Two tests faced Abraham on his arrival in Canaan. First the land which God had promised to him was not vacant as might have been expected. It was filled with Caananites. (v.6) How was Abraham (or his descendants) going to claim it? Secondly (v.10), in that land to which God had led him, there was insufficient food. In fact, it was in the grip of a serious famine. What was Abraham to do? What alternatives did he face? Remember he had a very large household to cater for. Abraham took what seems to have been an impulsive step. He moved his household down to Egypt, leaving the land to which God had led him. Then followed the sad story of deceit and self interest on Abraham's part which you have just read. Finally Pharaoh asked his police force to escort Abraham out of the country. What a situation! A man of faith was asked to leave by a heathen king! What would have been Abraham's emotions as he travelled east out of Egypt, back to Canaan? No doubt he had serious guilty feelings. It must have been a humbling experience. But when he arrived in Canaan, he went back to one of the altars he had built some time before. Verse 4 expresses it beautifully: 'There Abraham called on the name of the Lord.' What a wonderful restoration for the man of faith. The marks of Egypt were still with him however. The flocks he and Lot had accumulated in Egypt (13:2) became a serious problem soon afterwards. In Lot's case, it was the beginning of his downfall. One person Abraham seems to have acquired in Egypt was Hagar. You remember the tragedy involving Abraham, Sarah and Hagar and later Ishmael. It is a sad story. You can't go to Egypt (a type of the world) and not have it influenced your life for years afterwards. A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: God forgives. But the scars can remain. |
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