ABRAM IN EGYPT – THE DETOUR OF MAN, THE GRACE OF OUR RESCUING GOD

By Jill Roberts and Michael Canalé

 

Michael made such an important observation about God, as we were discussing this week’s blog and the direction in which Scripture is taking us in writing it. He quoted Revelation 1:8 NIV, as an introduction to his thoughts:

 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God.”

 

Then he added,

 

“God is everything, as this verse  clearly states. So, if you’re going to deal in the things of God, you need to remember this, you need to know Who He is.”

 

Truly, this is the case. How do we go about this and how is the story of Abram, as he is growing into the name, Abraham, such a illuminating view into Who God really is? There are many reasons but, perhaps, none more central than this:

 

God is best defined when mankind is LEAST faithful.

 

What a counter intuitive thought! Surely, we see God spotlighted in our obedience and the times when we garner high marks spiritually. Yes, this is undeniable. When we toe the spiritual line, we are best recognizable  as being made in His image.

 

However, Michael and I stand by the above statement – God, Himself, is best known and understood, when WE DO NOT live the obedient and exemplary lives of His image bearers. When man goes astray, we find out what the Almighty Creator God is really made of.

 

Which brings us squarely back to Abram. Last week, when we left this future Patriarch of the Faith, he was exactly where God wanted him to be – in Canaan, where he had built not one but two altars and, most significantly, where he had called upon the name of the Lord. He had PRAYED to God! As Michael says, “He was starting to see that he was working for God.”

 

And Abram’s long detour in Harran – surely, he had repented of that. Couldn’t we say, after all his altar building and prayer, he had learned his lesson regarding detours! Right? Well…not exactly. There are many titles Michael and I might have given this week’s study. Based on the verses we are about to discuss, we decided that “Detours, Abram and Harran Revisited,” would, at least, be a top contender.

 

Michael says,

 

“But, the truth is a gesture. It’s what you do, not what you say.”

 

It’s in the doing that Abram runs into a problem. Michael adds,

 

“God writes about the failures, not just the victories. How often, the failures teach the greater lessons.”

 

For, no sooner had Abram appeared to be gaining major spiritual traction than Scripture records the following:

 

“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went DOWN TO EGYPT to live there for a while…”

(emphasis added)

Genesis 12:10) NIV

 

As in Harran, he settled in.

 

Oh goodness! Two red flags immediately rear their ugly heads. First, rather than trust God Who called him to Canaan and nowhere else, Abram takes it upon himself to find the solution to the famine problem. He forgot the basics, the Course 101 of God. That is, as is so frequently quoted in Christian parlance, “God will never take you where He can’t keep you.” God, of course, had a perfect plan for Abram to stay in Canaan, but the Biblical evidence is that He was never consulted about this.

 

Secondly, anytime Scripture uses the words, “down to Egypt,” this is a harbinger of troubling times to come. Here, the trouble begins immediately:

 

“As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

(Genesis 12:11-13) NIV

 

Honestly, mustn’t God wonder, “On how many variations on a theme can they use to go sideways! What limits are there on mankind’s trouble!” Only days before, Abram had depended on God to protect his life. Now, he is relying on Sarai – his wife/sister to keep him safe. And as to Sarai and her well-being, Abram is apparently oblivious. He has placed her in great jeopardy in order to save himself. The next few verses record just how serious that jeopardy was:

 

“When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to the Pharaoh and she was taken into his palace.” He treated Abram well for her sake and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.”

(Genesis 12:14-16) NIV

 

SERIOUSLY! Abram has stepped up his game from the time in Harran where he “accumulated people and possessions.” Now he was doing the same thing in Egypt but in exchange for his wife! How far can one man fall and he, the Patriarch-to-be of God’s Chosen People! With the existence of a god-sized problem came a God-ordained rescue:

 

“BUT THE LORD, inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife, Sarai.”

(emphasis added)

(Genesis 12::17) NIV

 

God had had his fill. He Who sees all, had seen enough! God’s tender heart broke for Sarai! She was literally saved by God. And Abram?

 

“So Pharaoh summoned Abram. ‘What have you done to me?’ He said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!’ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.”

(Genesis12:17-20) NIV

 

The patience of the LORD God Almighty – the love of God in the Old Testament, the amazing theme Michael chose for these blogs! And it continues:

 

“So Abram went UP FROM EGYPT ( Indeed!) to the Negev, with his wife and everything that he had, and Lot went with him. ABRAM HAD BECOME VERY WEALTHY IN LIVESTOCK AND IN SILVER AND GOLD.”

(emphasis added)

(Genesis 13:1-2) NIV

 

He had become wealthy but at what cost! He left Egypt but, exactly as he had left Harran, he took all he had accumulated with him. Clearly, this marks a worsening scenario due to the horrific cost to Sarai for this ill-gotten wealth!

 

But the LORD WAS PATIENT. How patient? He took Abram back. He saw the core of Abram, who would do the following:

 

“From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. THERE ABRAM CALLED ON THE NAME OF THE LORD.”

(emphasis added)

Genesis 13:3-4) NIV

 

God did not give up on him and Abram continued to turn back to God, even after egregious sin. What did God see in Abram? He saw Abraham, the Father of Faith, down the years.

 

Michael points out,

 

“Imagine how many things God asks to be done, that could have been done, that could have been written about!”

 

We’ll never know, this side of eternity. With Abram and, so often, with us, God accepts partial obedience. He patiently waits out the detours. As stated earlier, we see God most clearly in our disobedience, as He grants grace or undeserved favor.

 

Who is this God? How well He is described, later in the Old Testament record:

 

“There is no one like God…who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.”

(Deuteronomy 33:26) NIV

 

This is a God of immeasurable love, patience and grace, a rescuer then and now.

 

POSTSCRIPT:

Next week, there will not be a blog, as I will be at a family reunion in Arkansas. It will be at the farm, purchased by my Grandfather White in 1917. This land has been continuously farmed by my family for over these 105 years. Most of my favorite childhood memories were made there and it will be a joy to return to it.