Life of Abraham Series: Abraham’s Failure

August 2024

“And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.”
—Genesis 12:10-20

As we study the life of Abraham, we study the making of a man of God. This journey of Christian faith is freighted with mountaintop experiences and experiences of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. There are victories, and there are failures, but in spite of everything, we find that the Lord is faithful.

In studying Abraham’s life, we see that the plan of God is always greater than what we imagine. It always involves more than what we think or see.

The plan of God for Abraham would play out to Isaac, Jacob, the birth of a nation (Israel), the Bible, and our Lord. So God’s plans for you are big. God’s plan for you could well fall out to family members being saved or blessed or even friends coming to know the Lord as He is working in you and through you.

FAMINE
Genesis 12:10 says there was a famine in the land of Canaan. This famine was Satan’s attack on Abraham’s faith. This attack was by Satan, but we must understand that God allowed it. Satan tempts, and the Lord tests. The Lord allows these tests as a means of teaching us to trust Him. Abraham’s test was in staying or leaving. Yes, there was a famine, but Canaan was God’s appointed place for Abraham. All of God’s promises to Abraham were centered in Canaan.

EGYPT
The next part of verse 10 says, “And Abram went down into Egypt.” Notice it says, “went down.” This has more meaning than just geography. When Abraham left Canaan, he was going down spiritually. To leave God’s appointed place always results in a spiritual decline. Why? It is not possible to go into Egypt without partaking of Egypt. In Egypt you become polluted, and ultimately you become like Egypt. Canaan is God working for us; Egypt is man’s schemes and Satan’s plans working against us.

THE ALTAR
Abraham’s failure was leaving the altar. The altar represented a Savior to come. In Canaan, there was true worship and true fellowship. In Egypt there was no altar, no communion, and no presence of God. All of this was Satan attempting to move Abraham’s faith from God’s altar to something else, which were things that Egypt offered—provision during the famine.

DECEPTION
In going down to Egypt, Abraham is first fearful of his death because of the beauty of Sarah. His deception was to lie and say that Sarah was his sister. Her beauty was such that all the princes of Egypt were stunned by her looks, so much so that she was taken into the house of Pharaoh in order for her to become the mother of a child by Pharaoh.

So this is what we have—God had a plan, and that was for Sarah to bring forth a miracle child, Isaac, through whom, ultimately, the Messiah would come. Satan’s plan was for the coming bloodline of the Messiah to be corrupted, thus spoiling God’s plan for salvation.

In Egypt, deception is before you. In Canaan, revelation is before you.

PLAGUES
When Pharaoh took Sarah, Genesis 12:17 says that God plagued Pharaoh. There is a great lesson here for us to learn: in Canaan, Abraham was a blessing; in Egypt he was a curse. Likewise, as children of God, we can be a blessing or a curse to those around us. If your faith is right, and you are where God wants you to be, then you will be a blessing to those around you. The path of self-will always brings about a curse for those around you.

SUMMATION
God had a place for Abraham, and that place was Canaan. God allowed the famine in order to teach Abraham trust and dependence. As well, Canaan was the place of true worship as that was where the altar was. So Abraham had to choose—faith and trust God, or self-will and failure.

Abraham had to go back to Canaan, and he had to return to the altar. Genesis 13:1 states, “And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south [in this verse, south is Canaan].”

When believers leave the cross and place their faith in self-will, the end result will be heartache We must have our faith placed exclusively in the cross of Christ.

In the next issue of The Evangelist, I will deal with this subject more in my article on Abraham’s restoration.