Deceptive or Truthful

 DEVOTION

DECEPTIVE OR TRUTHFUL

Gen 12:10-20

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." 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. 17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

NIV

When we think of Abram, we usually think of a man who followed the LORD; after all, he did leave his country and his father's household and struck out for Canaan,  just as the LORD had told him. Then we have that time when his faith was accounted to him as righteousness. But here is a time in his life when Abram was deceptive, lying so to save his own skin. We could focus on the fact that Sarai was a very beautiful woman, very desirable to look upon, and in fact the Egyptians thought the same thing and brought her to Pharaoh. We do wonder what Abram was thinking, letting his wife be taken as the Pharaoh's wife; meanwhile, he was accumulating sheep, cattle, donkeys, menservants, maidservants, and camels. Did he really care more about gathering more possessions, becoming wealthy at the expense of his wife? But the LORD was not going to have anything to do with that plan, so he inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household. Now the truth came out, and Abram was rejected from Egypt, sent packing under the orders of Pharaoh. We do not know how long he was there, and if the famine was over, but now he had to provide food for all his staff- the menservants, maidservants- and plus he had to find pastures for all the livestock to eat and live. But the troublesome part of this narrative is Abram's deception. This is the man we use as an example of doing everything the LORD told him to do. But we should not use the example he set in going to Egypt and lying to save his own life. We have been told that honesty is the best policy, especially in our relationship with the Lord, but just as importantly with each other. There is really no reason to deceive someone about who we are. We call that as building a façade. That is what Jesus said about the Pharisees: that they looked good on the outside, but inside they were like dead men's bones.  Do we build that façade of being holy and righteous, while on the inside, we may not be like dead men's bones, but we are not free of sin either. We could harbor unforgiveness, hurt feelings, envy, greed, or lust, or even pride, all hidden beneath that covering of holiness and righteousness, trying to prove that by doing good deeds. Abram could have been truthful rather than deceptive. Let us learn that lesson.