(Genesis 12:10-20) 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 It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” 14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then 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 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
In yesterday's devotion, we saw Abram praying to God, and then moving on to Negev. In this passage, we don't know if Abram went to God for directions during the famine. But Abram definitely did not seek God's direction when it came to protection from the Pharaoh, because we see him taking matters into his own hands. God would never have told Abram to lie.
We do see God rescuing Abraham and Sarai from their own mistake!
I know there have been several times when God has rescued me from myself. Whether my mistakes have been intentional or accidental, there have been occasions when it seemed like there are no consequences. This should never be used to justify making mistakes - because - think about how much better things would have been to do it all in God's will...
If Abram would have done things in God's will, he and Sarai would have remained together. And Pharaoh and his entire house would not have suffered the consequences of Abram's sins. And even though Abram got a few gifts out of the "bad deal", Abram caused Pharaoh to be angry with him. So had he done things in God's will, he would not have created an enemy.
Interesting that this also parallels the famine which ultimately brought Jacob and his entire family to Egypt. After 400 years of oppression, the Israelites had to trust God to bring them out of slavery. Not only did they safely exit the country, but they left much, much richer.
My takeaway from this is a deep respect for God, who is all-knowing, as well as very, very gracious...
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