Genesis 12-13:4

This chapter begins the account of Abraham's walk of faith. (His given name, of course, was Abram, "high father", which was changed to Abraham, "father of a multitude". We will use his more familiar name for the sake of convenience.) The flood had destroyed a corrupt civilization, but another sinful society soon took its place. God called one man to begin the fulfillment of His promise in Gen. 3:15, to send a Savior to the world. This man was of the line of Shem (11:10ff) and was the father of the Jewish nation. From this one man, God was to bless the whole world!

I. Abraham's Response of Faith (12:1-9)

A. The covenant (vv. 1-3).

God had called Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2-4), but he had lingered at Haran until the death of his father (11:27-32). God demands total separation to Himself, even if death must accomplish it. This call was completely of grace and the blessings of the covenant wholly from the Lord's goodness. God promised to give Abraham (1) a land; (2) a great name; (3) a great nation; and (4) a blessing that would spread to the whole world. It took a good deal of faith for Abraham to respond to these promises for he had no children, and he and his wife were getting old (11:30). Note the repeated "I will" from the lips of God. God would do it all if only Abraham would believe. Certainly God has fulfilled His promises; for Israel has her land (and will get more); the Jews have blessed all nations by giving us the Bible and Christ; and Abraham's name is revered by Jews, Moslems, Christians, and even unbelievers. The men of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves and failed (11:4); but Abraham trusted God and God gave him a great name!

B. The compromise (vv. 4-6).

"Lot went with him"—this was mistake number two. Lot's father, Haran, was dead (11:28), so Abraham took the young man under his protection, only to have him create serious problems. Later, God had to separate Lot from Abraham before He could advance His plan for the patriarch's life. Their long journey from Haran to Canaan is not recorded, but it certainly took faith and patience to complete it. It is easy to see that Abraham was a wealthy man, but that his wealth was no barrier to his walk with God. The travelers came to Shechem, "the place of the shoulder." How wonderful it is for the believer to live in "the place of the shoulder," where "underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27).

C. The confession (vv. 7-9).

Obedience always leads to blessing. After Abraham arrived in Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abraham to further assure him. Abraham did not hesitate to confess his faith before the heathen in the land. Wherever he went, he pitched his tent and built his altar. (See 13:3-4, 18.) The tent speaks of the pilgrim, the person who trusts God a day at a time and is always ready to move. The altar speaks of the worshiper who brings a sacrifice and offers it to God. Interestingly at Abraham's location, Bethel ("the house of God") was on the west, Ai ("the heap of ruins") was on the east, and he was traveling toward "the house of God." In 13:11, Lot turned his back on the house of God and took his journey eastward, back into the world with disastrous results. Also, whenever Abraham stepped out of God's will, he lost the tent and the altar.

II. Abraham's Lapse of Faith (12:10-20)

A. The disappointment (v. 10).

A famine in the place of God's leading! What a great disappointment this must have been to the pilgrims. God was testing their faith, to see if they were trusting the land or the Lord. Instead of remaining in Canaan and trusting God, they went down to Egypt, possibly at the suggestion of Lot (see 13:10). Egypt symbolizes the world, the life of self-confidence; Canaan illustrates the life of faith and victory. Egypt was watered by the muddy Nile river; Canaan received the fresh rains from God (see Deut. 11:10-12). Abraham abandoned his tent and altar and trusted in the world! See Isa. 31:1.

B. The deception (vv. 11-13).

One sin leads to another: first Abraham trusted Egypt; now he trusted his wife's lie to protect him. Genesis 20:13 makes it clear that Sarah was equally guilty with Abraham, and 20:12 indicates that the "lie" was really a half-truth, for she was his half-sister. It seems that Abraham was more concerned for his own safety than the safety of his wife—or the safety of the promised seed. Had Sarah been kept in that harem, God could not have fulfilled His promise! Without his tent and altar, Abraham was acting like the people of the world (Ps. 1:1-3).

C. The discipline (vv. 14-20).

What a shame that believing Abraham should be rebuked by an unbelieving king. Until he knew the truth about Sarah, Pharaoh "bestowed favors" upon Abraham, but once God stepped in and exposed the lie, Pharaoh had to ask them to leave. What a poor testimony the Christian is when he or she mingles with the world and compromises. Someone has said, "Faith is living without scheming." Abraham and all his descendants have needed to learn that lesson! Lot lived with the world and lost his testimony (19:12-14); and Peter sat by the enemy fire and denied his Lord.

III. Abraham's Return of Faith (13:1-4)

Christians enmeshed in the world cannot be happy with themselves. They must go back to the very place where they abandoned the Lord. This is repentance and confession, to feel sorry for sin and to make amends. Abraham could not have confessed his sin and remained in Egypt! No, he had to get back to the place of the tent and the altar, back to the place where he could call upon the Lord and receive blessing. This is a good principle for Christians to follow: go nowhere in this world where you must leave your testimony behind. Any place where we cannot build the altar and pitch the tent is out of bounds.

It seems that Abraham's restoration should have undone all his disobedience, but such is not the case. Certainly God forgave Abraham and restored him to fellowship, but God could not overrule the sad consequences of the trip to Egypt:

A. Lost time.

The weeks that Abraham and his household were away from the Lord were lost and could not be regained. All believers must pray to avoid such losses, "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Ps. 90:12, NKJV).

B. Lost testimony.

Could Abraham ever witness to Pharaoh of the true God, after deceiving him? Probably not. How sad it will be when we face God at the judgment seat of Christ and discover how many souls have gone to hell because of the poor testimony of carnal Christians!

C. Hagar's place in the family.

Sarah's maid, Hagar, came from Egypt (16:1ff), and brought untold trouble to the family. Of course, the suggestion that she bear a child came from Sarah, but the presence of Hagar helped to bring about the carnal scheme. Whatever we bring with us from Egypt (the godless world) will ultimately cause us trouble. We must be crucified to the world and make sure that the world is crucified to us (Gal. 6:14).

D. More wealth.

The increase in possessions helped to cause the later dispute between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. Later, Abraham would refuse the world's wealth (14:17-24).

E. Lot's enjoyment of Egypt.

This young man developed a taste for Egypt (13:10), and though Abraham took Lot out of Egypt, he could not take Egypt out of Lot! It is always tragic when a mature believer leads a younger Christian astray. In 12:8, Lot shares Abraham's tent and altar, but when Lot comes out of Egypt, he has only tents, no altar (13:5). No wonder Lot gravitated toward Sodom—and ended up a moral and spiritual wreck.