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Daily Devotion: Genesis 12:10-13

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Genesis 12:10-13    "And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.  (11)  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  (12)  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.  (13)  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."

Circumstances can cause us to do things we would not otherwise consider. There was a famine, so Abram went down into Egypt.  There was a famine. Abram, Sarai, and all their people were hungry. What were they going to do? How would they survive?  Surely it was okay for them to go to Egypt to get help. Was it?  Let me say that if it had been okay and if it had been God's plan, then Abram would not have had to try to fend for himself by telling something not true. Yes, it was half true that Sarai was his half-sister. They had the same father, but different mothers. But the full truth was that she was his wife; therefore Abram was fearful that Pharaoh would kill him in order to have Sarai. So, he told her to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister.  As a result, God sent plagues upon the Egyptians and Pharaoh knew the full truth. You can read the rest of the chapter to see how this came about.

My point today is to remind us that there has been only one perfect person born into this world. His name is Jesus. Though Abraham's faith is often spoken about, there were times when he fell back upon his own thoughts rather than following God.  Promises had been made to Abram and he believed them. He followed the Lord until the trip became a little too rough for him. Instead of digging deeper into his faith, Abram turned to his own ingenuity in order to attempt to survive. But through it all, God was faithful to him and to His promise to Abram.  My thought today is that no matter how rough the situation may be, we are always on safe ground when we place our trust in the Lord rather than ourselves. The writer of the Psalms stated it in this manner, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8)  Isaiah stated it in this manner, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." (Isaiah 26:3-4)

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