Genesis 12:10-21

Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
– Genesis 12:10-21

Devotion

The lives of Abram and Sarai are perfect examples of how even those of strong faith can waver at times. The repeated vacillating between trust in God and reliance on self demonstrates both God’s faithfulness and his love. During Abram and Sarai’s time in Egypt, God supernaturally intervened to protect Sarai’s honor from her own husband’s weakness. Similarly, during the debacle with Hagar and Ishmael, God demonstrated his faithfulness, intervening again to preserve Sarai’s role in the Messianic line.

The life of Sarai shows how much God values women and motherhood. Again and again, we see a merciful, faithful God stepping in to rescue His people from themselves, even using their weakness as a way to demonstrate His faithfulness, and setting the stage for His ultimate intervention through the Messiah.

The Big Question

In what ways have you seen God reach into your life and use your troubles and weaknesses to demonstrate His faithfulness?

Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.