Genesis 12:10-20. 10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
So far the Abraham story has been one of great faith. God calls Abraham from far away in Ur to go to an unknown land. Great promises are made to him by God. Promises of land, children, and blessing. Promises that Abraham has trusted and thanked God for by building altars wherever he goes. What are some of the promises God makes to us?
But then comes this journey into Egypt. Why did Abraham go to Egypt? That’s right, a famine. That means there was not enough food in the Promised Land. But was Abraham supposed to go to Egypt? Did God tell him to go there? Or did he go because of fear? Fear of the famine.
Suddenly, in this story, Abraham seems to stop moving by faith in God and he starts making decisions on his own based on his fear. There is no praying in this story. No seeking the Lord. And God says absolutely nothing to Abraham.
The worst part of this story is when Abraham tells his wife, Sarah, to lie about who she is – he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
Sarah was very beautiful, and that made Abraham afraid. Afraid that the Egyptians would kill him and steal Sarah away to be one of their wives. So Abraham asks Sarah to lie to everyone. Say you are my sister. Abraham thinks that this will not only save his life, but also make the potential boyfriends of Sarah give him gifts in order to “date” her. But what Abraham doesn’t count on is that the Pharaoh himself, the king of Egypt, will take Sarah to be his girlfriend.
Abraham is risking all of God’s promises. He has left the land behind. He has allowed Sarah to be taken by Pharaoh which means no more family, and he sure isn’t being a blessing to everyone, he’s a curse – But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
When we stop trusting God and let fear take over bad things can happen. Can you think of an area of your life where you are not trusting God and instead you are afraid?
Jesus said that we can trust God for everything, and that we don’t have to be afraid. Look at the birds, he said. Look at the flowers. They don’t fear. God takes care of them because he loves them, and guess what? He loves you way, way more. How do I know? Because he sent Jesus to die for you.
And now Jesus lives in your heart. Jesus is giving you all the love that you need. All the kindness. All the peace. So when the famines come (the trials and problems), it doesn’t mean that God has stopped loving you or stopped taking care of you. It means that God is going to love you and take care of you in a very special way – through Jesus!
Abraham trusted God enough to go to the Promised Land, but once he was there, he thought he needed something else, Egypt. We all have an “Egypt” that we think we need beyond Jesus. But all we need is him, and his kindness and grace. When we let fear win we will think we need more than Jesus. But we don’t. Jesus is all that we need.
You: What do you tend to be afraid of in your heart? How does this thing make you seek out something beyond Jesus?
You with Jesus: How does knowing that Jesus died for your sins help you to trust that he is still helping you each day, especially with the things you are afraid of?
Prayer: Father, My Egypt is ________. I know I tend to count on my “Egypt” to help me rather than Jesus. But I want to trust Jesus more and more. Please help me to always remember that he died for me, so he will always give me all that I need. Amen.
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