Gospel Shadows in Egypt
Genesis 12:10–13 (NASB95)
10Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13“Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
A severe famine strikes Canaan, forcing Abraham and his family to seek refuge in Egypt. This moment sets a pattern that will echo throughout Scripture. Abraham, the father of Isaac, must leave the land of promise to escape harm. Later, Joseph will lead his family to Egypt to survive the famine. In the Gospels, Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, will take his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s threat. These stories are not isolated. They are woven together, each pointing forward to Christ. The Bible is a story within a story, and each layer reveals more of God’s redemptive plan.
Abraham’s journey to Egypt is also the first time he takes matters into his own hands. God has promised to make him a great nation. Yet, when faced with danger, Abraham fears Pharaoh more than he trusts God’s promise. He asks Sarai to say she is his sister, a half-truth meant to protect himself. This act of self-preservation exposes Abraham’s human frailty. He relies on his own strategy rather than God’s faithfulness. The result is a deception that puts Sarai in danger, and it will have consequences for the Egyptians, as the following verses will show. Even so, God’s plan does not fail. God will intervene to protect Sarai and preserve the promise.
For the modern church, Abram's experience is a call to trust God’s promises, even when circumstances seem dire. We must resist the urge to accommodate half-truths or outright lies that are popular in our culture. As I have stated before, speak the truth and live no lies, even if this results in opposition. Let us walk by faith, knowing that God’s faithfulness is greater than our fears.