Genesis 12
Abraham, A Man of Faith
King sat back in his chair at the table as he regarded the gatherers joined with him for the purpose of Bible Study. “Genesis 12,” he began, “brings us to the other side of the Grand Canyon which runs through this great Book of the Bible. We have traveled along this route, and now the atmosphere we are coming into is altogether different. We’re going to slow down to a walk, so to speak.”
Fronk peered at him through his glasses. “Why? Were we running? I wasn’t aware that we were running.”
“Figuratively speaking, my brother.”
“So what you mean to say is that we ran through major events…and now we are going to be walking through…what? Biblical personalities?”
King nodded. “That is exactly what I am saying. You see, the emphasis has shifted from events to personalities. We will see many important personalities, but there are four major personalities in Genesis we will be visiting with mostly. Abraham is the first one. Would anyone care to guess who the next three are?”
“Moses,” Staci replied confidently.
King shook his head. “I’m sorry, my sister, but you are incorrect.”
Fronk imitated the sound of a buzzer.
Staci turned her head and narrowed her eyes.
Fronk swallowed. “I meant…ooopsie.”
She turned to King. “How can I be wrong about Moses? He wrote the Book of Genesis, didn’t he? Isn’t he an important personality?”
King nodded. “He is.”
“Then, why isn’t he among these four people in Genesis?”
Fuller shook his head. “He’s not in Genesis, Staci. But he is still important. I believe in the study of Genesis, everything from Abraham to the end of Genesis with the death of Joseph, it all simply leads right up to Moses. I’m sure that study will be just as intense as when we look at Abraham’s life.”
“Oh,” she replied softly. “Well…that does answer that, doesn’t it?”
“Do you want another guess?” King asked, smiling at her.
Staci pursed her lips in thought. “Well…I’m going to have to say Isaac, then. Abraham’s son. He’s important, isn’t he? Doesn‘t Abraham try to sacrifice his son because God told him to?”
“Indeed he does,” King nodded in agreement. “And, yes…Isaac is the second important personality we will look at more closely. Who is the third?”
“The third is Jacob,” Shiva replied before anyone could respond.
“Well,” Erin began, glancing at Fuller, “Darren already told us who the fourth was.”
Barrington paused. “He did?”
Erin nodded. “Yes, he did.”
Lenox chuckled. “What did you do, Al? Fall asleep?”
“When did he mention the fourth?” Barrington asked.
Fronk blinked. “You really didn’t hear what he said? About how Genesis comes to the end by the death of…?”
Barrington nodded. “Oh, right. Joseph. Then, Joseph is the fourth.”
“Great. So glad you’re still with us and as observant as ever!”
There were chuckles around the room. Barrington grinned sheepishly. “I am paying attention, you know.”
“Then, pay attention some more.” King paused. “Because we are done with the first eleven chapters of Genesis. We have traveled quite a ways along Route 66, haven’t we? And we are not even out of Genesis yet. We briefly went over the four great personalities of Genesis…At least we discussed who they are. What four great events have we seen in the first eleven chapters? Just as a way of review.”
“The Creation,” Erin replied.
King nodded. “Yes.”
“The Fall of Man,” Fuller said.
“Then, the Flood,” Staci pointed out.
“And finally…?” King inquired, trailing off.
Lenox sat back. “Obviously, the Tower of Babel.”
King nodded again. “So in all of these tremendous events, we have seen that God has been dealing with the human race as a whole. Other than Adam and Abraham, God did not appear to anyone else.”
Staci frowned. “But didn’t God tell Noah to build the Ark?”
“Yes, but the Bible does not say God came before Noah, or appeared to him. We know that Adam was in the Garden and communed with God there. We will also see that God appears to Abraham. However, in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, God was dealing with the entire race of mankind. Now in chapter 12, there is a radical change. Why? Because now there will be brought before us four individuals. God will no longer be dealing with events, but with a man, and from that man, He will make a nation. In the first section, we will see Abraham, the man of faith. He covers Genesis 12 through 23. In Genesis 24 through 26, there will be Isaac, the beloved son. The next chapters will then be 27 - 36, and they concern Jacob, the chosen and chastened son. Finally, we will cover Genesis 27 - 50, about Joseph and his suffering and glory. These four patriarchs are extremely important to the understanding of the Word of God. We will be taking up their wonderful stories in the rest of the Book of Genesis.”
“Isn’t it interesting,” Fuller began, “how God dealt with the human race in those first eleven chapters on their sin? There’s a trend here. A pattern. And it’s the same pattern Jesus was tempted by Satan with.”
“How do you mean?” Staci asked.
“After the Fall of Man, we saw the great sin of Cain. What was his sin?”
“Pride,” Lenox answered.
Fuller nodded. “Cain was angry because of the fact that deep down in his heart, he was proud of the offering he had brought to God. And when his offering was rejected while his brother’s was accepted, it caused him to hate his brother. His hatred led to murder, and the root of all of it was…pride. Pride is Satan’s sin, too. Pride is the sin of the mind.”
Barrington turned to him. “I see where you’re going with this. So then…at the time of the Flood, the sin was the lust of the flesh. The actions and imaginations of men were to satisfy their flesh.”
“Does that mean that Noah was the only believer left?” Shiva inquired. “I mean, just him and his family. That‘s heavy when you think about it.”
King paused. “If God had waited even another generation, He would have lost the entire human race. God had certainly been patient with this world. He had waited 969 years, the entire life span of Methuselah. I am confidant that you would say that 969 years is long enough to give anybody an opportunity to change his mind. But instead of turning to God, the people were in open rebellion, asserting a will that was against God. We saw at the Tower of Babel that none sought after God. And after the Tower, what does God do? He turns from the race of mankind to one individual. From that individual He is going to bring a nation, and to that nation, He will give His revelation, and out of that nation…He will bring the Redeemer.”
“Amen!” Lenox exclaimed.
“Now when God chose Abraham, He chose a man of faith. Abraham, by anyone’s standards, is a great man. He is one of the greatest men who ever lived on this earth. How do we even measure up to great men even today? Well, to begin with, we would need to be famous, and certainly Abraham measures up to that. He is probably the world’s most famous man. The three great religions of the world go back to Abraham…Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. One of the marks of a great man is fame and we know that Abraham was a great man. However, there is another mark of a great man and that is that he must be noble of character, a generous man. Can you imagine anyone more generous than Abraham? When he and his nephew came back into the land of Palestine, he told Lot to choose any portion that he wanted, and Abraham said he would take what was left. Have you noticed how generous he was with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah? He told them he wouldn’t take the booty, not even so much as a shoestring, because God was the One to whom he was looking.”
“I’ve heard it said,” Fuller began, “that another mark of a great man must be that he lives in a momentous time. As Napoleon said, he must be a man of destiny. The man and the right time must meet at the crossroads of life. That was certainly true of Abraham.”
“Ah, but there is a fourth mark, my brothers and sisters. And this mark is something the world - especially in these dark times - would not accept or believe. This mark of a great man is simply that he must be a man of faith. You will notice that all great men, even when they are not Christian, have something in which they believe. God said that Abraham was a man of faith. In the Bible record, the greatest thing that is said about Abraham is that he believed God. ‘…Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 1’ As we go through these chapters in Genesis, we will find that God had appeared to this man seven times, each time to develop faith in his life. This does not mean that he was perfect. He had failed many times. God gave him four tests, and he fell flat on his face on all four of them. But, like Simon Peter, he got up, brushed himself off and started again. Sometimes we fall. But we can get right back up and start over again. Now…let’s see what Abraham’s life is like as we go through chapter twelve. The very first thing we come to is not only God’s call to Abram…but also His promise.”
“We went over three Covenants,” King began. “The Edenic Covenant, the Adamic Covenant, and the Noahic Covenant. Now we come to what is called the Abrahamic Covenant. I want to point out to you that this covenant with Abraham is the first of theocratic covenants.”
Staci tilted her head and looked at him. “What does that mean, David?”
“It simply means that it is a covenant which pertains to the rule of God. It is relevant…it relates to the rule of God. Simply put, this is an unconditional covenant, depending solely upon God who obligates Himself in grace. This is indicated by the unconditional declaration, ‘I will,’ which means to bring to pass the promised blessings. This covenant is the basis of all the other theocratic covenants which follow and provides for blessings in three areas. Without looking at your Bibles and taking a peek at the first three verses in Genesis 12, can any of you take a guess as to what those three areas are?”
“Can’t we just read the verses?”
He grinned at her. “We will. I promise.”
“Because I don’t really know what three areas God is blessing in this covenant.”
“I’m sure you do,” Fuller replied. “Do you remember the video we saw of John Saint? He went over this.”
“‘I will make you a great nation,’” Lenox replied helpfully.
Staci sat up. “Oh. Oh, okay. Yes, that’s a promise to a nation.”
King nodded. “So the first area of blessing is national. Thank you, Staci.”
“Well, I did have help on that, David.”
“There is nothing wrong with help, my sister.”
She smiled.
“Does anyone need any other hints?”
“‘I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.’” Fuller grinned. “You mean, like that hint?”
Erin looked up from her notes. “It’s a personal blessing. The second are of blessing is personal.”
King nodded. “And the third…?” He paused. “Before Darren or Michael give any more hints, let me say…‘In you all families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
Shiva nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a universal blessing.”
“Yes, exactly. The third area of blessing is universal.” King leaned forward. “Now I would like to point out that these first three verses in Genesis 12 are given as a broad outline, but in chapters 13, 15, and 17, the covenant is later confirmed to Abraham in greater detail.”
“I’d like to add something here, David,” Fuller replied.
King nodded. “Of course, my brother.”
“The Abrahamic Covenant constitutes an important link in all that God began to do, in all that God has done throughout history, and all that God will continue to do until the consummation of history. It is the one purpose of God for humans in which all of God’s programs and works fit.”
“Amen,” Lenox said with a nod. “We certainly do know that history is being consumed alright. By the End Times.”
King agreed with a nod. “There are four personal aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant. Does anyone know what they are?”
“What do you mean by aspects?” Staci asked.
Barrington turned his head from his notes. “It’s like a piece or a part of something. So what David means is that there are four parts or pieces to the Covenant, and we’re going to take a look at each piece.” He glanced at his notes. “And I like to be prepared. I have been looking into this on my own…plus, I also took notes when John was telling us about how God looks at the Jewish race. The first piece of the Abrahamic Covenant is for Abraham to be the father of a nation. We certainly do see this coming true in the life of Abraham.”
Lenox chuckled. “You also got that from what David said earlier. Just as I got the second aspect, which is that Abraham receives a personal blessing.”
“That may be,” Erin said, “but there is an aspect no one has mentioned earlier. The third aspect is that Abraham receives personal honor and reputation.”
King smiled. “What about the last one?”
“The fourth,” Shiva began, “is that Abraham is to be the source of blessing to others.”
“Absolutely. And this is true even today. Many are blessed even today as a result of this covenant. Now this brings us to the universal aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant. We saw the personal side. What about the universal?”
Fronk slammed his hands down onto the table, causing everyone to jump in their seats and turn to him. “What’s the matter? Did you forget I was here?”
Fuller showed him a fist. “I’m going to send you to the moon in about a second if you keep doing that!”
Erin slapped Fronk’s arm. “Me, too, so quit it.”
King tried hard not to grin because he was aware that it would only encourage Fronk to cause more mayhem in his behavior. “William, I perceive that you wanted our attention for a specific purpose. What may that be?”
Fronk cleared his throat. “That purpose, my friend, is to tell you the universal aspects of this covenant. If there are no objections, of course.”
King regarded the others. “Are there any?”
Fuller paused. “There are none…provided William doesn’t say or do anything crazy.”
Barrington laughed. “That’s not an easy task for him.”
“Hey!” Fronk protested.
King turned to him. “Just tell us all what you have.”
Fronk paused. “I will. I study, too, you know. Plus, I take notes.” He held up a notebook full of his hand writing. “And I also jot down all of the questions we need to look into whenever we can. See?” Before anyone could respond, he put his notebook down and cleared his throat. When he spoke again, it was in the tone of a distinguished professor. “Now I shall share with you all three aspects of the universal whole of the Abrahamic Covenant. Do take notes and do try to keep up with me, for this bus does not make frequent stops. The first aspect is that there are blessings for those people and nations which bless Abraham and the nation which comes from him. Of course, this nation we now refer to today is Israel. The second aspect is much like the first but just the opposite, and that is that there are curses upon those people and nations which curse Abraham and Israel. I wouldn’t want to be a part of anyone or any nation that does such a thing to bring down God’s wrath.” He peered at the gatherers over the rim of his glasses. “Would you?” He continued before anyone could respond, “And the third aspect is that there are blessings upon all the families of the earth through the Messiah, who, according to the flesh, is Abraham’s son and provides salvation to the entire world.” He turned away from his notes. “I am done.”
King nodded his head. “Thank you, William. Now…I will read Genesis 12:1 - 3, and then after I read, Staci, you can read verses 4 - 9 and we shall begin with this study of the life of Abraham.” He paused. Then he read Genesis 12:1 - 3. “‘Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.’ ”
3
God Calls Abram
(Genesis 12:4 - 9)
“Before you begin to read verses 4 through 9, Staci,” King began as he regarded the Gatherers with him at the table, “let me set the scene. We have read in the first verse, ‘Now the Lord had said unto Abram…’ We know from other Scriptures that God had called Abram when he lived in Ur of the Chaldees.”
Fuller nodded in agreement as he quoted from Acts. “‘The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. 2’ ”
“And what does that tell us?”
“It tells us,” Lenox began, “that Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home, his business, and the high civilization of Ur. What strikes me is that he left without knowing where he was going. He trusted God.”
“It wasn’t complete obedience,” Barrington said.
Staci turned to him. “It wasn’t?”
He shook his head. “Abraham brought along some of his family, whom God had told him to leave behind. He took with him his father, Terah, and God had told Abraham not to take him.”
“Well…why would God want him to leave his home and his family?”
King leaned forward. “I believe we learn the answer to this question in the Book of Joshua. ‘…Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. 3’ They served other gods. God did not want Abraham to serve other gods so He told him not to bring his family.” He smiled at her. “Read to us this next passage, and we’ll discover more truths along the way.”
Staci smiled and then read Genesis 12:4 - 9. “‘So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai, on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.’ ”
Fuller smiled wryly. “Sounds like a lot happened in that passage.”
“What is the first thing that strikes you?” King asked.
Fronk peered over his glasses at him. “Abram took Lot with him. Now that’s what I would call incomplete obedience.”
Erin shook her head. “Abram did not do this in complete obedience, William.”
He turned his head. “Woman, I did not say in complete obedience. I said incomplete obedience. There is a difference.”
“You can’t call me woman.”
“But…why not? Jesus called the woman at the well ‘woman’. He didn’t mean it in a bad way, and neither do I.”
She kicked him under the table.
He blinked. “I meant Erin. I really did.”
Fuller shook his head. “But all kidding aside, we get your point. Lot went with Abram.”
“Abram also took his wife,” Staci pointed out, “but that’s a good thing, right?”
King nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, Staci. I do believe that God had intended for Abram to take his wife with him because she also is used of God as we shall see. Other than bringing Lot, Abram does obey and he goes into the land of Canaan. What does he do there?”
“He builds an altar,” Barrington replied.
“And the Lord appears to him a second time,” Lenox replied.
“Did you happen to notice that while he was in Haran,” King began, “that the Lord did not appear to him there? Do you know why this is so? I believe it is because it was a place of delay. Abram was delaying his journey and while he did, the Lord did not appear to him. Because he wasn’t moving forward like God told him to. It wasn’t until he began to obey when the Lord finally appeared to him again. God is a mighty Father who wants all of His children to obey Him. He dotes on us when we obey. Did you know that? He showers us with His blessings when we do His will. So Abram finally moves forward, and he obeys by leaving his home. God appears to him and Abram builds him an altar. We will see that Abram is a real altar-builder.”
“So that’s two things that Abram does,” Shiva replied, “when he gets into the land God told him to go to. According to this passage, he pitches his tent…Isn’t that like buying a home in a new subdivision and moving in? Right where he pitched his tent, that was right where he lived, man.”
“What was the second thing he did?” Staci asked.
“Well, it’s like David said…He built an altar. That, I believe, was his testimony to God.”
King nodded. “And we’ll discover that everywhere Abram went, he left a testimony to God. Abram quietly worshiped God, and the Canaanites soon learned that he was a man who worshipped the Lord God.” He paused. “Now…however, we come to a place in the life of Abram that is a blot. A second blot, that is. Let’s see what the next passages tell us about this blot.”
4
Abram Goes To Egypt
(Genesis 12:10 - 20)
“What do you mean by blot?” Staci inquired.
“Simply put,” King replied, “a stain. We often refer to sin as a dark stain in our lives. So this reference to a blot in Abram’s life simply means that he had sinned before his God. He did something that was wrong in the sight of the Lord. Let’s set the stage…Erin, you can begin by reading the first verse of your passage.”
Erin read Genesis 12:10. “‘And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt; for the famine was grievous in the land.’ ”
“Now that doesn’t sound good, does it?”
Staci shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”
“What do we need to look at here?”
“That’s simple,” Fuller replied. “Abram was in the land God had told him to go to. Yet, along comes this famine and Abram suddenly decides to go to Egypt.”
“That’s right.” King nodded. “Only God did not tell him to go to Egypt. God had already sent him to the land he had promised him. Why do you think Abram did this?”
“Maybe at this point in his life, his faith wasn’t strong enough,” Lenox answered. “Maybe Abram just didn’t believe God enough to stay in a land where a famine was hitting close to home. He went down into Egypt, but if he hadn’t, I’m certain God would have provided.”
“Sometimes we go to Egypt, don’t we?”
“Oh, that’s the truth of it, brother.”
“Well, in the Bible, Egypt is a picture of the world. And often, when we do something like go to our own Egypt instead of doing something that God wants us to do, we make excuses for it. And because of it, we often face consequences, don’t we?”
There were nods of agreement from the Gatherers.
“Because of Abram’s actions, a problem arises. And it concerns Sarai because she is a beautiful woman. Erin…read the rest of the passage.”
Erin nodded and read Genesis 12:11 - 20. “‘And it came to pass, when he was come near 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 commanded 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.’ ”
Shiva shook his head. “Now, that’s just heavy. Wow. I guess it’s true how some things can go bad in one single moment. That has to have been the worst possible decision that Abram could have ever made in his life.”
“Why is that?” King asked.
Erin responded before Shiva could. “It was because Abram allowed one moment of fear to lead him into a wrong impulsive decision. It was wrong. And it was disastrous.”
“So as a result to his impulsive decision because of fear, failure invaded his life. Failure invades all of our lives at one time or another, doesn’t it? Some are minor and are overcome quickly, but others are devastating and not only effect us…but also effects those around us. Now with the glorious exception of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, every hero of the Bible has had their time of failure as well. Can we name a few?”
“Sure, we can!” Fronk exclaimed. “Eve ate the fruit, and then she gave it to Adam, and he ate it, too!”
“Cain killed Abel,” Shiva replied.
Barrington sat back. “Noah got drunk.”
“Moses murdered a man,” Fuller said.
Staci looked at him. “He did?”
Fuller nodded. “He did.”
“I got one.” Lenox paused. “Samson liked his women.”
“David had an affair!” Fronk exclaimed. “And then his son, Solomon, got a big head.”
“Jonah refused to obey,” Erin said.
King decided to join in. “Peter denied the Lord. Thomas doubted. Paul persecuted Christians. This list goes on, I’m sure. All of the heroes of yesterday and today have their areas of weakness. And this is also true of Abram. One of the things that testifies to the authentic nature of the Biblical record is the fact that the people presented are not presented in an idealized form. They are presented to us…warts and all. In the Bible, we see people one minute staring down evil and the next minute…they are toying with destruction. Look at Abram now in this passage. In this case, a famine hit’s the land and he runs to…where?”
“Egypt,” Staci answered.
“To Egypt. And while he is there, he allows his wife to be taken into Pharaoh’s harem. He lies to protect himself, knowing that his wife will be taken by the foreign king. It’s a very sad story, and it makes me feel badly for Abram…and especially bad for Sarai. But we can learn several things from this. We can learn some things that lead us to failure, some effects of failure…and then we can learn how to get going again after failure.”
5
Things That Lead To Failure
“There are several causes that lead up to failure,” King began, “but the first cause of Abram’s failure is seen in the first words of verse 10. The Bible says that there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. So the first thing that leads to failure is a misunderstanding of the true nature of faith. On the surface, this seems like a very logical thing to do. However, we need to remember that Abram was told by God to go to the Promised Land. It was the land God gave to him. God promised to protect and defend him.”
“I would have thought that Abram would have sought out the Lord and rested in His promise,” Fuller replied thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, that isn’t what he does. Sometimes, we ourselves don’t rest in what God has given us because we’re looking somewhere else. As we’ve said earlier, instead of trusting the Lord, he turns to Egypt. Abram forgot - or hadn’t yet learned - that true faith is shown in the times of crisis. It is never seen when things are going our way. Faith is trusting God even when we would rather bolt through the door. It’s very easy to profess faith, but an entirely different thing to possess it.” He leaned forward. “Before the rapture occurred, we all had our own Egypt’s. Sometimes we had it good and we didn’t feel like we needed to turn to God because everything was going better than it had been. Where were we, William? What is the place called when things are looking up?”
Fronk blinked. “Gilligan’s Island?”
Fuller looked at him.
Fronk blinked again. “Right, Skipper! Oh, you meant Easy Street!”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant. On Easy Street, we don’t feel the need to be in His presence. Things are looking so good, who needs to call on our heavenly Father.”
“But even when things were difficult,” Erin said, “there was still that temptation to go to Egypt. We borrow things from others, we used the credit card when we didn’t have any money…We can’t use the card now, thank God, because the One World Order Gestapo force would be on us in a split second. My point is that we would often trust others rather than place our trust where it belongs. God.”
King nodded. “And that, my sister, brings us to the second thing that brings us to failure…a loss of spiritual vitality.”
Staci looked at him thoughtfully. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe we can look at it this way,” Lenox began. “Abram left Bethel, the place where he worshipped God. He didn’t return to Bethel until he was expelled from Egypt. If we look at this closely, Bethel means ‘house of God’ and it was Abram’s last recorded residence before he went to Egypt. And we’re told that it was there in Bethel where he had built an altar and called on the name of the Lord. But when he left Bethel he also left his place of worship since the Bible doesn’t record him worshipping again until he returns.”
King nodded. “And that’s what I mean when I say that Abram had lost his spiritual vitality. Spiritually, he had begun to dry up.”
“He lost his moorings and began to drift,” Barrington added.
“Exactly. What once would have been a clear case of right and wrong, now had become muddied. The point is if we want to avoid failure, we have to walk close to the Lord. To do this, we must remain diligent in doing those things which maintain our spiritual vitality.” He paused. “The third contributing factor to failure is rationalization. Abram was willing to rationalize. He told Sarai, his wife, to lie to the Egyptians by telling them she was his sister. Now…I seriously would have thought that Sarai would turn to her husband and simply say, ‘What are you, nuts?’ But Abram rationalizes. First, he points out that the promises of God would be meaningless if he were dead. They need to do this for God. In Genesis 20, we’ll see that Abraham will do this again with a king named Abimelech. The rationalization he gives for his lying then is that Sarai truly is his sister, the daughter of his father…but not of his mother, and so she became his wife. He wasn’t lying…he just wasn’t telling the whole truth. Listen, we rationalize our hatred, our unforgiveness, our bitter words. We rationalize marital unfaithfulness, deceptive business practices, and our own lack of spiritual involvement. Any time we find ourselves making excuses to others or to God…we are rationalizing. And if that is what we are doing, then we are moving toward Egypt rather than the Lord.” He paused. “But praise be to God because He was overruling in the lives of Abram and Sarai, yet He did not appear to Abram while he was in the land of Egypt.”
