Genesis 12:7-13: a reflection

7The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the LORD’s name. 9Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10There 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. 11When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13Please 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.”

In these verses we see Abram both at his best and at his weakest, and the honesty of the account is instructive. He is the man of faith who builds altars to the Lord and calls on his name, following God to a land he was promised. Yet when famine drives him to Egypt, fear grips him, and he resorts to a deception, asking his wife to say she is his sister, to protect himself. The same Abram who trusted God enough to leave everything and build altars along the way also faltered in fear and stumbled into compromise. Faith and failing sat side by side in him. Even a man of great faith could be gripped by fear and driven to compromise; the account does not hide it. Abram's faith was real, and so was his faltering; fear could still drive even him to a shabby expedient.

Notice the honesty of the account: it shows Abram's faith and his faltering together. He builds altars, calls on the Lord, follows God's leading; and then, gripped by fear in Egypt, he schemes a deception to save himself. The man of faith faltered; fear drove him to compromise. Scripture does not hide the failings of even its heroes of faith; it shows Abram's fear and his shabby expedient alongside his altars and his trust. This is sobering and, in a way, comforting: even great faith can falter when fear takes hold, and fear can drive us to compromises we would not otherwise make. The account's honesty warns us not to think ourselves beyond such faltering, and not to let fear drive us to compromise. Faith does not make us immune to fear; and fear, unchecked, can lead even the faithful into compromise. The line between trusting God and faltering in fear runs through even a faithful heart.

That is worth taking to heart, for even people of faith can falter in fear, and we must guard against letting fear drive us to compromise. We can imagine that faith puts us beyond faltering, that we would never stumble into compromise; but even Abram, the man of faith who built altars to God, was gripped by fear in Egypt and resorted to deception. Fear can drive even the faithful to compromise. There is wisdom in guarding against the fear that would lead us to compromise, rather than presuming ourselves immune. Do not presume that your faith puts you beyond faltering; guard against letting fear drive you to compromise, as it drove even Abram. Guard against letting fear drive you to compromise, remembering that even people of faith can falter, as Abram, who built altars to the Lord, was gripped by fear in Egypt and resorted to deception; for faith does not make us immune to fear, and fear unchecked can drive even the faithful into compromises they would not otherwise make, so that we do well to guard our hearts against fear rather than presuming ourselves beyond such faltering.

Lord, in these verses we see Abram both at his best and at his weakest, and the honesty of the account is instructive. He is the man of faith who builds altars to you and calls on your name, following you to a land he was promised. Yet when famine drives him to Egypt, fear grips him, and he resorts to a deception, asking his wife to say she is his sister, to protect himself. The same Abram who trusted you enough to leave everything and build altars along the way also faltered in fear and stumbled into compromise. Faith and failing sat side by side in him. Show me the honesty of the account: it shows Abram's faith and his faltering together. He builds altars, calls on you, follows your leading; and then, gripped by fear in Egypt, he schemes a deception to save himself. The man of faith faltered; fear drove him to compromise. Scripture does not hide the failings of even its heroes of faith. This is sobering and, in a way, comforting: even great faith can falter when fear takes hold, and fear can drive me to compromises I would not otherwise make. Faith does not make me immune to fear. Take that to my heart, for even people of faith can falter in fear, and I must guard against letting fear drive me to compromise. I can imagine that faith puts me beyond faltering, that I would never stumble into compromise; but even Abram, who built altars to you, was gripped by fear and resorted to deception. Keep me from presuming that my faith puts me beyond faltering; help me guard against letting fear drive me to compromise, Lord, as it drove even Abram, that I may not presume myself immune but watch my heart against fear.