SIN FINDS YOU OUT…
Opening Prayer
Thank You, my Lord, that You never give up on me.
Read Genesis 12:10–20
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
With God, failure is never final. Is that reassuring?The land that was promised to Abram was a blessing and he built an altar to mark the place and remember the moment. But then the very blessing of the land became a problem when famine struck, and it stopped producing food (10). What was he to do, since above all else, the fulfillment of God’s other significant promises depended on his own survival? Escape to Egypt would have seemed like a sensible solution. Integrity is the quality of character that shows us to be ‘whole’ people of whom others would say, ‘What you see is what you get.’ Abram broke this integrity when he chose to ‘help’ fulfill the promises of God by twisting the truth (12,13).
This sordid episode ends tolerably well – but only when Abram’s foolishness is exposed and confronted by Pharaoh. God intervenes to bring this about, because even though Abram behaved rashly and with little faith, God continued to work His purposes out through His imperfect servant (17–20). This can be a sobering comfort to us when we fail too.
Apply
Do you try to push God’s promises and use your own wisdom to make things happen in your own time? Take whatever situation you are facing and give it to God now. Tell Him you trust His timing.
Closing prayer
Lord, thank You that You never give up on me, even when I behave as if I have given up on You. Thank You for drawing me back.
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