Lies will always catch you out

"What is this you have done to me?"           Genesis 12:18.  NKJV

Let's get to grips with the story line here:

'1 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.'   Genesis 12:1-3

Now, does this sound like God would allow someone to kill Abram? No! God had told him to move away from his homeland and head to new horizons in Canaan. As time went on, there was a severe famine and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there. All of a sudden, he became fearful of this powerful man - Pharaoh. He had heard so many stories about him and how he operated. He was frightened that Sarai would be taken into his house and he would be killed. He therefore, persuaded Sarai to lie and say that she was his sister, so that he would be safe and protected. To a degree, this was partly true, she was his half-sister (Genesis 20:12). But she was also his wife.

When they arrived in Egypt, as Abram had suspected, Sarai's beauty, even though she was 60, attracted the younger men, and she was taken into Pharaoh's house. Abram was treated very well for her sake and was blessed with sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants and camels. 

Pharaoh, after a short time, was plagued with condemnation over taking Sarai into his house and it was revealed to him that she was actually Abram's wife.
'What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, "She is my sister?" I might have taken her as my wife.'
This statement confirms that no sexual relations had taken place, yet. 

Abram was very fortunate. He received no punishment for his deceitfulness and as he left Pharaoh's country, he was allowed to keep everything he had been given.
Abram should have realised that if he was so special to God and blessed so much, that God would have protected him on his journey to Egypt. He would not have had to lie to protect himself. There was also no need to put Sarai's chastity at risk. But he didn't. It would appear that this lesson didn't go deep enough, as he would repeat this action again as we see in Genesis 20.

We need to trust in God. If we belong to Him then He is committed to keeping us safe, as we ask Him to each day. A lie is so deceitful and dangerous and can cause great distress and anguish. We need to remember to watch what comes out of our mouths. We can't confess that God is our protector one minute and then doubt Him and try to sort things out on our own, the next. It is a very unwise route to take. Also, we should never be tempted to persuade someone else to lie on our behalf. Doctors and medical staff face this quite often, where a family want them to hide the truth from the patient, to protect them. This is called collusion and can be a difficult time for those forced into it.
Finally, as a Christian, fear should have no part in our lives. God has said, 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  2 Timothy 1:7


Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

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