Genesis 12:10-15 "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. 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: 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. 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. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house."
Abram had taken Sarai (his wife), his nephew Lot, his servants and his possessions and gone into the land where the Canaanites dwelled. God told Abram that He would give the land to his seed. Abram built an altar there to the LORD and then proceeded further south. He came to a place where Bethel was to the west and Hai (Ai) was to the east, and there he built another altar to the LORD and called upon His name.
It often is the case that as soon as we step out in faith to be obedient unto the command of God that trouble shows up. In Abram’s case, it was a great famine. Perhaps this is the reason that Abram built the second altar and called out to God for direction in this time of trouble. There was still food to be found in Egypt, so Abram took his wife and all that were with him and went into that land.
Here we begin to see that even faithful men of God can have their seasons of doubt and fear. Sarai was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Knowing this, Abram was concerned that the Egyptians would kill him so that they might claim her. After all the LORD had already led him through, we might expect Abram to call upon the LORD to again protect him and Sarai. Instead, Abram devised a scheme of his own that he thought might save his own skin. As is often the case when we scheme to do things that are self-centered, he lost sight of what this might mean for Sarai.
Abram convinced Sarai to participate in a lie and say that she was his sister. The result was that she was taken to Pharoah to become one of his wives. Thankfully, as the story continues, we see that God was still in control of the situation. Because of Sarai, Pharoah gave gifts to Abram of livestock as well as servants. Also, because of Sarai, God sent plagues upon Pharoah and his house.
Somewhere in all this, it became known to Pharoah that Abram was Sarai’s husband and not the brother that he had originally claimed. I think it is safe to say that Pharoah did not kill Abram then because the hand of God was already against him. Instead, he had Abram, Sarai, and all their possessions escorted out of the land. God’s faithfulness NEVER fails.
It would be easy for us to look at this part of Abram’s journey and wonder how he could have chosen this path. However, we need to ask ourselves how many times in our life have we been guilty of following God faithfully for a season and then be faced with a situation where we thought we could find a better solution than turning to the LORD. The lesson is always the same. Deceitful ways never bring about the desired conclusion, and God’s ability to deliver us is never dependent upon our schemes or the trouble we get in because of them. I pray to be more faithful in looking to Him alone for all of life's answers.