Abram hasn’t been long in the promised land when famine hits. He decides to leave then land and go to Egypt to find food. There has been some debate on whether or not this was a good thing to do with some commentators pointing to the absence of explicit negative assessment. However, sometimes the point does not need to be made explicitly. Rather, we can observe that the explicit command God has given is to go to the land shown to him and God has promised to bless and prosper him there. Furthermore, departure from the land is consistently associated with exile, slavery, curse, judgement and death. This is true both in terms of the big narrative of Israel and the story of individuals like Naomi and Joseph. It is only in the specific context of the incarnation and danger from Herod that one family are told to leave for Egypt and part of that was specifically so that Jesus would recapitulate the history of God’s people, fulfilling prophecy. Jesus was taken to Egypt in order that he might come up out of Egypt retracing the Exodus.
Abram is fearful. He is worried that the Egyptians will take a shine to Sarai and kill him so they can take her for themselves. So, he comes up with a ruse. He thinks that if he explains that Sarai is his sister, then he will be safe. It is possible that he thought he could entertain suiters without actually going through with a commitment.[1] If that was his intention then the plan fell apart. The Pharoah, or king took a fancy to her and arranges for her to be brought to him. In return Abram is rewarded. In this context we are possibly talking about the king of a city state in Egypt rather than one of the later emperor like Pharaohs.
Some people have attempted to justify Abram’s actions here, taking up his own excuse that this was at least partly true. Sarai was his half-sister. However, failure to tell the whole truth in order to deceive is still lying and there is no excuse for this. Abram benefits but he puts his wife in moral danger. God sends judgement on the Egyptians and so Pharaoh realises the truth and sends Abram away.
It does seem that Abram prospers through his time in Egypt. We might even say that God seems to bless him, this despite his failings. It is important not to mistake this as a reward for sin. Rather, we see that God chooses to act graciously towards Abram, despite his failings. God does this because he is faithful to his covenant promise.
[1] See Wenham, Genesis 1-15, 288.
Faithroots 