"She's My Sister" was a Really Big Lie

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

Genesis 12: 10-13 (NIV)

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

Genesis 20: 1-2 (NIV)

Hello friends! Today, a few thoughts on the repetition of sin we find in Genesis 12 and 20.

Abraham keeps telling rulers that Sarah is his sister instead of truthfully calling her his wife. Each time, she's admired and taken by other men as she enters their territories.

Abraham lets her go. He fears for his life so much that he stays quiet and watches his wife walk through the door, completely at the mercy of another man. He's willing to defile his marriage bed, put cracks in the covenant made between himself and Sarah in front of God, and bring harm upon the rulers' households because of this fear.

I have a few things spring to mind as I read these chapters:

First, Abraham is a prophet praying successfully for outcomes in others' lives, which we see in chapter 20. Why doesn't he pray for his own life? Why doesn't he trust God with his safety, choose prayer over deception, and protect his wife? 

Maybe because, second, fear is a powerful force. Fear can convince us that we're out of reach of God's protection, or that we have to control every iota of a situation in order to make it out alive.

Third, Abraham repeats this sin. We do this, too, and from my own experience, I bet he thinks of the first time as he prepares to lie for the second time. I bet he remembers the outcome and thinks, for the briefest moment, that He could try to do things differently this time, but he might die, and it really didn't turn out that bad last time, so maybe he'll just do the same thing again, even if it is a sin.

Fourth, as we know, even God's "greatest" prophets were imperfect men. Abraham was a terrible husband here. I imagine Sarah might have been terrified, wishing she could hide behind her husband's protection, wanting to sob at the outcome of his cowardice, fearing for her own well-being, resigning herself to disgrace and defilement in the hands of men in lands foreign to her. The Lord took that whole messed-up situation and still used Abraham and Sarah for good.

Abraham sacrificed his family's well-being on the altar of fear, micromanagement, and the need for complete control of a situation instead of changing and trusting God.

Sound familiar? What sins are you and I repeating out of fear? Let this moment be one of self-reflection and a new trajectory.

All the love, 

Emily

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