Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (17.4)

The Book of Genesis

Genesis 12:10-20 - Read this Bible passage once through before referring to the notes below.

The Promised Blessing Endangered by Unbelief

v.10 The sojourn in Egypt was occasioned by a severe famine.  The verb “sojourn” indicates that Abram had no intention of abandoning the promise but was going to Egypt for a temporary stay while the famine lasted.  However, there are no indications in the account that faith was in operation – Abram seems to have made his decision without consulting God.  This is unfortunate because the LORD is perfectly capable and willing to take care of His own during such disasters (cf. Ps. 50:15).

v.11-12 Abram’s speech revealed the anxiety in his heart because of their sojourn to Egypt.  The knowledge of Sarai’s great beauty and the fear of the Egyptian’s desire for her presented to Abram with what seemed to be an overwhelming problem.  A closer examination of Abram’s words demonstrates them to be a speech of a man who is now walking by sight, not faith.  Based on his own observation and evaluation of Sarai’s beauty, he drew conclusions according to human logic and reasoning about how the Egyptians will react to her (“save thee alive” to wife) and to him (“kill me” for his wife).  These conclusions clearly were not the “best possible constructions” of others!

We can learn that when a man walks by sight, he often exercises his reasoning powers (“Therefore it shall come to pass”) on the basis on what is visible to him in the physical realm (“I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon”).  The conclusions (“they will kill me, but they will save thee alive”) that are drawn are often negative (i.e. the worst possible construction of others) and arbitrary (i.e. there is actual evidence that it will turn out this way).

v.13 The scheme Abram devised to overcome the problem was to lie – he wanted deceive the Egyptians into thinking that she was only his sister.  This deception is very subtle because Sarai was his half-sister (cf. 20:12)!  Hence, Abram could soothe his own conscience.  The motive for the scheme reveals Abram for the kind of man he is at this point – “and my soul shall live”.  Abram connived with his wife to speak half-truths, which may endanger his wife’s purity, to protect his own life (as he is convinced in his own mind that she will live).  But Abram’s concern, at least on the surface, was to protect their marriage (“for thy sake”) and the promise of God as well (“that it may be well with me,” cf. 12:2-3).

When we step into unbelief, our methods and schemes to overcome problems and difficulties in life is always questionable, and very often in error.  These acts of unbelief betrays the fact that we have taken our life and well-being into our own hands (i.e. we must now fend for ourselves), and the basic motivation is therefore selfish, although it can be mixed with some nobler reasons.  And these schemes very often turn out to be poor solutions – resolving some immediate problems but creating a lot of other greater difficulties!  When a man walks by faith, he does not need to plot and scheme, neither does he need to scratch and claw at some mountain of difficulties in his own cleverness because God will never fail the man who trusts in him (cf. 1 Ki. 8:56; Ps. 34:8-22).

v. 14-15 The Egyptians were indeed taken with Sarai’s beauty.  However, when the princes of Pharaoh “saw her and commended her before Pharoah”, she was whisked away to the royal harem immediately (“Pharaoh’s house”). The fact that powerful rulers would take women for themselves occurs elsewhere the Bible (cf. 1 Sam. 8:11-18; 2 Sam. 11) because powerful rulers tend to overstep God’s boundaries for marriage and take what they fancied.  In this case, however, Abram’s deception about his wife provided the Pharoah with the opportunity to take Sarai.  And any opportunity Abram thought he might have had as the brother of “fair” Sarai to negotiate and manipulate his way out of a tricky situation with ardent suitors was lost.

v.16 Abram’s scheme clearly backfired on him with the ironic twist that Pharoah “entreated Abram well for her sake” (cf. 12:13).  Not only did Abram live but he gained wealth in exchange for Sarai, his sister!  The list of Abram’s gain given is a stereotype, used to portray the very wealthy.  But the greater the wealth Abram gained, the more it serves to heightened the loss of Sarai he suffered.  The wealth becomes a continual painful reminder that Sarai was no longer in his household but in Pharoah’s harem.  Because Abram lacked the faith and courage to acknowledge his own wife, she was on her way to become someone else’s.

v.17 The intervention of the LORD must not be misunderstood as God’s approval of Abram’s actions.  The plagues which fell on Pharoah’s household was intended to protect God’s promise to Abram and leave Sarai untouched.  Divine intervention alone could deliver the wife of Abram from the mess Abram’s scheme of deception have created.  The LORD does right, even when His people fails to do right, for His name’s sake (cf. Ezek. 20:42-44).  There were times in the experience of the nation of Israel when God did not deliver His people from their predicaments, especially if their sin had been prolonged and rebellious (e.g. the exile from the land).  God at time may deliver His people, but he may not.  We must never take God’s gracious deliverance as an excuse for ungodly behaviour and sinful living.  In this situation, God delivered because His Word – the purity of Sarai for the sake of the promise (12:1-3 cf. 15:4; 17:19) – and His plan of redemption for all mankind was at stake.

v.18 The statement by Pharoah, “What is this that thou hast done…?”, reminds us of God’s rebuke in the garden of Eden (3:13).  In a further ironic twist, the rebuke for Abram’s unbelief came from Pharoah, whose righteousness Abram had a low opinion of (cf. 12:12).  The connection between God’s rebuke and the Pharoah’s is unmistakeable, which identifies Abram act of unbelief in Egypt with Adam’s in the garden.  Similarly, Abram’s deception was exposed as the very thing that he did wrong.

v.19 The words of Pharoah, “I might have taken her to me to wife” does not necessarily mean that Sarai has been defiled sexually.  Pharaoh simply stated that he was going to take her for a wife.  In a royal household, it would take time for a woman to come before the king (e.g. the 12 months of Esther’s preparation, cf. Es. 2:12).  Furthermore, the statement by Pharoah, “behold thy wife” strongly suggests that she was returned unharmed, as Abram’s wife.

v.20 Pharaoh had Abram and his possessions escorted to the border – the Egyptians expelled him.  Abram, his wife and all their company were dismissed from the land of Egypt in shame.  This very unheroic chapter in the life of Abram serves as a warning to all believers about the danger and shame of the consequences of walking by sight, of unbelief.