†. Gen 12:13 . . I beseech you; say that you are my sister, that it
may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive
thanks to you.
Abraham was shrewd. He was not only concerned about saving his skin, but
also about taking advantage of his being Sarai's kin; and actually that part
of it did work out pretty well.
However, I would have to scold Abram on this point because his conduct
reveals a lack of confidence in God's promises back in Gen 12:2-3 and Gen
12:7.
Abram has to be kept alive to engender heirs so God can make good on His
promise to give them the land of Canaan. No one could kill Abram at this
point; not even a Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Not even The Almighty God
Himself could kill Abram at this point because it was too late for that. God
passed His word back at Shechem that he would make of Abram a great
nation and He can't go back on it without seriously compromising His own
integrity. Some people might be inclined to call that a character weakness;
but to those of us relying upon God to make good on His word, His integrity
is the very basis of our confidence. God's promises are not only Devil-proof;
but God-proof too.
†. Gen 12:14 . .When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how
very beautiful the woman was.
When men talk about a woman's beauty, they're not talking about the sterling
character of a woman like Ruth; no, they're talking about sex appeal. (cf. Gen 6:1-2)
How did the Egyptians see she was a looker? Well, the dress code for women
in Sarai's day was nothing like the totally unflattering burqas that the
Taliban imposed upon women of Afghanistan.
Depicted in a wall painting in the tomb of an Egyptian nobleman named
Khnum-hotpe, at Beni-Hasen on the Nile river, dating from about 1900 BC,
is a Semitic troupe passing customs to enter Egypt. The women are wearing
form-fitting, highly colored, sleeveless wrap-around dresses whose hems
stop at mid calf. Their décolletage swoops from the left shoulder to just
under the opposite armpit, leaving that side's shoulder completely bare.
Their hair, fastened by a thin white ribbon around the forehead, falls loosely
over bosoms and shoulders, and there's stylish little curls just in front of the
ears. Adorning their feet are dark brown, half-length boots. In attire like
that, a woman with any physical assets at all would be very easy to notice.
†. Gen 12:15a . . Pharaoh's courtiers saw her and praised her to
Pharaoh,
Webster's has a couple of definitions for "courtiers". They are people in
attendance at a royal court; and they are also people who practice flattery.
Apparently Pharaoh's toadies kept their eyes peeled for luscious women to
add to his harem; and thus gain for themselves his favor and approval;
ergo: they got to keep their jobs.
Their sighting of Sarai wasn't just happenstance. Entry into Egypt in those
days was tightly controlled and the only way in was past specified check
points. At one time in Egypt's past, there existed a long chain of forts,
watchtowers, and strong points designed to watch over immigration and
possible invasions by the Sand People from the east. The "wall" stretched
north and south across the desert approximately along the same path as
today's Suez Canal. Each check point was manned by armed soldiers
accompanied by officials of the Egyptian government; sort of like the
customs agents and border patrols of the modern world today.
†. Gen 12:15b . . and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's palace.
Not good. A woman in the harems of that day would never have a home of
her own nor freedom to travel. Never would she be allowed to pursue
romance nor to associate with her friends and peers ever again.
†. Gen 12:16 . . And because of her, it went well with Abram; he
acquired sheep, oxen, jack donkeys, male and female slaves, jenny
donkeys, and camels.
Life is much better when you're connected. Because of Sarai, Abram was a
bit of a celebrity and thus treated very well.
So Abram is getting rich. After all, his sister is in the White House. You think
anyone is going to cheat him or make him pay full price for goods and
services? No way. If anything, people were more than willing to give him lots
of expensive gifts and deep discounts, hoping to remain in Pharaoh's good
graces by doing so.
But what's going on in Pharaoh's boudoir at night? There is just no way
Abram could block that out of his mind. If only he had believed God's
promise, Sarai's honor wouldn't be in such immediate danger of
compromise. Abram could have swaggered into Egypt totally fearless of
Pharaoh and his country; and kept his wife within her own camp, safe and
snug among her own people.
†. Gen 12:17 . . But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household
with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram.
I, for one, don't blame Pharaoh for any of that. It was totally Abram's fault.
Pharaoh and his courtiers were duped into thinking Sarai was available. How
could they have known she was already spoken for?
Our hero didn't tell the Egyptians about his adventures with The Lord. All he
could think about was how to survive and stay alive. ¡Error! If he had
instead been a faithful witness for God, rather than looking out for his own
skin, I think things would have gone much better for Abram and Sarai down
there in Egypt.
But now they will be forcibly deported; in shame and disgrace. So, instead of
being a positive influence for their god, they became a very bad one. God's
people are supposed to believe in their god, and reflect that confidence to
others; and at the very least they ought to be honest. And God's people
should never be reluctant to tell others about their religion even if those
others appear to be pagan heathens.
†. Gen 12:18-20 . . Pharaoh sent for Abram and said: What is this
you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your
wife? Why did you say "She is my sister" so that I took her as my
wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone! And Pharaoh put
men in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that
he possessed.
One can scarcely blame Mr. Pharaoh for blowing his top. Nobody likes to be
duped, especially monarchs and despots.
Just exactly how Pharaoh found out that Sarai was Abram's wife is not said.
Probably the very same way King Abimelech discovered the truth about her
in a later incident. Here's how that will go when we get there later on. (Gen
20:1-7)
From a totally humanistic point of view, it would appear that God is terribly
unfair. I mean, after all, Pharaoh and Abimelech couldn't possibly have
known that Sarah was married, especially when both she and her husband
were telling people otherwise. But these incidents are valuable to reveal that
sin is just a wee bit more complicated than Man's inadequate little sense of
right and wrong is able to fully comprehend.
Well anyway; as the texts says: Abram acquired female slaves during this
brief stopover in Egypt; and quite possibly one of their names was— you
guessed it —Ms. Hagar: the mother of Ishmael, the father of the Arab world;
from whence ultimately came Muhammad and the religion of Islam. Just
goes to show that something as incidental as the flutter of a butterfly's
wings could ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.
Cont.
/
may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive
thanks to you.
Abraham was shrewd. He was not only concerned about saving his skin, but
also about taking advantage of his being Sarai's kin; and actually that part
of it did work out pretty well.
However, I would have to scold Abram on this point because his conduct
reveals a lack of confidence in God's promises back in Gen 12:2-3 and Gen
12:7.
Abram has to be kept alive to engender heirs so God can make good on His
promise to give them the land of Canaan. No one could kill Abram at this
point; not even a Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Not even The Almighty God
Himself could kill Abram at this point because it was too late for that. God
passed His word back at Shechem that he would make of Abram a great
nation and He can't go back on it without seriously compromising His own
integrity. Some people might be inclined to call that a character weakness;
but to those of us relying upon God to make good on His word, His integrity
is the very basis of our confidence. God's promises are not only Devil-proof;
but God-proof too.
†. Gen 12:14 . .When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how
very beautiful the woman was.
When men talk about a woman's beauty, they're not talking about the sterling
character of a woman like Ruth; no, they're talking about sex appeal. (cf. Gen 6:1-2)
How did the Egyptians see she was a looker? Well, the dress code for women
in Sarai's day was nothing like the totally unflattering burqas that the
Taliban imposed upon women of Afghanistan.
Depicted in a wall painting in the tomb of an Egyptian nobleman named
Khnum-hotpe, at Beni-Hasen on the Nile river, dating from about 1900 BC,
is a Semitic troupe passing customs to enter Egypt. The women are wearing
form-fitting, highly colored, sleeveless wrap-around dresses whose hems
stop at mid calf. Their décolletage swoops from the left shoulder to just
under the opposite armpit, leaving that side's shoulder completely bare.
Their hair, fastened by a thin white ribbon around the forehead, falls loosely
over bosoms and shoulders, and there's stylish little curls just in front of the
ears. Adorning their feet are dark brown, half-length boots. In attire like
that, a woman with any physical assets at all would be very easy to notice.
†. Gen 12:15a . . Pharaoh's courtiers saw her and praised her to
Pharaoh,
Webster's has a couple of definitions for "courtiers". They are people in
attendance at a royal court; and they are also people who practice flattery.
Apparently Pharaoh's toadies kept their eyes peeled for luscious women to
add to his harem; and thus gain for themselves his favor and approval;
ergo: they got to keep their jobs.
Their sighting of Sarai wasn't just happenstance. Entry into Egypt in those
days was tightly controlled and the only way in was past specified check
points. At one time in Egypt's past, there existed a long chain of forts,
watchtowers, and strong points designed to watch over immigration and
possible invasions by the Sand People from the east. The "wall" stretched
north and south across the desert approximately along the same path as
today's Suez Canal. Each check point was manned by armed soldiers
accompanied by officials of the Egyptian government; sort of like the
customs agents and border patrols of the modern world today.
†. Gen 12:15b . . and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's palace.
Not good. A woman in the harems of that day would never have a home of
her own nor freedom to travel. Never would she be allowed to pursue
romance nor to associate with her friends and peers ever again.
†. Gen 12:16 . . And because of her, it went well with Abram; he
acquired sheep, oxen, jack donkeys, male and female slaves, jenny
donkeys, and camels.
Life is much better when you're connected. Because of Sarai, Abram was a
bit of a celebrity and thus treated very well.
So Abram is getting rich. After all, his sister is in the White House. You think
anyone is going to cheat him or make him pay full price for goods and
services? No way. If anything, people were more than willing to give him lots
of expensive gifts and deep discounts, hoping to remain in Pharaoh's good
graces by doing so.
But what's going on in Pharaoh's boudoir at night? There is just no way
Abram could block that out of his mind. If only he had believed God's
promise, Sarai's honor wouldn't be in such immediate danger of
compromise. Abram could have swaggered into Egypt totally fearless of
Pharaoh and his country; and kept his wife within her own camp, safe and
snug among her own people.
†. Gen 12:17 . . But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household
with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram.
I, for one, don't blame Pharaoh for any of that. It was totally Abram's fault.
Pharaoh and his courtiers were duped into thinking Sarai was available. How
could they have known she was already spoken for?
Our hero didn't tell the Egyptians about his adventures with The Lord. All he
could think about was how to survive and stay alive. ¡Error! If he had
instead been a faithful witness for God, rather than looking out for his own
skin, I think things would have gone much better for Abram and Sarai down
there in Egypt.
But now they will be forcibly deported; in shame and disgrace. So, instead of
being a positive influence for their god, they became a very bad one. God's
people are supposed to believe in their god, and reflect that confidence to
others; and at the very least they ought to be honest. And God's people
should never be reluctant to tell others about their religion even if those
others appear to be pagan heathens.
†. Gen 12:18-20 . . Pharaoh sent for Abram and said: What is this
you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your
wife? Why did you say "She is my sister" so that I took her as my
wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone! And Pharaoh put
men in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that
he possessed.
One can scarcely blame Mr. Pharaoh for blowing his top. Nobody likes to be
duped, especially monarchs and despots.
Just exactly how Pharaoh found out that Sarai was Abram's wife is not said.
Probably the very same way King Abimelech discovered the truth about her
in a later incident. Here's how that will go when we get there later on. (Gen
20:1-7)
From a totally humanistic point of view, it would appear that God is terribly
unfair. I mean, after all, Pharaoh and Abimelech couldn't possibly have
known that Sarah was married, especially when both she and her husband
were telling people otherwise. But these incidents are valuable to reveal that
sin is just a wee bit more complicated than Man's inadequate little sense of
right and wrong is able to fully comprehend.
Well anyway; as the texts says: Abram acquired female slaves during this
brief stopover in Egypt; and quite possibly one of their names was— you
guessed it —Ms. Hagar: the mother of Ishmael, the father of the Arab world;
from whence ultimately came Muhammad and the religion of Islam. Just
goes to show that something as incidental as the flutter of a butterfly's
wings could ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.
Cont.
/
