1/13

Genesis 12:13

¹³Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.

Abram (whose name will later become Abraham) had obeyed the voice of the LORD and left his home and people and followed the LORD'S leading into Canaan. There the LORD appeared to him and promised to give the land to his descendants. But then a famine came upon the land, and Abram went to Egypt where there was food. He knew the Egyptians prized beauty and he was afraid they would kill him and take his beautiful wife. He thought of a way to save himself from this threat by having his wife say she was his sister. It was what some would call a white lie. She was, after all, his half-sister (Genesis 20:12). Abram surely justified it in his mind, but it was deception. He risked the sanctity of his own marriage to save himself.

Just as Abram thought, the Pharaoh took Sarai and gave livestock to Abram. The LORD afflicted Pharaoh's household and he discerned that Abram had lied to him. Pharaoh took Sarai back to Abram and made him leave the country with the gifts he had given him. It looks like Abram lied and profited from it.

There are times when the LORD seems to graciously spare us from the consequences of our lack of faith. We may even seem to prosper from our sin. However, Genesis 13 tells of the problems that came from the abundance of his possessions. Financial prosperity is not always a blessing. It ended up dividing Abram's home and causing a great deal of heartache. We wonder how the story would have been different if Abram did not give in to fear and spoke the truth, trusting in the LORD who had appeared to him. Nevertheless, God did keep his promises to Abram and graciously met with him again.

Consider: No matter how wonderful our experiences with God have been, temptation can lead us to disobedience because of our lack of faith. Things are not always as they appear. Sin has consequences in this life.