“Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Genesis 12:13 NIV
What else happened in Egypt? It is most evident that when Abram lost his faith, he also lost his courage! Even before he got into Egypt, he grew afraid and descended to cowardliness and falsehood. He told a little white lie; that is what we would call it today. But a lie is a lie! He said to his wife, “Look, dear, I know these Egyptians. I read about them in the library in Ur. They are all wolves, and you are a beautiful woman. I know what will happen when we get down there. They will want to take you, and if they know you are my wife, they will kill me. Let’s play it smart with a little strategy. You tell them you are my sister.” This was not wholly a lie. Sarai was Abram’s half-sister. She was the daughter of a woman who married Abram’s father after Abram was born. So, this was a half-truth. But a half-truth is also a half-lie, and a lie in any proportion is intended to deceive. The nearer it is to the truth, the more perfectly deceitful it is. Abram’s intent was clearly to deceive. Doubtless he justified it on the grounds that it was needed to protect his beautiful wife. Perhaps this is the most startling thing about this story. Sarai was sixty-five years old at the time, yet so remarkable is her beauty that Abram is afraid he may lose her. Abram depends on his own resources to defend her, and his only recourse is to lie. The ramifications for Abram were huge, as they are for us, when we lie.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, You have always said that the Truth will set us free.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, a lie is a lie, even if it is a “white” lie, and You have always told us that the Truth will set us free. Nothing else! AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Isaiah 10:1-4
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