Genesis 12:10-13

There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. It happened, when he had come near to enter Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. It will happen, when the Egyptians will see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”

This was clearly a place where Abraham’s faith faltered. It is hard to see someone you look up to fail, but it is also encouraging to know that even the greatest men in the Bible were completely dependent on the mercy and grace of God. God had promised Abraham that his family would become a great nation. That would be difficult to do if Abraham was to be killed in Egypt. It appears that Abraham’s fear got the best of him.

When sin comes into our lives it usually affects those around us. Unfortunately, Sarai was obligated by Abram to lie in order to save his life. Perhaps she got scared too. When you think about the situation they were in it was pretty bad. They had to travel out of the land of Canaan all the way down to Egypt because they were running out of food. We know that things like this happen in our lives too. Even though we know that God has promised to take care of us, He still allows us to go though times of trouble.

I want to make it clear that it was not God that was causing trouble for Abraham. I believe that it was, in fact, Satan who was trying to stop God’s plan, but as usual, God was actually working His plan through it all as we read later. God wants us to trust in Him and not waver in our faith, but troubles can help us grow in our faith as God disciplines us for our good. I believe that this was one of those times of discipline for Abraham.