And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee(Gen. 12:11-13).
When we think of Abram (Abraham) today, we think of a man wholly devoted to the Lord whom he served. We think of God’s magnificent promise, Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing (Gen.12:1-2), and Abram’s unquestioning obedience, So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran (12:4). We revere him as our most cherished spiritual ancestor, And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:29), and we hold him up as an example of unquestioned righteousness, And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6).
Abram was indeed all of these things, and there is much we can learn from his actions of faithful obedience, but we do ourselves a disservice if we choose to view him as a perfect man and ignore the Scripture passages that recount his faults. Here, as we read of a man acting out of mortal fear, we are offered a godly understanding of obedience by faith.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (Prov. 29:25). Abram trusted in the Lord’s Words implicitly; there is no record of His ever disobeying a direct command. Yet, like so many of us today, Abram seemed to have difficulty remembering that God was still in complete control even when He was silent. When famine struck, he sought refuge in Egypt without consulting the Lord. He begged His wife, Sarai, to reveal only that she was his sister, so my soul shall live because of thee. At that moment, Abram believed that it was his responsibility, not God’s, to protect himself and his family by any means necessary. While he had in no way abandoned the faith that had led him to Canaan, he had not yet learned to 100% trust in that faith.
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me (Ps. 118:6)? Once we have surrendered our lives to God, we are His. It is our privilege and responsibility at that point to walk in His will and to trust in His protection. God does not want us merely to follow Him when He speaks; He wants us to continue following Him even when we perceive Him to be silent. Abram lied in an attempt to save his life, but what he failed to realize at the time was that his life was held in the hands of God—it didn’t need saving.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28).
Thought for Today: Jesus alone was a perfect man; there has never been another. So when we judge ourselves against the saints, we should see our potential, not our superiors.
Christ Revealed: As the Promised Seed of Abram (Gen. 12:3,7; comp. Matt. 1:1; Acts 3:25-26; Gal. 3:16). Abram was a type of Christ who leads the way to a far better promised land (John 14:2-4,6; Heb. 11:8-10).
Word Studies: 10:5 isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands = they became separate nations; isles was a term used by the Hebrews to designate all countries accessible to them by sea, including those of Europe.
Pray For Government Officials:Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH) • Country: Montserrat (5,215) Caribbean • Major Language: English • Religious Freedom • 67.1% Protestant; 11.6% Roman Catholic; 1.4% Rastafarian; 6.5% Other; 2.6% None; 10.8% Unspecified • Prayer Suggestion: Seek God in prayer with your whole heart, and He will hear you (Jer. 29:12-13).
Optional ReadingMatthew 4