family and move to somewhere that God will show him. As an incentive to move, God also makes a covenant with Abram.
Gen 12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Quite a promise to a childless man whose name means ‘exulted father’.
The journey starts
So Abram leaves, and his nephew Lot goes with him, so do all the workers he has acquired during his time in Haran. They go to Canaan, which is where his father Terah had originally intended to go. There, God promised to give the land to Abram’s descendants. He builds an altar to the Lord, which seems to be his habit whenever he stops for a while. From there, his travels continue toward the Negev. His journey has taken him roughly south-west, arriving south of the Dead Sea.
Tests are coming
So far, things have been going well with Abram in his new venture with God. He is following God’s direction, and worshipping regularly, but testing times will come, as they always do.
Famine – the 1sttest
At the start of our reading today, we see the first test of Abram’s faith in God. There is a famine in the land. At this stage, we don’t know if this is God’s final destination, or whether we are still on the journey. Our text says the famine is severe – that means there are people starving to death. Although most of us have never experienced famine, I expect we’ve all seen pictures of people that just look like skin and bone, and children with swollen stomachs because there is simple not enough food. People are dying, maybe some of Abram’s people have died. Abram has dragged his people across miles and miles and brought them to the Negev for what – to simply starve to death. What is he to do?
Find Food
Under pressure to find food, he decides to go to Egypt. There’s no mention of building an altar, there’s no command from God recorded, so Abram has now abandoned his faith, and taken the expedient action. He’s reverted to the world’s way of doing things, and it’s going to get him into trouble.
Excuses
I’m surprised how many commentaries and preachers make excuses for Abram at this point, mostly saying that it’s a temporary move and implying that it’s his only choice.
I would have hoped that he would at least have sought God’s counsel. What would I have done? What would you have done? It’s impossible to say unless we’ve been in a similar situation.
Danger in Egypt
Compared to the journey so far, Egypt isn’t very far, but on the way Abram is thinking about what will happen when he gets there. His main concern is for his own life. His wife has become a potential liability – her beauty is the problem. In those days, women were property, so kill the owner and steal the beautiful wife is a distinct possibility.
“Say you are my sister” he says to Sarai. That way, if they want you they won’t threaten me, instead they’ll try to buy you. Perhaps he thinks he can make any possible deal too expensive, so that no-one could afford his ‘sister’.
Pharaoh
As with all human schemes, Abram does not have all the data he needs to make a proper decision, so his scheme is doomed to failure. When Pharaoh's official saw her, they were stunned by her beauty and told their king what they had found. Imagine it, one of the servants comes to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh, there’s a beautiful woman just arrived, much better looking than the most of the other women in your harem.” With that information, he has no choice really, not that he would have made any other choice. So Pharaoh takes Sarai for his Harem, and Abram gets “sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.” That’s probably the bride price, and it’s a very good deal.
Not only is food available in Egypt, but now Abram has a much larger flock with which to support his people.
God is watching
But God is watching, and will not allow Pharaoh to cause Sarai to fall into sin. He inflicted serious disease on Pharaoh and all his household. The Hebrew word suggests a skin disease – a plague of boils, perhaps? It only affects Pharaoh and his household, but not Sarai. I can imagine that there was a bit of a rumpus and Sarai was probably interrogated to find out who or what she was. Then, of course, the truth will out, as it always does eventually.
Pharaoh is disgusted with what he finds out, and just wants her and her husband out of his sight. He very impolitely ejects them and makes sure his troops are not going to allow them to hang around. “Get them out of here before their God does something even more harmful.”
Justice?
What has God done? He seems to have organised things in such a way that the lying, cheating Abram has profited from his evil scheme. Are those the actions of a God of justice? But God is simply in the business of doing as he promised when Abram was called (that’s at the start of chapter 12). For that he needs Abram and Sarai together, and for there to be no chance that she might give birth to a child whose father could be questionable.
Abram will pay for what he has done in different ways later. He will have to split his family because his flocks are too big! Wealth is not always a blessing!
Testing Times
Abram is a prime example of how not to behave when following God becomes difficult. Clearly we should not abandon God and lie and cheat to get what we want. For Abram, the pattern of his relationship with God is now set. His responses will be similar in other crises that come his way.
Our responses do not have to be like that.
So here are 6 things that Abram didn’t do, that might help us avoid falling into that sin:
1) With each test comes a temptation
Abram did not see the temptation – access to easy food, as a temptation, but as a logical next step. If we can recognise that when things get difficult there will be strong temptations, we may find it easier to resist. “Just say No” is a good slogan for these circumstances.
2) Seek God’s wisdom
Abram did not seek God, he simply acted. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
Testing times are there so that we learn to rely on God, not to turn away from Him and do the easiest thing. We have prayer, scripture, and the counsel of our fellow Christians to help us determine the correct course of action.
3) Consider the consequences of sin
Abram did not consider the consequences of his sin, and some of those were unknowable anyway. This is always the case. Even though Abram became rich as a result, even that did go in his favour eventually. Proverbs 10:2 “Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.”
4) Expect God’s amazing grace
Abram was in a mess, Sarai had been lost to Pharaoh, but God provided a way out of the situation. Abram certainly did not deserve this rescue, but God is God. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
5) Consider unbelievers
Pharaoh and his entire household suffered as a result of Abram's sin. The result was that Pharaoh uncovered Abram’s scheme – and then behaved in a proper and correct manner, putting Abram to shame. We are called to live differently and distinctively.
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
6) Keep our eyes on Christ
Abram definitely was not focussed on God, had he been the story would have been different.
Hebrews 12:2–3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
With Jesus as our example, we should be able to get through anything that the world throws at us.
Amen.
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