Genesis 12:1-20 NKJV
12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 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.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 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. 8 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. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
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.”
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.
When God speaks, His people ought always to listen to and believe what He says. Never should God’s Word be doubted or dismissed, for to do so is only to invite trouble.
In the first part of today’s reading from Genesis 12, God proclaims to Abram that He will make him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great (v.2). God also promised that those who curse Abram will be cursed (v. 3). Little did Abram know at that time exactly what those words from God would mean for his future. How could he know, other than the fact that God Himself spoke those words and that Abram really had no other choice but to trust what God said? It was a simple First Commandment thing.
But later in the reading it seems that Abram had forgotten God’s powerful words and promises. Evidence of that is how Abram feared the Egyptians enough to lie to them about his wife Sarai in order to keep from being killed (v. 12) despite God’s promise to bless and preserve Abram.
It is interesting to note that not only did Abram display lack of faith and trust in God, but his lie also plagued the Egyptians and caused Pharaoh to be upset at Abram for lying about his wife. Abram’s lie almost caused Pharaoh to become an adulterer, taking another man’s wife, something that could indeed have caused Pharaoh much grief.
The message and teaching of this reading is simple, as stated at the outset of this devotion: never doubt God’s Word and promises. How much simpler can it be? And yet, in our sinful weakness, we often cannot see past our own earthly circumstances, and we allow the devil to distract us with fears and concerns that draw our attention away from God. Repent of this, dear Christian, and cling by God-given faith to the certainty and strength of God’s Word and promises. He has given His Son Jesus over to death to pay for all your sins; you need no other proof of God’s commitment and love for you than that.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for paying for my sins. Increase my faith and trust in You alone. Amen.