Chapter 2: Abram Goes Down to Egypt
Q1 - We learn in Genesis 20:13 that Abram had told Sarai to say she was his sister from the time he began his wanderings. He claimed that by her doing so, she would be showing him kindness. What does this reveal about Abram’s character? How do you think this experience of being taken away into Pharaoh’s household affected Sarai?
A1 - Understandably, Abram may have been anxious for his safety when about traveling through a foreign land. However, claiming that Sarai was his sister only seems to have benefitted him—and Sarai not so much. She was the one hauled away to the Pharaoh, with her life and safety being strictly in the hands of other people.
While it’s easy for us to say Abram should have trusted God to protect and care for both of him, remember that he spent the first 75 years of his life not having a relationship (that we know about) with the one true God. His faith was still a work in progress. As for Sarai, she may have been terrified, but she also realized she was powerless, and she probably complied without protest. Hopefully, during such a trying time Sarai put her faith in God to deliver her, but the scriptures are silent on her personal relationship with the Almighty.
Q2 - When have you relied on your own wisdom and understanding rather than trusting in God? How did things work out for you? What did you learn from your experience?
A2 - Answers will vary, but it’s safe to say almost everyone has failed to trust God during certain trying times. Worse, we often trust ourselves to handle things during “normal” times, thinking we should take care of what we can and only bother God when we have difficulties. What’s often remarkable is how God works things out anyway, in spite of us.
Q3 - At this point in his life, what did Abram know of right and wrong? How did he know what God expected of him?
A3 - God will not issue a formal code of conduct for His followers until centuries later when He gives the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. From the time of creation until the time of Moses is known as the “Patriarchal Dispensation.” During that time, God communicated directly with certain chosen people, the patriarchs. Did He give them certain rules to live by? Other than commanding Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden, we don’t know much about God’s moral instructions. We know He did counsel Cain in Genesis 4:6–7 concerning his anger and his attitude toward his brother, wise words which Cain chose not to heed.
We know that certain of the ancients had a close relationship with God. Enoch was someone who “walked with God” so closely that he did not die a physical death, for God took him (see Genesis 5:23–24 and Hebrews 11:5). Noah was also a just man who walked with God and found grace in His eyes, and through him God spared mankind. Did God specifically tell these people what He expected of them, or is the sense of right and wrong innately within each of us? After all, God made humans in His own image.
In short, the scriptures do not tell us much about any specific instructions God may have given to Abram or other of the early people of faith concerning how to live their lives or how to worship Him. But we are told that God would speak with them and even appear to them at certain times in various ways or send His angels. We know these encounters had a lasting impact on their lives.