Lies and More Lies
Chuck and Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever (Genesis 13:14–15).
While in Egypt, Abraham continued his downward spiral. As is so often the case with us, Abraham compounded his problems, getting deeper and deeper into trouble. After first running to Egypt, instead of waiting upon God for help and direction, Abraham proceeded to compromise his wife’s honor and, in the process, put all of their lives in jeopardy in order to achieve personal gain and possibly to save his own skin. He told Sarah:
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).
Sarah was so beautiful Abraham feared that the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh, might kill him in order to take Sarah as his own. Abraham’s ruse, however, was discovered, and even the pagan king of Egypt was indignant and outraged at Abraham’s dishonorable behavior. Abraham and Sarah left Egypt in disgrace.
Years later, Abraham, incredibly, tried the exact same ploy with Abimelech, king of Gerar. Once again, Abraham lied about his relationship with Sarah. Once again, he was caught in the act. Genesis 20:11–13 records Abraham’s string of excuses when an outraged King Abimelech caught him red-handed in this act of subterfuge.
Abraham first has the gall to blame Abimelech for the entire mess, actually excusing his own deceit by blaming it on the faithlessness of others:
I [Abraham] said to myself, There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife (Genesis 20:11).
Then Abraham tried to get himself off the hook on a technicality:
Besides, she really is my sister since she was “the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife (Genesis 20:12).
And, finally, he blamed his lie on God Himself:
And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, “This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, He is my brother” (Genesis 20:13).
Abraham is suggesting here that, since God called him on this journey in the first place, it was God who had put him in the position of having to make up all these lies just to “get by.” At no point, of course, does Abraham ever simply say, “I did wrong. I’m sorry.”
God had promised Abraham:
I will make you into a great nation... I will make your name great. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you (Genesis 12:2-3).
And Abraham had concluded, “If I don’t take personal control of this situation, I might die.”
How could this man of God sin so blatantly? Perhaps Abraham, having received God’s great promise about his destiny, nevertheless decided God needed “a little help” at the particularly rough spots they encountered along the way. However, through all of this, God did not give up on Abraham; indeed, it was God who alerted both the king of Egypt and King Abimelech (through curses of disease and barrenness, respectively) to Abraham’s lie. Abraham’s attempt to control his situation might well have resulted in the very thing he most feared—his own death—had not God intervened time and again to save him.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
The riches Abraham accumulated in Egypt proved costly and were clearly the spoils of
disbelief; they resulted in trouble and sorrow for his house and a blot upon his reputation. The wealth and lifestyle of Egypt, so tantalizing to Lot, soon became a source of conflict between Abraham and his nephew. Upon division of the land, Lot chose the property nearer the Jordan because it reminded him of Egypt (Genesis 13:10). Lot pitched his tents near Sodom and eventually decided to live within that wicked city (Genesis 13:12–13; 14:12). After Lot and Abraham separated, leaving Abraham finally alone in the very place God had wanted him all along, the Lord instructed Abraham:
Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever (Genesis 13:14–15).
Intimacy between this former pagan and God had at last been restored, though the consequences of his trek into Egypt were not yet over. (Adapted from Treasures of Faith, pages 88-90)
Friends, can you see Jesus in Abraham’s story? See the thread of redemption weaving in and out of Abraham’s life. God calls him out of darkness into His light. God promises Abraham will not travel this pathway alone, for God will walk beside him every step of the way, teaching Abraham how to worship the one true God. Abraham repeatedly stumbles. He does not avoid the consequences of sin, but God rescues him again and again. Likewise, our God calls us out of darkness into the light of Jesus. The promises of God to Abraham are ours as well. He will never leave us but will open our eyes to His glory, and in response to His bottomless love and total salvation, we learn how to display His glory by walking in obedience, knowing that when we fail, and we will, He will not turn away but hold us tightly in His grip.
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for giving us a glimpse of the bigger story of redemption and how You are still writing our stories.
More free resources for help hope & healing:
Help & Hope podcasts is a friend stepping into the private pain of listeners, acting as a
tourniquet to help stop the bleeding of a hemorrhaging heart. There are over 160 podcasts that cover a variety of topics. This week’s featured story is: Intentional Grieving with Sherry Kendrick
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Wednesday, 07 June 2023.
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