CRITICAL NOTES.—
Genesis 12:10. A famine in the land] The frequent famines are a peculiar characteristic of early times, and of uncivilised lands. Egypt as a rich and fruitful land was even then a refuge from famine, as it was in the history of Jacob (Lange). Egypt being annually watered by the overflow of the Nile, and not depending on rains for the crops, was the great grain-growing region, and corn could be found there when famine prevailed in the adjoining country (Jacobus).—
Genesis 12:11. He said unto Sarai] Thus to maintain the pretence that she was his sister was a settled matter between them.—A fair woman] Heb. “Fair of aspect” (Sept). “Of fair countenance.” “The original implies fairness of complexion, and one therefore likely to attract the attention of the darker coloured Egyptians” (Bush).—
Genesis 12:13. Say, I pray thee] Heb. “Say now”—a word not indicating time, but request and entreaty. This word is used with a similar meaning in English.—My soul shall live because of thee] Heb. napshi—a word often used for the person, or individual life. Here, the meaning evidently is, “My life shall be spared because of thee.”
Genesis 12:15. Pharaoh] Not a personal name, but a title common to all the kings of Egypt, like that of Cæsar among the Romans. And commended her before Pharaoh.] Modern travellers speak in a similar way of Oriental kings, who incorporate into their harems the beautiful women of their land in a perfectly arbitrary way” (Knobel.) “The recognition of Sarah’s beauty is more easily explained, if we take into view that the Egyptian women, although not so dark a complexion as the Nubians or Ethiopians, were yet of a darker shade than the Asiatics. The women of high rank were usually represented upon the monuments in lighter shades for the purpose of flattery” (Hengstenberg.)—
Genesis 12:16. Entreated Abram well for her sake] Heb., “Did good to Abram for her sake”—bestowed upon him many favours and gifts. Sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maid, servants, and she asses, and camels] For “she asses” the Septuagint has mules. “The presents are much the same as the items of the patriarchal wealth given elsewhere (e.g., Genesis 24:25; Genesis 33:15; Job 1:3; Job 42:12). It is to be observed that in these enumerations we nowhere find horses mentioned, though they were the pride of Egypt” (Alford).—
Genesis 12:17. Plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues] Heb., “Beat him with great strokes or blows.” We know not what was the nature of these chastisements, but they were evidently of such a nature as to guard Sarai from injury (Genesis 20:4; Genesis 20:6). Josephus says that the cause of these plagues was revealed to Pharaoh by the priests.—
Genesis 12:20. And they sent him away.] The term implies that he was provided with an honourable escort to ensure his safe departure from Egypt. “The original term is often used for that kind of sending or conveying away which is marked by peculiar tokens of honour and respect, as when a guest is accompanied at his departure to some distance by his host and a party of friends” (Bush).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Genesis 12:10-20
ABRAM IN EGYPT: THE TEMPTATIONS AND TRIALS OF A LIFE OF FAITH
Hitherto in the life of Abram we have seen nothing but implicit obedience and heroic faith. We have seen a man who put himself entirely in the hands of God for the direction and control of his whole earthly course and destiny. Now, we have the same man under the trial of great affliction and perplexity betraying a want of confidence in God, and having a distorted sense of what is true and right. Under trial Abram showed those weaknesses which are common to man. Faith—even in the case of the most renowned saints—is not exempted from those imperfections which cling to all other virtues and graces. The whole of the religious life of man is complicated by his moral position in this world. The terrible facts of man’s condition in this present life must be admitted. Divine grace has to work upon human souls tormented and distracted by many cares, tried by the temptations of the flesh and of the mind, and often in great perplexity, through the complications of human affairs, as to where the path of duty lies. The life of faith has many temptations and trials. Of these we may observe—
I. That they may arise from temporal calamities. Abram, who had hitherto lived in plenty, is now exposed to famine, and is in danger to lack and suffer hunger (Genesis 12:10). He is literally starved out of the land, and is forced to go down to Egypt for help. Famine is one of the rods of God, which He uses to punish the wicked and to correct the penitent. It was necessary that the character of Abram should be perfected by the trial of affliction, for there is a hope which only comes to us through the ancestry of tribulation, patience, and experience. Man must know by the bitter experiment how weak he is, and that if he reaches any noble end at all his success must be ascribed to Divine grace alone. Still, the trials arising from temporal calamities are, for the present, grievous.
1. They direct the whole care and attention of the mind to themselves. Abram is now obliged by the pressure of want to leave the land of his sojourn, and to endure the hardships of a second exile. He is forced to do that by hard necessity which he would not do by choice or prompted by the spirit of adventure. The great calamities of life absorb all a man’s care and attention. His whole energy is employed in seeking how he may deliver himself. Chiefest among these trials is the lack of daily bread. While this want is pressing upon a man his mind cannot suffer any other care. To make religion possible to man he must first of all live. His existence—however humble in some of its aspects—is the basis of all that is afterwards laid upon it. Hence in the Lord’s Prayer the petition for daily bread comes first in order. It is a terrible trial to be in want of those things which are necessary for the support of physical life. Under the oppression of such a calamity a man can think of little else besides his own pressing want.
2. They may suggest doubt in the Divine providence. We can imagine a faith so strong as never to be disturbed by any doubt. A saint of God may say, in some exalted moments of spiritual life, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” But, considering what human nature is, great calamities may for awhile cloud and obscure the sense of God’s loving providence. There are times when it may be difficult for a man to realise that he has a Father above who knows his wants and cares for him. To Abram the visitation of famine would be peculiarly trying. He was in danger to lack and suffer hunger in the land of promise and plenty. It would be but natural that he should be tempted to regret that ever he had left his native land, and that he should call in question the Divine origin of the command that bade him encounter the trials and dangers of a wandering life. There was room for the temptation, though Abram sinned not in this. He still retained his hold upon the promise.
3. They serve to give us an exaggerated estimate of past trials. It would seem as if all calamities were now rushing upon Abram. Past trials would come back to him and renew his grief—the friends he had lost, the delay of promised good, the dangers of his pilgrimage. In great troubles it often happens that all the evils and sufferings of former years revive and oppress our souls by their multitude. Abram endured the trial of all his sorrows rushing upon him at once. But a life of faith has other temptations and trials.
II. They may arise from the difficulty of applying the principles of religion to the moral problems of life. Abram knew that his wife’s beauty would expose her to danger in the court of Pharaoh, and that his own life might be sacrificed should it stand in the way of the foul desires of that licentious monarch. Therefore, to save himself, he has recourse to falsehood. He did not tell a full-orbed lie, but concealed a portion of the truth. His sin might be described as dissimulation, or, at least, equivocation. Though Abram was an example to all believers in the strength of his faith, yet he was not such an example in the application of it to the affairs of life. In our human experience complications often arise which make it difficult for us to act with due regard to the great principles of truth and righteousness. In applying such principles to special cases we are in danger of committing grievous moral errors.
1. We may be tempted to have recourse to false prudence and expediency. In the affairs of this life there is often a certain reticence imposed upon us which we can maintain consistently with our devotion to truth. Society drives us to the necessity of using many expedients of prudence. But there is a false prudence and expediency. We have no right to save ourselves by the sacrifice of truth. We should be true at all hazards. Abram evaded the truth, and acted as a man of the world, and not as a follower of righteousness. The path of duty often lies where we require much practical wisdom to enable us to walk sure-footedly. Faith may be strong in us, and yet we (like Abram) may fail in applying the principles of it to special cases. Our constant temptation is to use doubtful means in order to save our own interests.
2. We are exposed to the sin of tempting Providence. It is probable that Abram regarded the course he adopted in the light of a provisional expediency, rendered necessary by the perplexing situation; and that he hoped that God would, in some way at last, extricate him from the difficulty. He had grievously entangled himself, and he looked to Divine Providence to untie the knot. But we have no right thus to tempt Providence by departing from the clear path of duty, and then expecting the evils we have thus brought upon ourselves shall be rectified. There are complications in our human life in which we are exposed to this sin of presumption. If we acknowledge God in all our ways, we may expect that He will direct us; but if we use our own wisdom, doubtful and imperfect at best, and often sinful, it is vain to hope that He will adjust all our difficulties.
3. We may be tempted to preserve one good at the expense of another. Abram had faith that whatever difficulties might arise in the future God would fulfil His promise. He knew that the promise was intimately connected with himself. The word which God had given him implied the preservation of his own life. With a devotion commendable in itself, he fastens upon the promise as a desired good, and he is ready to sacrifice any other good in order that the promise might stand firm. He will preserve the blessing even at the expense of the honour of his wife. Such are some of the moral perplexities of human life. They expose us to the temptation of casting away one virtue in order to preserve another.
4. They may tempt us to hesitate concerning what is right. When we have clear principles of duty to guide us there ought to be no hesitation. Conscience should be obeyed at once. We should do what the spiritual instincts of the soul determine to be right, and leave the result to God. If we perform our duty God will accomplish His purpose, no matter what stands in the way. But Abram hesitates when he had clear light on his duty, and devises the expedient of a man of this world but quite unworthy of a man of faith. It is dangerous to hesitate when our moral obligation is clear.
III. They are made the means of impressing valuable moral lessons. Abram would learn many lessons from his bitter experience in Egypt.
1. That man cannot by his own strength and wisdom maintain and direct his own life. Abram thought that he had acted prudently—that his own wisdom was sufficient. But he found that man must humbly depend upon God, and mistrust himself, if he would be preserved in the safe path of duty. Faith is not exempt from that imperfection which belongs to every other virtue exercised by weak and erring man. Our own wisdom will only bring us to confusion; God must direct our steps, else we can reach no worthy end. Abram learnt also—
2. That adverse circumstances may be made to work for good. Abram’s device had failed. The folly of his conduct appeared to his own confusion. Yet God so controlled events that they worked for his good. It is necessary sometimes that men learn wisdom by many and grievous failures. In the experiments of science, failures are often so much teaching. The labour of trial and investigation is not really lost. Important lessons are learned, and the mind is put upon the track of the truth. Our moral failures may serve to correct our errors and to deepen our sense of duty. It is the glory of God to bring good out of evil. Abram rose from the evil in which he had plunged himself with a stronger faith in God and His law. This was clear spiritual gain, though obtained by a painful and humiliating process.
4. That a good man may fail in his chief virtue. Moses was the meekest man of all the men that dwelt upon the face of the earth, yet it was he who spake unadvisedly with his lips. St. Peter, remarkable for his boldness, yet sinned through fear. Solomon, the wise, commits folly. Abram, the man of faith, by his dissimulation shows timid distrust in God; thinking that the Divine promise cannot be accomplished unless aided by the expedients of his wisdom.
IV. God is able to deliver from them all. When a man has the habitual intention of pleasing God, and when his faith is real and heart sincere, the lapses of his infirmity are graciously pardoned. God makes for him a way of escape, and grants the comfort of fresh blessings, and an improved faith. But,
1. God often delivers His people in a manner humiliating to themselves. “And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way” (Genesis 12:18-19). Here is the man of God rebuked by the man of the world—the Father of the Faithful taking a lesson in morality from a heathen! Pharaoh felt that he had been grievously wronged. Abram was taught the humiliating fact that his falsehood was unnecessary, and that had he adhered to the strict truth the difficulty would not have arisen. It is humiliating to be convicted of folly by men who are ignorant of the reality of religion.
2. God delivers them by a way by which His own name is glorified in the sight of men. The king saw that God had care of His people, that there was a sacred charm about their lives, and that their errors did not deprive them of the attentions of His love. He was taught by Divine judgment to respect the man of faith. God is careful of the honour of His servants, and glorifies His name in them in the sight of all men. Pharaoh might blame Abram, but he must have felt the majesty of the God whom Abram served.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Genesis 12:10. Here the patriarch meets a sore trial of his faith. A stranger in a strange land, having removed from his comfortable home and loving kindred, he finds himself in the midst of famine, and in danger of starvation. No corn trade as yet existed between these countries. He therefore determined to leave the land of promise for the land of Egypt, lest he might perish of want.… Egypt being annually watered by the overflowing of the Nile, and not depending on rains for the crops, was the great grain-growing region, and corn could be found there when famine prevailed in the adjoining country (ch. Genesis 42:1-2).—(Jacobus.)
Famine is the frequent scourge of uncivilised lands. The cultivation of man’s intellectual and moral powers is necessary to the stability, comfort, and well-being of society. God has willed it that the powers and the happiness of mankind are to be enlarged by the struggle with natural difficulties.
The trials of God’s people seldom come alone: one is the prelude to another.
We are reminded by the afflictions of our present state that this life is but a pilgrimage.
Abram goes down to Egypt only to sojourn there for a time, until the trouble be overpast. He still keeps his eye upon the Land of Promise, and his heart moves towards it. In all our wanderings here our soul should have a fixed centre.
As if all this were not enough to try him, even daily bread begins to fail him. He has hitherto been steadfast, he has “builded an altar” wherever he has dwelt, and has “called on the name of the Lord.” He has at all hazards avowed his faith, and sought to glorify his God; but it seems as if, from very necessity, he must at last abandon the fruitless undertaking. He is literally starved out of the land. Why, then, should he not go back to his ancient dwelling-place, and try what good he can do, remaining quietly at home? There he would find peace and plenty; and he might seem to have a good reason, or at least a sufficient excuse for retracing his steps. But he is still faithful, and rather than draw back he will even encounter yet greater dangers. He will go down into Egypt for a time.—(Candlish.)
It was a grievous trial to Abram to be called of God to a high destiny, and then to find himself plunged into all the horrors of a famine. In more than one circumstance of his life did the Father of the Faithful believe against all human hope.
Genesis 12:11. Abram cannot draw nigh to Egypt without some misgiving as to his moral and social safety. He seems to have been a stranger to such a feeling before, betraying no apprehension in all his journeyings from Ur to Haran, and from Haran through the land of Canaan. He had hitherto acted upon the command and direction of God, and therefore was supported by the consciousness of the Divine approval. Now, he relies upon his own wisdom, pursues his own course, and, therefore, is greatly left to his own resources, which prove to be so vain. Besides, the people among whom he wandered were broken up into many small and scattered tribes, against whose violence he had sufficient resources to protect himself. But now, in approaching Egypt, he is coming into a land where there is a compact society, fixed institutions, and a strong government. Abram might well begin to fear lest he might not be able to contend with the difficulties which he foresaw would arise from dwelling in an altogether different condition of society. Civilisation has many perils, as well as advantages for the children of faith.
Escaping one trouble he falls into another. The temptation of Satan in the wilderness was practised upon the patriarch, as it was afterward upon the Messiah himself—taking advantage of His hunger. Did he forget that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God?” Alas, Egypt was not the land that his covenant God had showed him; and God, his God, could command the stones of Judea, and they would become bread. Now, therefore, as he started upon his own counsel, he is cast upon his own further device. Plainly he is in perplexity, and feels that he is not under the same guardianship, nor travelling by the same Divine warrant as before. How much better to trust in God than to lean to our own understanding. How secure Abram might have been under the Divine guaranty and guidance that all that he needed would be supplied to him in the Land of Promise.—(Jacobus.)
There are difficult situations in human life in which the saints of God find that their old nature revives.
Beauty is a snare for them that have it, and them that love it.—(Hughes.)
“A fair woman.” The term signifies brightness, and refers probably to a fair, clear complexion. Though she was now sixty-five years old, yet this was only as about twenty-five or thirty in our day; and she had not had even the common hardships of a married life; and besides, she was of a character which would shine out in the countenance, full of energy and vivacity. Sarah’s beauty was now the ground of Abram’s fear among such strangers as the Egyptians, speaking a different tongue, and having a powerful, despotic monarch.—(Jacobus.)
In all the changes of our life it is well for us to reflect beforehand what difficulties may await us; not that we may rely upon a carnal policy, but rather upon that grace which will be graduated to our necessity.
Genesis 12:12. Whether the apprehension here expressed was grounded upon anything more than a knowledge of the general evil promptings of our corrupt nature, particularly in a base state of society, is uncertain. This alone would, doubtless, form a sufficient warrant for his fears, and the result shows that they were well founded. Still, he might have had special reasons for such an anticipation, arising from the known character and habits of the people, of which we are ignorant. The opinion expressed by him gives the Egyptians credit for being less scrupulous about murder than adultery, which shows their distorted views of right and wrong, and the fearful influence that unhallowed passions exert upon our moral judgments.—(Bush.)
As Abram went down to Egypt of his own accord, and not by the command of God, so he must have recourse of his own devices to deliver him from those dangers into which he is about to plunge himself by his wilfulness.
When once we forsake the counsel of God we are soon convinced of our own weakness.
Abram knew well what he might expect from a people to whom God had not made Himself known.
Cruelty follows hard upon lust.
Fear may overtake believers and weaken faith in times of danger.—(Hughes.)
Genesis 12:13. The transgression of Abram was the saying that Sarah was his sister when she was his wife, and the saying was not distinctly false, but rather an evasion, for she was his half-sister. Now we do not say that every evasion is wrong. For example, when an impertinent question is asked respecting family circumstances or religious feelings, it is not necessary that we should tell all. There are cases, therefore, in which we may tell the truth, though not the whole truth. It was even so with our Redeemer, for when asked by the Pharisees why He made Himself the Son of God, He would give them no answer. But Abram’s evasion was nothing of this kind, it was a deception. It was not keeping back part of the truth when the questioner has no right to ask; it was false expediency. It was not the selection of the imperfect because the perfect could not be had; but it was the choice between telling the truth and saving his own life.… Man must not stop to ask himself which is best, right or wrong; he must do right. It was on this principle that the blessed martyrs of old died for the truth; it was but an evasion that was asked of them, but they felt that there was no comparison between the right and the wrong in the matter.… There is but one apology that can be offered for Abraham, and that is the low standard of the age in which he lived; it must be remembered that he was not a Christian.—(Robertson.)
Abram may have been tempted to employ this device out of respect to the promise of God, for the fulfilment of which it was necessary that his own life should be preserved. But no man has occasion to be anxious as to how God will accomplish His word. We must in all doubtful cases act upon the clear principles of moral duty, and leave God to find out the way of deliverance.
The grandest heroism is to trust in God. Carnal policy betrays fear and alarm and makes a man a coward.
Abram, as he forsook God’s direction, proceeded to doubt His power to spread a table in the wilderness. The history of his children shows that they were prone to the same fault (Numbers 11:14).
It may seem strange that the Scripture contains no express disapprobation of the conduct of Abram. But its manner is to affirm the great principles of moral truth, on suitable occasions, with great clearness and decision; and, in ordinary circumstances, simply to record the actions of its characters with faithfulness, leaving it to the reader’s intelligence to mark their moral quality. And God’s mode of teaching the individual is to implant a moral principle in the heart, which, after many struggles with temptation, will eventually root out all lingering aberrations.—(Murphy.)
The path of duty is always straight, lying clear and even before us; when we depart from that, we wander into crooked ways which grow worse as we proceed.
The true heroism is to hold fast our integrity, to resist all temptations to save ourselves at the cost of the truth. He who casts himself entirely upon God has no cause to fear. The believer’s motto should be, “Jehovah-jireh”—the Lord will provide.
Genesis 12:14. What we have to fear from the hands of the ungodly we are likely to see verified.
Sarai was sixty-five years of age (Genesis 17:17) at the time when Abram describes her as a woman fair to look upon. But we are to remember that beauty does not vanish with middle age; that Sarai’s age corresponds with twenty-five or thirty years in modern times, as she was at this time not half the age to which men were then wont to live; that she had no family or other hardship to bring on premature decay, and that the women of Egypt were far from being distinguished for regularity of feature, or freshness of complexion.—(Murphy.)
Genesis 12:14. The fears of those who mistrust God, and lean upon their own wisdom, are sometimes realised.
The most precious gifts of God may prove a snare.
Genesis 12:15. This fact is strikingly in accordance with the manner of the Egyptian court, and shows the author’s knowledge of Egyptian customs. The formalities were most strict and rigorous. “No slave durst approach the consecrated priestly person of the Pharaohs, but the court and the royal suite consisted of the sons of the principal priests.”—Diod. Sic. i. 70. They extolled her beauty that so they might minister to the indulgence of the king, and then their interest in his carnal gratification. And upon such representations of her charms the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. How bitterly Abram must now have bewailed the complications into which he had brought himself. True, his object was so far accomplished that his life was spared; but what a life when bereft now of his wife, and made to think only of the threatened disgrace and ruin which stared her and himself in the face! How must he have grieved to see her led away from him to the harem of the Egyptian monarch, from whose iron will he had no appeal. (Jacobus.)
In all ages courtiers have been notorious for ministering to the evil passions of their royal masters. Few men have had the power to withstand the temptations which belong to the possession of unlimited authority.
Of course, Abram could not have been a consenting party in this transaction; and yet it does not appear that the king intended to act, or was considered to act, oppressively in taking away a man’s sister without thinking his consent necessary. The passage is illustrated by the privilege which royal personages still exercise in Persia, and other countries of the East, of claiming for their harem the unmarried sister or daughter of any of their subjects. This exercise of authority is rarely, if ever, questioned or resisted, however repugnant it may be to the father or brother. He may regret, as an inevitable misfortune, that his relative ever attracted the royal notice; but, since it has happened, he does not hesitate to admit the right which royalty possesses. When Abimelech, king of Gerar, acted in a similar manner towards Sarah, taking her away from her supposed brother (Genesis 20:2), it is admitted that he did so “in the integrity of his heart and innocency of his hands,” which allows his right to act as he did, if Sarah had been no more than Abraham’s sister.—(Pictorial Bible.)
Sarah is a type of the Church, and the favour of kings has often proved a snare to her.
Augustine traces, at considerable length, the dispensational fulfilment of this history. In this view Sarah is the Church, or New Covenant body, which, in its way to the land of rest, gets into the world’s house for awhile, but is not suffered to be defiled there.—(Jukes: Types of Genesis.)
Genesis 12:16. There are times when our sins and faults seem to be rewarded by increased worldly prosperity. But there abides the consciousness of some deep loss for which the world can give us no compensation. Abram’s possessions were increased, but he loses that which to him was more precious than wealth.
When Abram arrived there, Egypt was under the rule of the shepherd kings, whose government had its capital in the Delta, or northerly portion, where he entered. These presents are such as one pastoral chief would present to another. It is plain that only such presents must have been made to Abram as were particularly valuable to him as a nomad. Mules and camels appear on the ancient monuments of Egypt. But all these princely gifts could not appease the honest grief of such an one as Abram for the shameful removal from him of his beloved Sarah. And the presents he durst not refuse lest he perish.—(Jacobus.)
In this time of trial Abram must have reflected upon the evil which he had done by his prevarication. We may suppose that this was for him a time of repentance, and prayer that God would interpose to deliver him.
There are times when the kindness and good-will of the world may become a source of great perplexity to the Church.
Genesis 12:17. God is faithful to His elect, and interposes to rescue them, even from the evils which they bring upon themselves.
Men who oppress and afflict the Church shall at length be overtaken by Divine justice. God breaks the rod by which he chastises His elect.
The judgments of God are often sent beforehand, to prevent further sin. Blessed is he who learns their solemn lesson and intent before it is too late.
The mode of the Divine interference is suited to have the desired effect on the parties concerned. As Pharaoh is punished we conclude that he was guilty in the eye of heaven in this matter. He committed a breach of hospitality by invading the private abode of the stranger. He further infringed the law of equity between man and man in the most tender point. A deed of ruthless self-will, also, is often rendered more heinous by a blameable inattention to the character or position of him who is wronged. So it was with Pharaoh. Abram was a man of blameless life and inoffensive manners. He was, moreover, the chosen and special servant of the most High God. Pharaoh, however, does not condescend to inquire who the stranger is whom he is about to wrong; and is thus unwittingly involved in an aggravated crime. But the hand of the Almighty brings even tyrants to their senses.—(Murphy.)
The professors of the true faith may sometimes commit folly, and act unworthy of their calling, yet will God teach men to respect them.
Though Abram was far from his home and in great perplexity, God was still caring for him and working out his deliverance.
And his house. They who minister to the sin of others are involved in the same condemnation and exposed to the same judgments. God has a controversy with the families of the wicked.
Kings and their people have often been reproved and punished for their treatment of the Church of God. (Psalms 105:12-14).)
Genesis 12:18. God had reproved Pharaoh, and now Pharaoh reproves Abram. It is a sad thing that saints should do that for which they should justly fall under the reproof of the wicked. (Trapp.)
Pharaoh throws the blame entirely upon Abram, and forgets how much he himself had done to deserve the punishment that fell upon him. We may think ourselves merely the victims of others’ sins, but when Divine judgments touch us, we may be sure that there is some evil in ourselves which needs correction.
Even a saint of God, when he is worthy of blame, may receive direction and reproof from the children of this world. The position may be humiliating, yet the lesson must not be despised on account of the quarter whence it comes. Heathen morality has some valuable teaching which would put to shame many who profess the true religion.
The very manner of the deliverance is a rebuke to Abram himself. The man of whom he thought so ill has fairly the advantage of him, both in reproving and in requiting him. The dignified remonstrance of Pharaoh, speaking as one wronged—and in this Particular instance, whatever might be his own sin, he was wronged, by the distrust which had been felt and the deceit which had been practised—is fitted deeply to humble the patriarch. And when he saw the king so reasonable now—nay, when he even learned that if he had been told the truth at first he would have been as reasonable then—well might the patriarch be ashamed of his unnecessary and unprofitable falsehood, his weak and well-nigh fatal act of unbelief. Had he trusted God and dealt justly by Pharaoh at the beginning, it might have fared better both with him and with Sarai. An honest testimony might have told even upon one whom they regarded as beyond the reach of truth and righteousness. Still, as it was, God made the fall of His servant an occasion of good. He glorified Himself in the eyes of Pharaoh and his court.—(Candlish.)
Genesis 12:19. The plagues of God lead some worldly men to consider the cause wherefore they are sent.
Words are not mere sounds which die away and are forgotten; they often live in the actions of others, to save or to destroy.
It is sad when the man of the world has to reprove the saint of God for his lack of open honesty and truth. Many professing Christians might be put to shame by the purer morality of those who are outside.
There are some sins from which the children of this world, who are not wholly abandoned to vice, shrink as from something horrible, the very possibility of which in their own case alarms them.
The justice of restitution, when the wrong is felt and known, is apparent to those who follow the light of natural religion.
The judgments of God upon Pharaoh quickened his conscience so that it answered to the eternal law of right.
The words, “So might I,” etc., might also be rendered, And I took her to me to wife. This Pharaoh did, although, as we may fairly supply from the subsequent account (compare Genesis 12:17 with ch. Genesis 20:6) that he was providentially withheld from consummating his marriage with her.—(Alford.)
Genesis 12:20. Pharaoh now gives commandment to his men—his servants—officials who could be charged with this business. And they sent him away. The Septuagint reads, to send him away—as though this was what the men were commanded to do—to send forth Abram and his household from the country. The term implies an honourable escort, for his safe departure from Egypt with all that he had—cattle, goods, etc. (Genesis 12:16).—(Jacobus.)
Abram’s experience in Egypt was—
1. A means of reproving him for his sins. He left, without sufficient deliberation, the land which God had showed him. He showed want of confidence in the provisions of God in the time of distress, and resorted to a worldly policy to aid him in the time of perplexity. His experience was—
2. A strange discipline, by which he was brought back to the Land of Promise. Through such painful and weary paths does God often bring His people to the land of their inheritance.
Thus was Abram delivered; thus even now are individuals freed; thus shall the poor captive Church escape at last. The world will not have us among them because our principles judge them, and God will not have us there. In this one thing God and the world agree. Both, at last, say to us, “Behold thy wife; take her and go thy way.”—(Jukes: Types of Genesis.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Abram and History! Genesis 12:1-20.
(1) The unchanged habits of the East, says Stanley, render it a kind of living Pompeii. The outward appearances, which, in the case of the Greeks and Romans, we knew only through art and writing—through marble, fresco, and parchment—in the case of Jewish history we know through the forms of actual men living and moving before us, wearing the same garb, speaking almost the same language as Abram and the patriarchs.
(2) From Ur of the Chaldees, remarks Landels, comes forth, in one sense, the germ of all that is good throughout succeeding generations. His appearance, like that of some great luminary in the heavens, marks an epoch in the world’s history. A stream of influence flows from him—not self-originated, but deriving its existence from those heaven-clouds of Divine dew of blessing resting upon this lofty summit of his soul.
(3) Widening as it flows, and promoting, in spite of the occasional checks and hindrances it meets with, spiritual life and health, that stream is vastly more deserving of exploration and research than the streams of the Lualaba and Niger, or the sources of the Nile and Zambesi. Such exploration and research will be productive of incalculable benefit to those who engage therein with right motives and aspirations.
“Truth springs like harvest from the well-ploughed field,
And the soul feels it has not searched in vain.”—Bonar.
Egypt! Genesis 12:10. In Syria the harvests depend upon the regular seasons of rain. When these rains do not fall a famine follows. Such famines are, as they were, of frequent occurrence in Syria. While Abraham journeyed as a pilgrim-patriarch from Moreh to Hai and Bethel a famine arose, which forced him southwards to Egypt. It was then the great garden-field of the East, and was properly limited to that portion of Africa watered by the Nile. The periodical overflowings of this river made Egypt exceedingly fertile, so that there was generally plenty there when Syria and other eastern countries were passing through all the horrors of famine. Of that plenty Abram heard. He must also have heard of Egypt’s king, the first and most powerful of those “shepherd-kings” immortalised in history as such, because they were foreigners, supposed to have belonged to some of the powerful pastoral nations who kept flocks and made wars.
“Monarchs, the powerful and the strong,
Famous in history and in song
Of olden time.”—Longfellow.
Christian Character! Genesis 12:11-13.
(1) Seaweed plants, which live near the surface of the water, are green, whereas those in lower beds of the sea assume deeper shades of rich olive, and down in the depths still below, far removed from worldly glare, and where no human eye can penetrate, these flowers of ocean are clothed with hues of splendour.
(2) Abram’s surface qualities do not look so very attractive, mingling as they do with human defect. But the deeper down we gaze into the moral depths of his being, the fairer are the flowers blooming there. Gazing into the clear tranquil depths of Abram’s spirit, far removed from worldly glare or natural discernment, we behold richly-coloured graces and virtues.
“On all things created remaineth the half-effaced signature of God,
Somewhat of fair and good, though blotted by the finger of corruption.”
Faith and Fear! Genesis 12:12-20.
(1) “That portion of the fortifications is naturally so strong and isolated that we need not fear the besiegers there; let us look to the weak points in our defence, and place strong bodies of troops for their protection.” Such was the governor’s counsel to his subalterns. But the enemy had a subtle and far-seeing leader, who, anticipating such a course on the part of the garrison, actually assailed the strongest—because most unguarded—point of the citadel. The result was as the besieging general calculated upon. They found few soldiers; these few were speedily overcome, and the stronghold captured.
(2) Abraham’s faith was his strongest point. The enemy of souls assailed it, as in reality the weakest; and the fortress of piety and trust was captured. The “Man-soul of Abram” fell into Satan’s hands for the time. Had not the overruling providence of God made a way of escape to Abraham, he would assuredly have been hopelessly enslaved. But as the “Friend of God,” he was delivered out of the snare of the fowler and led back to Bethel.
(3) It was this fear which led an eminent leader of the Early Reformation to conceal his union with the primitive faith, until the providence of God interposed to save him from the moral ruin which would have inevitably followed, as in the case of Abram. And how often God in mercy thus providentially interferes when Christians are tempted to evade the truth of their union with the Church of the living God!
“My footsteps seem to slide!” “Child, only raise
Thine eye to Me, then in these slippery ways
I will hold up thy goings; thou shalt praise
Me for each step above.”
Sarah’s Beauty! Genesis 12:14. The Talmud relates that on approaching Egypt Abram locked up Sarah in a chest. This chest aroused the suspicion of the Custom-house officer, who suspected smuggled clothes. On Abram at once consenting to pay tribute on clothes, the collector began to think that the contents might be silk. Abram was willing to pay the custom upon the finest silk, which led the officer to ask for custom upon gold. Still the traveller was quite ready to tender the tribute upon gold. This led the tribute-taker to demand whether the box contained “pearls;” but Abram was still willing to pay the toll for jewels. Puzzled by the conduct of Abram, the officer requested that the box should be opened, “whereupon the whole land of Egypt was illumined by the lustre of Sarah’s beauty—far exceeding even that of pearls.”
“Alas! that aught so fair could lead astray
Man’s wavering foot from duty’s heav’nward way.”—Beresford.
Divine Dealing! Genesis 12:20.
(1) “At the court of Pharaoh,” remarks Robertson, “Abram gained two of the most useful lessons of his life. He learnt that it was not in man that walketh to direct his steps. But he also learnt that all things work together for good to them that love God, and that it is the glory of God to bring good out of evil.”
(2) Luther said that “temptation and tribulation were a good seminary for Christian scholars.” Abram came back from Egypt very rich in cattle, richer still more in a deepened faith in God and His law. Both the temporal and moral wealth were under the guidance and governance of the Good Providence of God.
(3) Shall we, then, sin that grace may abound? Shall we fall, like Abram, that treasures of grace may be ours? Shall we fall like David, that priceless jewels of truth may fall to our lot? Shall we forswear, like Peter, that the unsearchable riches of Christ may be more fully our portion? Let it not be so. How shall we, who are freed from sin, live any longer therein?
(4) The broken limb, when re-set by the skilful and kind surgeon, may prove stronger than before it is broken; but because of this the restored man does not go about breaking every one of his limbs and bones. That were a dangerous experiment. He is content that the broken limb should be stronger, without desiring to have his other limbs broken in the hope of their acquiring a similar increase of strength.
“Providence is dark in its permissions; yet one day, when all is known,
The universe of reason shall acknowledge how just and good were they.”—Tupper.