“[10] Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. [11] When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, [12] and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. [13] Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” [14] When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. [15] And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. [16] And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
[17] But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. [18] So 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,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” [20] And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.”
TRUE FAITH WILL ALWAYS BE TESTED
Before we dig into the details of our passage today, I want to direct our attention to how the author of Hebrews describes Abram: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
The book of Hebrews looks back on Abram’s life and describes it as a life marked by obedience and trust. “By faith he obeyed… He went out, not knowing where he was going… By faith he went.” He heard the voice of God, and his feet followed. He heard the promise of blessing, and he entrusted the One who spoke it. Without a map in hand, Abram packed up and followed the LORD in faith.
But, then we get to the opening words of our passage this week— “Now there was a famine in the land.”
What an interesting turn of events. As one commentator puts it, the grandeur of Abram’s calling collides with the harsh reality of his circumstances. As Abram packed up everything he had to obediently follow the LORD into the sunset of blessing, drought arrived. The land of promise dried up right before his eyes.
I’m not sure about you, but being starved in a foreign land far away from home doesn’t seem like a life of blessing. But does this not teach us the simple truth that faith is often tested? A blessed man is a tested man. Holiness is on the other side of fire.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my bothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” So, no one’s faith will ever go untested. The economics of God’s kingdom is that God often sanctifies us through trials. He uses hardships to make us more like him. The same God who calls us in faith sometimes leads us into famine, not to abandon us, but to shape us. He uses droughts and famines to grow us into fruit-bearing children.
I don’t want us to miss this truth. A life with Jesus is undoubtedly a life worth living. His burden is easy, and his yoke is light. There is unending joy, peace, and blessing that is found in a life with him. Obedience is always better than disobedience. But please understand that your faith will be tested.
So, perhaps you find yourself in a similar point in life as Abram. Perhaps your faith is being tested. Please know that you’re not alone. Not all hardships are a result of your bad decisions. In fact, some difficulties are a direct result of your good decisions. Some hardships might be a direct result of your obedience to Jesus. Faithful obedience does not exempt us from hardship; rather God often uses hardships to refine and strengthen our faith. Obeying God doesn’t mean life will always be easy. Sometimes hard things happen, and God uses hard things for our good.
Paul himself said, “…I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Phil 4:12-13).” As we follow Jesus in faith, there will be seasons of abundance, and there will be seasons of famine. But, the beauty of the Christian faith is that hardships don’t have to destroy us; they can mold us, making us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
A SOJOURNER IN EGYPT
As a result of this famine, Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. So, due to hardship in his own land, Abram went to a neighboring country to sojourn there. To sojourn means to live in a land that is not your homeland.
I don’t want to get too political here today. But, I do want to draw our attention to the fact that we consistently find throughout the Old Testament instances of God’s people commanded to offer protection and care to the sojourner because of this moment right here.
Because Abram was provided protection and care when he was a sojourner, his descendants are to offer protection and care to those who come to find protection and care in their land.
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt (Ex 22:21).”
“The sojourner who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself (Lev 19:34).”
God commanded his people to not only welcome the sojourner but to love, care, and protect the sojourner. So, as we navigate the complex and weighty conversation surrounding how we as Americans treat non-American citizens, may our tone, posture, and actions reflect what we see demonstrated to us in the Bible.
A TERRIBLE IDEA
Now, when Abram was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance.” If we were to pause here, we would say that Abram is killing it! Sarai probably said, “Aww, you’re so sweet.” But, Abram quickly loses all brownie points by what he said next— “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
Now, a couple of things.
First, Abram didn’t technically lie here. Sarai was his half-sister. We see Abram later explain in Genesis 20:12, “She is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.” So, there are elements of truth in his words. But it was a truth that was bent, shaded, and arranged for self-preservation. His words may have been factual, but they weren’t faithful. They didn’t convey the whole truth.
The man who trusted God enough to leave his homeland in faith now covers his faith in fear. The bold confidence we see in verses 1-12 is suddenly eclipsed by what appears to be a lack of faith. It seems Abram has forgotten who it is he’s following. As Kent Hughes put it, “Abram stumbled because, when testing came, he forgot God. He did not disbelieve in God. He forgot how great God is. And forgetting God, he resorted to his own devices, his stealth and manipulation.”
Friends, we’re tempted to follow Abrams example here. When hardships come, we’re all tempted to let fear rule our lives. But fear will often lead us to do stupid things. We’re all tempted to believe that fear is a good lord, that safety lies in concealment, that half-truths are wiser than honesty, and that managing the story is more secure than trusting the God who is orchestrating the story.
So do you ever find yourself letting fear rule your life? Do you ever find yourself thinking that security is found in a masking of the truth? Do you ever find yourself thinking that falsehood is safer than truthfulness, that half-truths are wiser than complete honesty?
One of the greatest struggles when hardship comes isn’t necessarily reconciling whether or not we still believe in God, but reconciling whether or not we will continue submitting our ways to God.
A TERRIBLE IDEA LEADS TO TERRIBLE RESULTS
We don’t often realize how difficult it is to remain faithful under pressure. Under pressure, we often don’t notice how quickly self-preservation turns into self-promotion, and how easily, in the scramble to protect ourselves, we trample those around us. Let’s see how Abram’s plan works out.
“When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake, he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.”
So, Abram was right. The beauty of his wife had the whole town talking, and the news about her beauty had crept into the ears of the Pharaoh. And Pharaoh had to get this new “single lady” into his home. So, he takes her to be his wife.
I’m not sure this was a part of Abram’s plan. Abram’s life was spared, but his wife was lost. He enjoyed the abundance of sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and servants while his wife lived in the home of another man. No husband in his right mind would say this is a trade worth making. In the words of Tim McGraw, “Take my money, take my wallet. Take my credit cards. Here’s the watch that my grandpa gave me. Here’s the key to my car. Mister, give it a whirl. But, please, don’t take the girl.”
Abram’s plan to preserve his own life has backfired. Abram’s lie led to despair. The truth Abram sought to withhold has come back to bite him. As Philip Bethencourt puts it, “Just as Adam failed to protect Eve from the serpent’s lies, Abram fails to protect Sarai from Egypt and lies during the process.”
A GOOD GOD STILL WORKING OUT HIS GOOD PLAN
But, notice what happens to Pharaoh in verse 17– “But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why 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.’ And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.”
What a stunning moment of grace and faithfulness from the Lord here. God makes a promise, and he remains faithful to carry it out! God declares that Abram’s name will be made great, and almost immediately Abram begins doing everything he can to ruin it. God promises to form a great nation through him, and Abram nearly sabotages that promise by surrendering his wife to another man. Yet God is big enough to carry out his will despite our greatest efforts to destroy it. His good plan is not thwarted by human fear or failure. He is big enough and gracious enough to accomplish His purposes even when we seem determined to undo them. God will always be faithful, and our stupid decisions cannot destroy his good plan.
So God intervened on behalf of Abram and his wife Sarai. He brought a great plague to Pharaoh's home, which led to him learning that Sarai was the source of this affliction. Somehow the truth came to light: Sarai was Abram’s wife, and this covenant bond was the reason judgment had arrived at his door.
Side note: I think this reminds us that God cares deeply about marriage. A covenant union that was made in the eyes of the LORD is one that God holds in high regard. Even when human authorities fail to recognize it, God does not. What man overlooked, God saw. What man dishonored, God defended.
But notice how God acted on Abram and Sarai’s behalf. When Abram made a mess, God made a way. What Abram endangered, God protected. God preserved the promise Abram sought to jeopardize. Abram was foolish, but God was faithful. Abram and Sarai entered Egypt with minimal possessions in the midst of a great famine. They lied and got into some trouble. And, yet, God took care of them. And they ended up leaving Egypt with more than they came into Egypt with.
Is there comfort for us in this truth today? Perhaps the same could be said of you? Have you ever been an idiot? Have you ever done something you’re ashamed of? Have you ever regretted something you’ve done that was just plain stupid?
Your dumb decisions don’t have to be the end of the story for you… nor do someone else’s dumb choices have to be the end of the story for you. There is tremendous grace for you, just like there was tremendous grace for Abram and Sarai. Your worst decisions do not have to be the final word on your life, and someone else’s worst decisions do not have to be the end of your story either. The same grace that covered Abram and Sarai then is available to us today. God remains faithful, even when we do not.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Here we see famine directly follows Abram following the LORD in faith. How should this help shape the way we view hardships in life? How do we typically view hardship: as God’s absence, God’s punishment, or God’s refining work?
When pressure rises in our lives, what fears tend to surface most quickly?
Why do we often believe that safety is found in concealing the truth?
Are there past decisions or seasons in your life that have led you to feel disqualified or useless? How does this passage push back against that lie?
What would obedience look like for us if fear we no longer present?