Psalms 86:15
But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Have you ever told a lie, even just a little one? What about a big one? Have you gotten caught in the lie, been humiliated when everything came to light, and then years later done exactly the same thing again? That is what Abraham did.
Abraham is traveling with his wife Sara through Egypt when Sara catches Pharaoh’s eye. Abraham tells Sara that, if questioned, she should say that she is Abraham’s sister. Now this is partially true; they had the same father, but they definitely were married. Pharaoh, upon hearing that Sara is Abraham’s sister, takes her as his wife. Plagues visit Egypt and it is revealed to Pharaoh that Sara is in fact Abraham’s wife. Pharaoh immediately calls Abraham and tells him to take Sara, pack up his belongings, and get out of Egypt!
Years later a similar thing happens. Abraham and Sara are traveling through Gerar when King Abimelech sees Sara. Abraham tells Sara to repeat the lie that worked out so well for them in Egypt—and Sara does this! This time, Abraham was afraid that because Sara was so beautiful that the king would kill him to take Sara. But again, we saw this play out once already. Things are not going well for King Abimelech. God comes to the king in a dream and tells him to release Sara back to Abraham because Sara is Abraham’s wife. Abimelech listens to God and Sara and Abraham once again pack up and leave.
Now when I read this I say what? How does this happen because:
- Why would Abraham repeat the same lie when it didn’t go well the first time, and
- Why would Sara go along with it?
Personally, I can understand Abraham fearing for his life and coming up with the plan the first time but as Sara, I really don’t know that I would go along with it the second time—especially when this would mean being taken away from her household and living in a strange culture in the King’s palace. (Well, living in the palace part doesn’t sound so bad…)
Though this is a very blatant example of a family making the same bad decision twice, we see repeated examples of people making terrible choices and decisions throughout the Bible. The Israelites mess up time and time again, and repeatedly have to be brought back from their worship of false gods—even after they had witnessed the miracle of God parting the Red Sea. Then there is Peter who denied Christ not once, not twice, but three times!
We read about these events but do we really absorb them? Do we truly grasp what an all-loving, patient God we serve? We mess up in our lives; we beat ourselves up and think what horrible people and Christians we are, forgetting that we are merely humans living in a fallen world. But, He is abundantly merciful, full of grace, patient and kind. We should strive to serve God with all of hearts, souls and minds as the Bible commands. We aren’t perfect and that is not news to God. While we might be surprised at our frail humanity, God isn’t. The good thing is He never asks us to be perfect. He asks us to love Him and through doing so He will make us more like Him.
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
Obedience
Our Own Tower of Babel
Our Uniqueness
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