He said unto his wife

“And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.”

This is one of those parts of the Bible which gives us confidence that we are reading historical facts rather than the fanciful stories of some unknown person writing at an unknown date. Abraham is the greatest hero of the book of Genesis and here we see him scheming to protect himself rather than trusting God. He had left his father’s home and become a nomad. He moved forward, by God’s grace, even though he didn’t know the destination. After this the Lord appeared to him and he survived through a famine. However, suddenly he felt that he had to scheme and lie to protect himself. He knew that his wife was a beautiful woman and was afraid that the Egyptians would kill him so that they could take his wife. However, we read, later, that “he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15: 6) Every person who believes in the Lord will find that from time to time they get their focus away from the Lord and try to protect themselves. However, we are relying on the Lord and His goodness rather than on our own goodness. As long as we rely on the Lord we will be secure because His goodness lasts forever and He will never let us go. Abraham believed God and, in spite of his failure in hope, God was faithful. We serve the same God and He is still faithful today. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” (Prov 3: 5-7) Never the less, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2: 13)

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)