Lost Courage

Introduction

One of the things that I really like about the Bible is its honesty about the flaws as well as the strengths of characters. Oftentimes, people in the Bible are revealed as real life people—people who are trying and struggling but we are allowed to see their flaws, their failures, and their faithlessness. Abram is such a character. In Genesis 12:1-9, God calls Abram to go to a new land and with great faith, Abram leaves. Before we get into the text, I would like to make a very quick point about the great faith of Abram. He was indeed a man of great faith. And we compare ourselves to him and believe that we could never be like him in his level of faith. I would suggest to you that Abram has ordinary faith and that it is not only possible but that we have Abram like faith. Think about the comparison. God called Abram to go to a land that he did not know and to live in this world as one who was a stranger and foreigner. In the same way, God has called us to go to a land that we do not know and to live in this world as strangers and foreigners. It takes the same type of faith that Abram had to live as Christian.

In 12:10-20, Abram demonstrates the very human side of trying to live for God. The man of great faith becomes a man of the immediate. The man who was called to look beyond what he could see, only saw what was in front of him and did not remain focused on God’s call. It is a sad story. While it is easy for us to criticize Abram and his lack of faith, the story is also designed to tell us something about God. When we understand what the text says about God then we are better able to understand the point it makes for us. Just as Abram’s story about his call is our story, so this episode reflects similar situations in our own lives. But this story also reminds us that God is still at work. Let’s be encouraged.

Review and Catastrophe

After God’s call, a tough time came. And when times get hard, Abram begins to look for solutions. The Bible says the famine is severe. One day drifts into another and there is no rain. His livestock are beginning to show the results of little food. His family is finding it difficult to even subsist on the little bit of food he can find. Abram must feed a large group. And there isn’t enough food. The time eventually comes when even if it did rain, it would be too late to do any good. Abram like all of us is forced to consider what it is going to take to survive.

Throughout this section there is no mention of a vision or discussion with God. Abram is no different from us. “Didn’t you promise to take care of me?” he might think. Food and water are necessities. “I gave up all to follow you,” he might bitterly think. “Where is God in my hour of need,” he longingly hopes. God is silent. The wells dry up. The grass dies. The ground is parched. Abram stands in the heat of the sun with dust dried in his beard and he knows that he can’t hang on much longer before he will perish. And God is silent. Abram is real. He is a man who like us struggles with difficulties. But what we see is that Abram makes no attempt to seek an answer from God. We see him making a series of conscious choices to survive. Abram is not trying to preserve his family as we shall see in a few moments; he is trying to survive.

Even with Abram like faith we face difficulties. But in those difficulties we wonder why God remains silent in the face of trying circumstances. This famine is a test for Abram. There are times in our lives in which we will be tested. Will we panic? Will we strike out on our own? Will we wait for God to act? It is usually easier for us to read about another person’s difficulties and know exactly how we would handle it. It is something else to be in the middle of despair and demonstrate faith. Staying and allowing God to work is hard. Refusing to panic and seek the quick fix is difficult. Faith demands that we not give up.

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

Abram leaves Canaan to go to Egypt. There is no indication that God approves or disapproves. We need to notice that in verse 4, Abram moves because God told him to. In verse 10, Abram moves because he wants to move. The difference may or may not be significant. But the point mustn’t be lost. We should make sure that we explore all of God’s possibilities before we launch out. Abram is focusing on survival. He wants to live. He isn’t ready to die. This intense desire to survive is seen as they approach the Egyptian border. Abram is 75. Sarah is 65. She is still a good looking woman. She uses Oil of Delay. Abram instructs her to lie about their relationship. Sarah is to tell the officials that they are related by blood rather than by marriage. Why?

Verse 13 explains very well. Abram’s reasoning is selfish. Tell these lies so that I will be treated well. If Sarah is seen as his sister, then they will pay him for her. Abram already has an idea that the officials will be interested in his wife as a possible companion. Might as well get something for her. Second, tell the lies so that I will not be killed. Let’s make sure that we have the proper picture. Abram is focused on surviving. He wants to survive even if it means leaving the area God has shown him. He wants to survive even if his wife is taken from him. He wants to survive at all costs. Abram is willing to give up his wife in order to survive. He is willing for her to become another man’s wife in order to survive. And in exchange for Sarah, Abram is well paid.

Abram exchanged his wife for goats. And he exchanged a promise from God for the immediate. When Abram gave up Sarah, he gave up the promise. When we lose our focus in life, we exchange God’s desires for the immediate gratification. Sitting under the stars at night surrounded by his new wealth, Abram can now think about all the children he isn’t going to have. His wife is gone. He settled for what he could see rather than trusting God.

In troubled circumstances we have the real tendency to focus completely on the immediate. We want the difficulty to end and are willing to do almost anything to make it happen. Abram forgot the promise of God and his forgetfulness caused him to lose that which was most important to him, his wife, Sarah. When we lose perspective we will exchange the important and the vital for the immediate gratification. We lose our patience. We want an immediate resolve. But sometimes things don’t happen quickly. Sometimes famines last a while. Look at the progression away from God’s plan in which Abram moves. A trial arises. He doesn’t seek God’s direction. He makes his own decision to slice into God’s promise by leaving the land. Then he tells lies. Exchanges the person through whom God will bring children for some financial gain. Jesus said that when you exchange your soul for financial gain you really have made a bad swap. Abram exchanged the important for the temporary. And he seems satisfied with his decision. But God isn’t going to leave him alone.

God Never Forgets

Abram forgot the promise but God hasn’t. God inflicts Pharaoh’s household with disease. Pharaoh is a smart cookie. He quickly associates the disease with his new wife. He gets rid of Sarah and gets rid of Abram from Egypt. God makes sure that Abram has to go back to the land where he was supposed to stay. God hasn’t forgotten his promises. Pharaoh appears to be an innocent bystander. But even innocent bystanders are hurt by the sin of God’s people. For all the faith that Abram is supposed to possess in leaving his culture, family, and familiar surroundings, he is displaying a great deal of faithlessness. But God hasn’t forgotten his promises. He will bring them about. You see this passage is about God’s determination to fulfill his covenant with Abram. The points about our lives is found in this one truth: Our God is busily involved in our lives bringing about the fulfillment of his will for our lives.

Abram is faithless in this passage. But God is faithful. Abram is visionless and directionless. But God knows the path. Abram is deceitful. God is full of truth. The point of this passage is to show us God’s ability to bring success out of one man’s failure. Our God doesn’t give up. We may doubt him and his presence. We may not see any clear demonstration of his presence, but our God doesn’t give up. He knows exactly where we are going. And when we fail to listen, he provides a way for us to get back on track.

We are not left alone. Our God does not leave us or forsake us. He is committed to finishing what he has started in us. Like Abram we may forget. We may get overwhelmed with the present. But our God is not distracted by outside occurrences. He maintains his focus so that we can be with him forever.

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