The Truth About Survival — Genesis 12 Daily Word

In Genesis 12, Abram journeys to Egypt during a famine and deceives Pharaoh about his wife Sarai, revealing how fear can cause us to abandon trust in God’s promises and provision.

In Genesis 12:10–20, Abram journeys down to Egypt because of a famine. Fearing for his life on account of his wife Sarai’s beauty, he deceives the Egyptians by calling her his sister in order to preserve himself. Yet God strikes Pharaoh and his household with great plagues, bringing the truth to light.

The Truth About the Question of Survival

[Scripture]

[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. [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.” [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. [16] And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. [17] 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. (Gen 12:10-20, ESV)

[Daily Word]

# Abram obeys God’s word and enters the land of Canaan.

At the oak of Moreh, south of Shechem, he hears God’s promise: “To your offspring I will give this land.” Moved deeply by these words, he builds the first altar to the LORD. He then moves on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitches his tent there, builds a second altar, and this time offers proper, heartfelt worship by calling on the name of the LORD in praise. As recorded in verse 9, he continued journeying toward the Negeb. The fact that Abram moved gradually toward the Negeb indicates that he was heading in the direction of Egypt.

So why is Abram moving toward Egypt, leaving behind the land of Canaan that God had given him? Verse 10 tells us it was because the famine in the land was severe. Rather than trusting God to sustain him in the land he had been given, Abram decided to leave for Egypt — the greatest grain-producing region of that era — driven by the pressure of survival. This is the moment when his earlier choice to leave behind corruption and come to Canaan in faith begins to unravel.

# Abram faces a second threat to his survival.

Upon entering Egypt, he fears that his beautiful wife will cause the Egyptians to kill him and take her. His solution, therefore, is to have Sarai say she is his sister. As stated in the second half of verse 13, he reasons that this will keep him safe and preserve his life. At this point, the text records a notable detail: in verse 4, Abram is seventy-five years old, and as indicated in 17:17, Sarai is only ten years younger than him, making her sixty-five years old at this time. In that era, sixty-five was considered middle age. (Sarai would later die at the age of 127.)

This raises a natural question: how could the beauty of a middle-aged woman be the kind that might cost a man his life? It is possible that, since Sarai had no children, she may have appeared younger than women of comparable age who did. More importantly, the standard of feminine beauty in ancient society was quite different from modern ideals. Today we tend to value outward, physical attractiveness — particularly the slender and youthful look — but in that era, a woman was considered beautiful if she carried the poised and dignified bearing of a refined, mature woman. Viewed by that standard, the text affirms that Sarai was indeed beautiful and possessed a face of striking, exceptional comeliness.

In fact, Abram’s claim that Sarai was his sister was not an outright lie, because Sarai was indeed his half-sister. (20:12) [12] Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. (Gen 20:12, ESV) In any case, Abram used Sarai’s beauty as a bargaining tool, presenting her as his sibling in order to gain a position of advantage over those who wished to marry her. But a problem arose: an Egyptian man approached Sarai who had no need to seek anyone’s permission in order to marry.

That man was Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So Pharaoh began to treat Abram well in order to obtain Sarai. In verse 16, we see that Abram received sheep, cattle, male and female servants, male and female donkeys, and camels as gifts from Pharaoh — in effect, a betrothal payment for Sarai. Yet because of this betrothal, verse 17 tells us that the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his household with great plagues on account of Sarai, Abram’s wife. God’s judgment fell upon Pharaoh’s house because of Abram’s sin. The particular sin God took note of was the matter concerning Sarai.

# Why Did God Not Condemn Abram?

Then why did God not condemn Abram for the first survival decision — abandoning the land of Canaan and going down to Egypt? The answer is revealed in verse 10 in the phrase “to sojourn there.” The word “sojourn” carries the meaning of a temporary stay. Abram was planning to return to the land of Canaan once the famine was over. In this way, Abram was able to resolve the first survival crisis through his own capabilities.

However, the matter of his wife Sarai was something that could not be resolved by human ability — especially not from Abram’s position — and so we see God intervening directly with Pharaoh and his household. Although the exact nature of the affliction is not specified, God struck Pharaoh with some kind of illness that prevented him from touching Sarai, and He brought the same plague upon all those who participated in that wrongdoing.

The key message in today’s passage is that God will surely protect the people He has chosen—especially those who are blessed by Him. Therefore, what we must do is trust that God is with us and entrust the matter of our survival entirely into His hands.

[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Ps 23:4, ESV)

Abram’s deception, Sarai’s beauty, the famine in Egypt, God’s protection, the weakness of faith

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com