Genesis 12:7-9 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Well, Abram has trusted God, making it to Canaan and has done well by worshiping God as soon as he arrives. But all is not rosy in Canaan, and Abram’s faith is about to be tested.
Genesis 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
While we choose to believe that climate change is a new phenomenon, in fact, it has always affected human history. Here, Abram and Sarai move to Egypt to escape famine in Canaan. The Nile River provides a constant source of water for irrigation, so Egypt has food while Canaan does not. Abram is already seventy-five, so Sarai must be nearly sixty; however, Sarai is still so strikingly beautiful that Abram fears the Egyptians will kill him so they can take Sarai to join Pharaoh’s harem.
Why does the Bible include this story about Abram with his fear driving him to lie? Why doesn’t Abram trust God’s direction and His promises? Here, Abram is tormenting himself, turning away from God’s comfort to become his own amateur providence. As soon as a potential threat looms, Abram forgets everything God has told him and God’s magnificent plans for his future. Abram also forgets that God has promised, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
Eventually, God delivers Abram and Sarai from the mess Abram’s lies have created. What might have happened had Abram had the courage to trust God and tell the truth in the beginning? Pharaoh might have respected Abram more for having a gorgeous wife at the age of seventy-five. Perhaps God wanted Abram to develop a close relationship with Pharaoh for some reason, but now Pharaoh is so revolted that he simply expels Abram and Sarai from Egypt.
We read this story and begin mentally criticizing Abram for his lack of faith. But how many of us would have done any better? God gives us promises, and we chant Bible verses and sing songs…..up until our faith is really tested. That’s when we begin struggling to find ways to fix the situation, never mind God’s promises or His assurances of comfort. We turn away from the very One who can help us and comfort us, struggling to find solutions in impossible places. We go in for Netflix, on-line games, food, alcohol, drugs, or even sex, all to fill the God-sized hole in our hearts.
Centuries after Abram has become Abraham, father of nations, and a pillar of faith, the Israelites have again forsaken God and His promises. Jeremiah 2:13 tells us, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
As we enter this new year, we need to examine our hearts and lives. Are we truly depending on the One True Living God, the Fountain of living waters, the only Source of comfort, or are we digging broken cisterns that will leak, leaving us comfortless? It was Blaise Pascal, a seventeenth century French mathematician and philosopher, who taught us, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”
God wanted to give Abram comfort and assurance in Egypt, but Abram tried to find his own solutions and failed miserably. Today, why not allow God’s Holy Spirit to fill that God-sized hole in your heart?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have been trying to fill our hearts with stuff that can never comfort us. We confess these attempts as sin and beg You to forgive us. Please send Your Holy Spirit to fill us with Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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