Fear Takes Hold
Scripture Reading — Genesis 12:10-13
"Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well ... and my life will be spared ..." Genesis 12:13
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Sarai was a beautiful woman, and Abram noticed how some men looked at her, probably wondering how she could be married to a man like him. So when a famine forced Abram and Sarai to go to Egypt for a while, Abram took matters into his own hands, despite God's promise of protection. Afraid to trust God completely, Abram had a conversation of conspiracy with Sarai, and they hatched a plan.
Why do we sometimes think and talk a lot like Abram does in our reading for today? Let's look at the two reasons he gives as he tells Sarai to pretend to be his sister and not his wife.
First, Abram knows that his wife's beauty can be a key to receiving favors the Egyptians might offer. When people looked at Sarai, Abram would receive some "reflected" glory--or at least some preferential treatment. Second, Abram is fearful. He doesn't want to become Sarai's suddenly deceased husband. Out of fear for his own life, Abram chooses to try to control the situation by his own scheming.
Abram is a lot like us. Sometimes we think and talk the way he does here because we want to work things to our advantage, even if it means using others, or because we fear what might happen. As Abram soon learns, that way of operating is no match for the plans of God.
God of truth and grace, forgive us for our deceptions. Turn our hearts, thoughts, and words to you so that we may reflect your truth, grace, and love. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
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