Who said denial is not just a river in Egypt? Abram denies his wife, denies God’s care, and His promises too.
My wife and I were privileged to visit Egypt in 1984. Even as the plane came in to land, I could see Egypt’s secret. Two green swaths ran along the Nile River, and then sand as far as the eye could see. This was why the ancient land was called Mizraim, which means “double narrowness,” referring to the lush river banks. This was very different from Canaan. God explains in Deuteronomy 11: “The land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come,…but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares” (vv 10-12). Egypt’s Nile drained a large portion of the African continent, so there was never a shortage of water. But Israel was dependent on the rains, or rather, on the God who controlled the rains. Obedience brought blessing; disobedience, drought. When there was drought in Canaan, it was common to go down to Egypt to seek grain. Thus did Abram, perhaps forgetting God’s promise to care for him. Then, fearing someone would dispatch him to gain access to his beautiful wife, Sara, he asked her to tell a half-truth that she was his sister. Of course when the devil gets us to tell a half-truth, he wants people to believe the wrong half! Things went from bad to worse. Pharaoh took Sara for his harem. But even though Abram failed his wife, God didn’t fail. Years later, God would send plagues on Egypt to deliver His people; on this occasion He sent plagues to deliver just one woman. Discovering the scheme, Pharaoh chastened Abram and paid him off to leave the country. Sometimes wealth is not God’s blessing, as we shall soon see. 1 Timothy 6:6 advises: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”