“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 12:13, NIV).
So God appears to Abram. Abram obeys. In fact the New Testament commends him. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.” (Hebrews 11:8–9, NIV). Now the very next event, rather than the expected blessing, was "famine." (Obedience doesn't always get what we want -- but it gives what we need!) So Abram went down to Egypt.
This was no small journey. There is an interesting motif in the Scriptures about "famine" and "going down to Egypt", isn't there? Abram has fear; and we must emphasize that he fear is not irrational. His fears are realized: the Pharaoh does take Sarai, his wife. His fear consisted of the idea that knowing the beauty of his wife, that it would be nothing for the Egyptians to kill him and take Sarai into their custody. So he tells a lie -- sort of . It wasn't false to say that she was his sister for that was a half-truth. (see Gen 20:12).
"Abram’s selfish actions imply that he thinks God is unable to protect him. Yet when the plan backfires, it is the Lord who rescues him (12:17)." [1] Abram's wrongdoing was not simply the "half-lie;" nor was it his unwillingness to trust God. Abram's sin was ultimately his selfish motive to save his own skin. “But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.” (Genesis 12:17, NIV). Abram had been called to be a blessing to all nations. But instead, because of selfish fear he became a curse. God's grace, though, is patently obvious. He dealt in grace to the Pharoah. He dealt in grace to Sarai. He dealt in grace to Abram. Why? Because of their great merit? No.
God was protecting His own interests. Within the family of Abram there was to be a Seed; a seed that would bring salvation to the world. God had to protect His self-interests. He had covenanted Himself to do that.
When mankind acts in self-centeredness, he brings destruction on others. When God acts in self-centeredness He brings blessings. The most loving and gracious thing that God can ever do is act according to His own self-glory. "Because God is unique as an all-glorious, totally self-sufficient Being, he must be for himself if he is to be for us. The rules of humility that belong to a creature cannot apply in the same way to its Creator." - John Piper [2]
Father, fear is a natural human response. You have created us toward a healthy fear -- a fear of You; and a fear of what is legitimately hurtful. But Lord today I see that a fear that is self-serving and a self-centered is a destructive fear. How many times in my life do I act in self-interest, failing to trust You? Forgive me Father for such an Edenic flashback. Living life protecting self when I am called to serve You and be a blessing to others is a great tragedy. Cause me to walk in faith today, not only thinking of my own interests, but the interests of others. Lead me by Your Spirit on level ground and teach me Your precepts that I might know You and love You.
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1. Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (73). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
2. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/god-is-not-an-idolator
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