Two weeks ago we entered the sixth toledot of Genesis—the generations of Terah—and followed Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans, north to Haran where the family lingered, and at last into the land of Canaan at seventy-five years old with Sarai his wife, his nephew Lot, great possessions, and the souls they had acquired in Haran. At Shechem, by the oak of Moreh—likely a place where pagans came seeking guidance from a diviner—the Lord appeared to Abram and promised the land to his offspring. Abram answered by building an altar and calling on the name of the Lord, and he did it in the middle of an idolatrous people. He moved on to the hill country between Bethel and Ai and built another. If we did not already know the story, we might expect Abram to press on through Canaan planting altars everywhere. But Abram’s walk with God was not one long unbroken line of faithfulness. Even the man of faith stumbled.
Our text this week has a very simple shape: Abram goes down to Egypt, Abram gets richer in Egypt, and Abram gets thrown out of Egypt. A severe famine—not a late lunch, but no food anywhere for a prolonged season—drives him more than a hundred miles from the land of promise to Egypt, where crops are watered by the Nile rather than the rain. On the way, he asks Sarai to say she is his sister. It is a true statement, since she is his half-sister; but it is told in order to deceive, and as Pastor Mike put it plainly for the children, a half-truth is a full lie. What Abram feared is exactly what happens: the Egyptians notice Sarai’s beauty, Pharaoh’s princes praise her to Pharaoh, and she is taken into his house. And with that, the seed line of Genesis 3:15—which is to run through Abram and Sarai—sits in the household of another man. This is the first great threat to the Abrahamic covenant, and it will not be the last.
Notice what is missing from this episode. There is no altar in Egypt. There is no calling on the name of the Lord. There is no word from God to Abram at all—the only man God communicates with in this passage is Pharaoh. Abram leaves Egypt with sheep, oxen, donkeys, servants, and camels, but there is no hint he leaves any better off spiritually than he entered. And yet the Lord afflicts Pharaoh with great plagues because of Sarai; Sarai is returned, and Abram is escorted back to the Negev with everything he had. The promise moves forward untouched—not because Abram guarded it, but because God did. The pattern will repeat on a national scale: Israel will go down to Egypt in a famine, be held there, be released after plagues, and depart with great wealth. And it points past Israel to the true and greater Seed. Where Abram was willing to risk his bride to save his own life, the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life to save His bride.
The Text
- Abram Goes Down to Egypt (12:10–13) — Famine drives Abram out of the land of promise, and on the road he asks Sarai to call herself his sister.
- Abram Gets Richer in Egypt (12:14–16) — Sarai is praised to Pharaoh and taken into his house, and Abram is lavished with livestock and servants as the dowry for his “sister.”
- Abram Gets Thrown Out of Egypt (12:17–13:1) — The Lord plagues Pharaoh’s house because of Sarai; Pharaoh returns her, rebukes Abram, and sends him away under escort with all that he had.
Three Observations
- Nothing in this text explicitly condemns Abram’s actions—but nothing commends them either. Much of Scripture is descriptive rather than prescriptive, and it never hides the sins of its heroes.
- Abram left Egypt financially better off, but there is zero evidence he left spiritually better off. Watch the silences: no altar, no prayer, no word from God to Abram.
- The primary thing we are meant to see is that the Lord God will fulfill His promises even when we fail. Those promises came with no conditions, and God cannot deny Himself.
Six Applications — Two Not to Do, Two to Do, Two to Recognize
- Don’t be overly harsh or quick in criticizing the actions of another. It is easy to judge Abram from a comfortable chair with a sandwich on the table.
- Don’t use the experience of others to justify your own sin. They may look happy and successful and be inwardly sick.
- Do be on greater guard against sin in the midst of trial. What we refuse easily when things go well becomes a viable option when the food runs out.
- Do be especially careful in rationalizing the breaking of God’s commands. Never say, let us do evil that good may come.
- Recognize that life in a fallen world is difficult and complex — which is precisely why we must be saturated with God’s Word and seek His guidance at every turn.
- Recognize that the Lord will be faithful to His promises. Not one promise made to Abram, or to you, can fail.
Key line to remember: “The Lord is always faithful to His promises, even when we are not.”
Reflection and Preparation
Day 1 — When the Famine Comes
Read: Genesis 12:10–13; James 1:2–8
Adults
- The commentators are genuinely divided over whether Abram’s move to Egypt was faithlessness or ordinary prudence. What makes that question so hard to settle—and what does the difficulty itself teach us about judging others?
- James tells us to ask God for wisdom when trials come. There is no record that Abram asked. When a hard decision presses on you, what is your first instinct—action, or prayer?
- Abram was responsible not only for himself but for Sarai, for Lot, and for every soul in his household. How does responsibility for others make faith harder—and more necessary?
Children
- What is a famine? Why did Abram take his whole family all the way to Egypt?
- When something hard or scary happens, who should we talk to first?
Day 2 — A Half-Truth Is a Full Lie
Read: Genesis 12:11–13; Ephesians 4:20–25
Adults
- Sarai really was Abram’s half-sister. Why is a true statement told in order to mislead still a lie?
- Scripture is not soft on lying (Proverbs 12:22; Revelation 21:8), yet the Hebrew midwives, Rahab, and David all deceive without explicit rebuke. Pastor Mike noted that they are commended for their faith and their fear of God, not for their lies. How does that distinction help you read those accounts?
- Where are you most tempted to shade the truth—at work, at home, or in how you describe yourself to others?
Children
- Sarai really was Abram’s sister. So why was it still wrong to say it the way he asked her to?
- Why does God care so much about His people telling the truth?
Day 3 — The Promise Under Threat
Read: Genesis 12:14–16; 2 Timothy 2:8–13
Adults
- With Sarai in Pharaoh’s house, the line of the promised seed looks broken. Why can God not allow the promise of Genesis 3:15 to fail without ceasing to be God?
- Abram grew wealthy during the very episode in which he was most spiritually adrift. How can prosperity disguise a season of drift?
- “If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” Which of God’s promises are you tempted to doubt this week because of your own failure?
Children
- God had promised Abram a big family. What happened that made it look like that promise might not come true?
- Can anything at all stop God from keeping a promise?
Day 4 — Rescued by the Bridegroom
Read: Genesis 12:17–13:1; Ephesians 5:25–27
Adults
- Abram was willing to risk his wife in order to save his own life. The Lord Jesus laid down His life in order to save His bride. Sit with that contrast for a while before you move on.
- Israel will later go down to Egypt in a famine, be held there, be released after plagues, and leave with great wealth. Why would Moses want Israel in the wilderness to notice that pattern already in Abram’s life?
- Even when Abram failed to protect his wife, the Lord would not. Where do you most need to rest in God’s protection rather than your own management of the situation?
Children
- Who actually rescued Sarai—Abram, or God?
- Abram was afraid and tried to save himself. What did Jesus do for His people instead?
Day 5 — All the Families of the Earth (Preparing for the Lord’s Day)
Read: Genesis 12:1–3; Romans 10:11–17
Adults
- The promise to Abram always reached past Abram: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” How does that promise still shape the work of the church today?
- Paul asks how anyone will hear without a preacher, and how anyone will preach unless he is sent. In what ways is our congregation part of the sending?
- On Sunday we heard of a family preparing to leave for a closed country to plant churches—honestly, with a legitimate business, refusing the shortcut of a ruse. How does that refusal illustrate what we learned about not rationalizing sin?
Children
- God told Abram that his family would be a blessing to every family on earth. Has that come true? How?
- What is a missionary, and what does a missionary do?
Next Lord’s Day Preview
Missionary A. M. Kuriachan — title and text to be announced
This coming Lord’s Day we set the Genesis series aside for a week and welcome our missionary, Brother A. M. Kuriachan, to our pulpit. We do not set the theme aside, however. The promise Abram received in Genesis 12 was never meant to stop with Abram—“in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”—and every missionary sent out from a local church is that ancient promise still bearing fruit. Come with expectant hearts, and come prepared to hear how God is at work far from Suffolk.
- Come ready to consider how the promise made to Abram, that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed, is being worked out in our own day.
- Come ready to consider what it costs to leave one’s country and kindred for a land the Lord will show you — and what our brother has learned in doing exactly that.
- Come ready to consider how you and your household can pray for, give to, and share in this work.
Hymns for Next Lord’s Day
- 435 — Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
- 385 — Jehovah Tsidkenu
- Jesus the Christ of God
- 342 — When This Passing World Is Done
Jesus the Christ of God
Horatius Bonar – tune: 52 Crown Him with Many Crowns
Jesus, the Christ of God,
The Father’s blessed Son,
The Father’s bosom thine abode,
The Father’s love thine own.
Jesus, the Lamb of God,
Who us from hell to raise
Hast shed thy reconciling blood ;—
We give Thee endless praise.
God, and yet man. Thou art,
True God, true man art Thou
Of man, and of man’s earth a part,
One with us Thou art now.
Great sacrifice for sin.
Giver of life for life,
Restorer of the peace within,
True ender of the strife.
To Thee, the Christ of God,
Thy saints exulting sing ;
The bearer of our heavy load,
Our own anointed King ;
Rest of the weary, Thou !
To Thee, our rest, we come ;
In Thee to find our dwelling now,
Our everlasting home.
Blessings,
Pastor Mike