” ‘Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.’ ” Genesis 12:13 (NKJV)
So, Abram is traveling with his family through Egypt because there was a really bad famine. He’s over 75 years old at this point (Genesis 12:4). He’d been promised a son to carry on his family name; however, his wife hadn’t been able to conceive. She must have been very beautiful because Abram is concerned that he might be targeted to be killed so that Sarai would be available. So, he came up with this really bad idea and convinced Sarai to go along with the plan – that she was his sister. Well, it was a half-truth. She was his half-sister.
Maybe through love for her husband or some other reason, but Sarai went along with this plan. In fact, she was so beautiful that she attracted Pharoah’s attention and he wanted to add her to his household of “wives.” Abram was given lots of gifts from Pharoah (who thought he was giving the gifts to Sarai’s brother, not her husband).
God intervened and sent plagues to Pharoah’s household. Genesis doesn’t give all the details about how Pharoah determined that Sarai and Abram were the cause of the trouble in his household, but that’s what the Bible records. Pharoah sent Abram, Sarai and their household away.
What can I learn from this story of Sarai? First of all, it is never a good thing to tell even half-truths. Truth will eventually come to light and the outcome isn’t usually a good thing. Second, if God has made a definite promise (not a conditional promise), He will arrange circumstances so that His Word is fulfilled. At this point, Abram and Sarai still do not have a child, let alone a son to carry on Abram’s family name. Yet, God doesn’t forget His promises!
Listen to Nathan Taylor as he sings “Your Word Is True.”
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/6/24, 6:00 am