Abraham's faith journey (failure) #3

August 28, 2020 (Friday)

 

In the last study, Abram acts out of fear and designs a lie he thinks will spare his life. I wonder how he expected to get out of Egypt, alive, after lying to Pharaoh. Just as Abram feared, “When Pharaoh’s princes saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s household.” [Genesis 12:15 CEB] Nothing to see here, let’s move along.

 

The plot thickens, “Things went well for Abram because of her: he acquired flocks, cattle, male donkeys, men servants, women servants, female donkeys, and camels.” [Genesis 12:16 CEB] Adding to the insult of Pharaoh acquiring Abram’s wife, he profits from the exchange. Miserably profiting off his wife’s beauty and her service to Pharaoh should have taught Abram a lesson, but it didn’t. Abram is going to repeat this lie another time.

 

George Santayana once suggested, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." We have these stories so we can learn from them. Paul warned, “These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come.” [1 Corinthians 10:11 CEB] Pharaoh had a chance to learn his own lesson about God. That should have been remembered when a later Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel.

 

Things become very dangerous for Pharaoh, “Then the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.” [Genesis 12:17 CEB] I don’t know how Pharaoh figured it out, but he did. Next things get awkward for Abram. He is caught in his lie. “So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What’s this you’ve done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?” [Genesis 12:18 CEB]

 

I think the only thing that saves Abram is Pharaoh is more afraid of God than the embarrassment he had at the moment. He continues his questioning without pausing for an answer. The general feel here, Pharaoh is angry. “Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” [Genesis 12:19 CEB]

 

In shame, Abram is expelled from Egypt, “Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they expelled him with his wife and everything he had.” [Genesis 12:20 CEB] There are some points to note about this story.

 

Notice Abram was not instructed to go to Egypt, nor was he prohibited from the journey. The choice as entirely his. True, there was a famine that seemed to force the move. The thing is, Abram made a choice based on circumstances, not faith. This put him in an awkward position of fear.

 

Feeling the need to lie, he did. I’m not sure he thought out what he was doing. His actions placed his wife in another man’s arms. Pharaoh took Sarai as a wife. How was he going to get out of Egypt, with his wife, alive?

 

Needless to say, fear turns the brain to mush. It overrules faith. It puts us in a really bad place. It puts our loved ones in a really bad place. Fear. Sin. Embarrassment. Kind of nice to know God can overlook our stupidity and sin. But do you take that chance? Either way there are consequences.