The Testing of Abram’s
Faith
(Genesis 12:10–13:4)
Two weeks back we watched Abram exercise a costly faith. God spoke to
him. He believed God’s promises. His faith was saving. We know that because it
was a conviction, and that conviction motivated Abram to act. He travelled 800
miles from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan. It was a stupendous act of faith and
trust. When he arrived in Canaan God rewarded his faith with more revelation.
Several years have passed. Abram has settled in Canaan, and now God
tests his faith.
This story is a pattern that appears repeatedly in scripture. We also
encounter it in daily experience. God speaks. His word engenders faith. In the joy
of God’s nearness we respond with obedience. Then comes a time of aridity and
stress as God tests our faith!
We don’t know how long Abram had been in Canaan when this test came.
It could have been five or ten years. But when the test came God was behind it.
He is absolutely sovereign over every test.
The main point of this story is this: God is faithful to his promises. God
tested Abram & Sarai’s faith, and Abram failed the test, but despite his failure
God acted to ensure the fulfillment of his promises.
A. THE BASIS OF THE TEST: GOD’S PROMISE
(Genesis 12:1–3) "1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you
a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a
blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse,
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”"
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This promise was conditional—“Go and I will bless you.” Abram fulfilled
the condition. God was bound by his word to fulfill his promise. However, when
Abram arrived in Canaan God gave him an unconditional promise.
(Genesis 12:7) "7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will
give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him."
B. THE NATURE OF ABRAM’S TEST: A CRUCIBLE TO EXPOSE
HIS UNBELIEF
Fear is an expression of faith. It is faith in reverse. It is the conviction that
God will not keep his promises. It is a conviction that God is not sovereign over
life’s events or, if he is sovereign, he is not good. God’s crucible always contain
divinely wrought circumstances to test our greatest point of weakness
1. Divinely Wrought Circumstances
"10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn
there, for the famine was severe in the land.”
Famine and drought never happen haphazardly. God is sovereign over
nature. No famine occurs without God’s permission. God allowed this famine to
“test Abram.” Referring to the famine that sent the patriarchs to Egypt in the days
of Joseph, Ps 105:16 tells us that God “summoned a famine” and “broke the
supply of bread.”
Some argue that Abram should have stayed in the land and trusted God’s
promise to bless him. Others argue that it was perfectly permissible for Abram to
journey to Egypt for food and sustenance as long as he planned on returning at
the first opportunity.
Verse 10 deliberately uses the word “sojourn.” The idea is that his trip to
Egypt was not permanent. It was temporary. “Sojourn” means that as soon as
our hero got bread he planned to return to the Land of Promise.
Whether Abram should have stayed in Canaan or sojourned to Egypt we
don’t know, but we do know that the famine was Heaven sent. It was the perfect
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crucible in which to test Abram. It sent him to Egypt where his greatest weakness
would be exposed.
2. Fear of Man (Pharaoh)
(Genesis 12:11–13) "11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I
know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see
you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13
Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may
be spared for your sake.”"
Proverbs tells us that the fear of man is a snare. In this story, Abram
doesn’t fear God. He fears Pharaoh. This despite the fact that God had just
promised to bless those that blessed him, and to curse those that looked down
on him.
However, Pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world. Abram was a
lowly shepherd from Canaan. From a human perspective we can understand why
Abram was fearful. Here he was, the leader of a small clan of Shepherds,
confronted with the wealth and power of the world’s most powerful monarch.
In addition, the Egyptians didn’t like Shepherds. Later, in Joseph’s story
we will learn that the Egyptians looked down on shepherds. In fact, they wouldn’t
even eat at the same table with them.
However, in this case Pharaoh was willing to make an exception. Why?
Abram’s wife, Sarai, was inordinately beautiful.
12:14-15 “14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very
beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh.
And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.”
Sarai was between 65 and 75 years of age. How is it possible for a
woman of this age to be this beautiful? We have already noted the long lives of
the patriarchs. The penalty for sin is death. As the centuries progressed, sin
slowly gained a greater and greater grip on our mortality. Abraham lived to be
about 175. We can presume that in his day a 65 year old woman probably looked
like a 35-45 year old today.
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Main Point: God knew Abram’s weaknesses. The famine and
confrontation with the might of Egypt were God-ordained circumstances sent by
God to test Abram’s faith, to expose his weaknesses—the fear of man.
3. Abraham’s threefold Response of Unbelief
a) DECEIT
He lied to Pharaoh about Sarai. “She is my sister,” he said. This was true.
She was his half-sister. But, even though what he said was true, what he didn’t
say made his response deceitful. She was his wife. Therefore, Abram’s deceit
made him an accomplice to potential adultery.
We lie and don’t tell the truth to protect self. Why? We don’t think God will
take care of us.
b) SELFISHNESS
His only thought was for his own skin. To protect himself, he put his wife’s
reputation, honor, and safety on the line. He acted like a weasel. His behavior
was the polar opposite of Ephesians 5. “Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved
his church and gave himself up for her.”
Protecting self at the expense of others is despicable behavior. It is an
expression of unbelief. Why? We don’t think God will take care of us.
c) HE LOOKS TO THE SEEN
God had just promised Abram offspring through Sarai. “To your offspring I
will give this land” (Gen. 12:7). However, Abram is afraid. His fear of the seen
world is greater than his faith in the unseen world. Sarai is Abram’s wife, and
obviously the promises of an offspring will come through her. If Pharaoh sleeps
with Sarai and she conceives, the promises will unravel. Abram’s unbelief is
about to mess it all up. God is testing Abram’s faith, and Abram is failing the test.
When we look to the things that are seen, and forget about the unseen
world all around us, we will do like Abram. We will take matters into our own
hands.
Abram fails the test. Unbelief has motivated deceit and selfishness. Abram
has lost sight of God’s promises. It was major league failure.
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C. SARAI’S BELIEVES WHAT ABRAM DOE S NOT
Whenever God tests a married man, his wife gets tested with him. They
are one flesh. His pains and trials becomes hers. She shares his temptations
vicariously. That is what happened to Sarai. She is tempted to look at her
husband rather than God.
Sarai knew that God had put Abram in authority over her.
God spoke the promises to Abram. Although Sarai did not hear them
directly, her husband must have explained them to her. Based on her response
in this story, we learn that she believed the promises more than Abram. How do
we know that? She submitted to Abram’s authority.
1 Peter gives us the Holy Spirit’s commentary on Sarai’s submission to
Abram.
(1 Peter 3:1–6, pg 1015) "1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that
even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of
their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your
adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the
clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the
imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5
For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by
submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And
you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”
Who is the hero in this story? Sarai is the hero! Abram fails this test
miserably, but Sarai believes. Sarai’s faith should surprise us for several
reasons.
1st Her life was in Abram’s hand. Humanly speaking Sarai was not in
control. Abram was.
2nd Abram was selfish. He did not always have Sarai’s best interest in
mind.
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D. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO HIS PROMISE
The main point of this passage is that, despite human failure, God is
faithful to his promises. The rest of Genesis is the story of God constantly
overruling the sinful conduct of the Patriarchs in order to fulfill his promises to
Abram. In this case that means saving Sarai from Pharaoh’s impregnation, and
getting Abram back to Canaan with food and provision so that he can survive the
famine and become a great nation.
1. God Protects Sarai
12:17-20 “But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of
Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have
done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She
is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and
go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his
wife and all that he had.”
God is working to insure that Sarai does not become pregnant by
Pharaoh. In this story, Pharaoh appears more righteous than Abram.
2. God Blesses Abram
God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:2-3 was conditional.
12:2-3 “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name
great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, a nd him who
dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”"
Abram did his part. He left country, kindred, and his father’s house. Now
God must fulfill his end of the bargain. He must bless Abram. So,in spite of his
unbelief, his deceitfulness, and his fear of man, God blesses Abram. He brings
him back to Canaan with more wealth than he had when he went down to Egypt.
12:16 And for her [Sarai’s] sake he [Pharaoh] dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep,
oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.”
To emphasize God’s blessings, Verse 16 lists exactly seven possessions
with which God enriched Abram.
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13:1-2 "1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot
with him, into the Negeb. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.”
As we have seen, this story portrays Pharaoh as more moral than Abram.
Pharaoh is more concerned about committing adultery with Sarai than is Abram.
Nevertheless, God heaps his “blessings” on Abram just as he promised in Gen
12:2-3.
E. APPLICATION: TRUST GOD.
1. God Will Test Our faith
(James 1:2–4) "2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let
steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in
nothing."
Trials always test our faith in two things—God’s sovereignty and God’s
goodness. Is God in control? Does he have my best interests at heart? God
knows our weaknesses and sins. He devises the perfect trials to bring them to
the light. He does this because he loves us.
God does not do this once. Rather, He repeatedly tests our faith
throughout life.
Abram will face many further tests. Each time God remains faithful despite
Abram’s failure, Abram’s faith grows.
It works the same with you and I.
Our Faith grows as God shows himself faithful despite our failures.
2. We Reap What we Sow
God never withdraws his love, presence, and blessing when we fail the
test. But, in this life we do reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7-8). Abram will fail many
more times. Here are two examples. Although God told Abram to leave his
kindred and his father’s house, he brings Lot. He relationship with Lot will be
nothing but trouble.
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At Sarai’s request he will conceive Ishmael through Hagar. Then when
Sarah finally gives birth to Isaac, he must send Ishmael away, and it will be very
painful. The Arabs trace their ancestry to Ishmael today. The descendants of
Ishmael and Isaac have been in conflict for four thousand years.
3. God Protects those that submit to unjust authority
Sarai submitted to her husband’s authority. (I am sure she protested). In
the end, God protected Sarai from her husband’s foolishness.
In the same way, God protects submissive wives from abusive husbands.
He protects submissive employees from their employer’s foolishness.
He protects submissive citizens from the foolishness of corrupt
governments. (There is a time for Civil Disobedience).
4. Ultimately, the Cross sums up the principle in this
Story Up.
The main point of this story is that God is faithful to his promises. God
tested Abram & Sarai’s faith. Abram failed the test. However, God acted to
ensure the fulfillment of his promises despite his failure.
In the same way, God sent his Son to the Cross so that he could fulfill his
promise to bless every child of Abraham. Two things happened that allowed God
to fulfill his promises to Abram. 1st the Cross became our righteousness. 2nd The
cross became our forgiveness.
1st Our Righteousness: At the cross God tested Jesus’ faith. What
happened? Jesus passed the test with flying colors. How did he do it? In the
furnace of affliction he trusted in God’s sovereignty and God’s goodness. His
crucifixion was no accident. The prophets predicted it. God brought it to pass to
ultimately bless Jesus and those who believe the gospel. Listen to Jesus’ words
of faith from the cross.
(Psalm 22:1–5, pg 457) "1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you
so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but
you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the
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praises of Israel. 4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5
To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame."
When you believe the gospel all of Christ’s faith and perseverance in the
midst of extreme trial is imputed to you. God sees you as someone who passed
the test. Because of your faith God is able to bless you with the blessings
promised to Abraham.
2nd, The Cross is your forgiveness. When you fail the test, all of your
failures are imputed to Christ. They are punished at the cross and you go free.
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