You could consider this part one of two. We will see Abraham’s manufactured prosperity in Egypt in this issue, and in the next issue, you will see God-given prosperity. In my last issue, I opened up our character study on Abraham by talking about why he is considered the father of faith

In this issue, Abraham and Sarah move to Egypt because of a famine in the land of Canaan. While in Egypt, Abraham keeps his head because he asks a favor of Sarah. It works out for a while, but then it falls apart. That’s what happens to manufactured prosperity we try to make on our own.

Sarah Abraham’s Sister to Bring Manufactured Prosperity (Genesis 12:10-16)

“Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” (Genesis 12:10–16, ESV)

We will be looking at Abraham’s manufactured prosperity for himself while he was in Egypt. We don’t know why there was a famine in the land Abraham and Sarah lived. Famines seem to be frequent when the patriarchs lived in the land. That is the reason Jacob goes with Joseph to Egypt later.

I know at this time Abraham is named Abram and Sarah is named Sarai but I will keep their names straight and talk about them when they get changed later. I think it’s easier for us to recognize them with their final names.

The famine was so severe that they would be spending some time in Egypt. It was long enough for them to be in Egypt for him to gain animals and a small fortune, so to speak. Before they enter Egypt, Abraham asks a favor of Sarah. It is certainly an unusual one.

He asks for to say she is his sister instead of his wife. He actually does this twice in his lifetime with her (Genesis 20:2). She is his half-sister as he explains in Genesis 20:12. Abraham is afraid that they will kill him and take Sarah for themselves because she is beautiful.

In one sense, you could say Abraham was not always full of faith. That’s the difference between seeing Abraham from New Testament eyes instead of seeing him as a mortal man who makes mistakes like the rest of us. Abraham did not want to die, and who could blame him?

Instead, he puts himself and Sarah in danger from Pharaoh. I don’t know that Abraham knew the Egyptians would kill him and take Sarah away from. I think that is his fear talking. It’s dangerous when we start talking from fear instead of faith.

He asks Sarah to say she is his sister instead of his wife. Anyone reading this today would see that Abraham is more concerned, it seems, for himself. He puts himself at risk if the Egyptians find out the truth. When he says, “so that my life will be spared for your sake,” he is probably referring to being the one who provides for and protects her.

For her part, Sarah goes along with it. As far as we know, she does not challenge him or raise any objections. She does what he asks of her. She is righteous woman who honors the commitment she made to him (Genesis 20:13).

The Egyptians indeed find Sarah beautiful and Pharaoh takes her into his harem, his court. In an ironic twist, Sarah saves Abraham’s life. It’s interesting that the narrative calls Sarah Abraham’s wife until they enter Egypt. Then she is called “the woman.” It’s as if the narrator wants us to see that Abraham’s plan worked.

At least, it works until the Egyptians discover the full truth about Sarah. Sarah saves Abraham’s life because it is because of her that the Egyptians deal well with him. He gains everything in Egypt he has because he told a half-truth, that Sarah was his sister.

Abraham manufactured his prosperity while in Egypt. Because of his cunning move, he was able to freely move about Egypt and receive favor from them because of Sarah. Animals represent wealth in the Bible. But none of this happens because of God’s ordained steps for him.

Abraham’s Manufactured Prosperity Does Not Last (Genesis 12:17-20)

“But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.” (Genesis 12:17–20, ESV)

We see in the next paragraph that Abraham’s manufactured prosperity will not last very long. Sure, he gets to keep what he gained when Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s house but he does not get to stay in the land of Egypt.

The Lord will not allow Abraham to get away with it. He let Pharaoh know in the worst way that Sarah does not belong to him. He afflicts Pharaoh and his house with plagues because of Sarah. I wonder how they realized the plagues were because of Sarah. It could be because they only started happening after Pharaoh took her.

Perhaps the Lord had other ways of letting Pharaoh know the sickness was because of Sarah. We don’t know exactly how they tipped him off about her. These afflictions did not only happen to Pharaoh. They happened in his whole house. Perhaps that was the clue.

Whatever caused Pharaoh to realize his plight was caused because he took another man’s wife into his harem, he knows it and will address it directly with Abraham. Pharaoh must’ve been quite angry with Abraham. He addresses him directly, “What is this you have done to me?”

It must be that Pharaoh is still having whatever affliction the Lord gave him while he speaks to Abraham. He is probably pointing at the affliction while exclaiming this question. He knows what has happened to him. I think this question is one Pharaoh asks to emphasize the souring relationship between them.

We may be trying to do ourselves a favor, but when the truth comes out, there is no favor for us. We find ourselves on the wrong end of a relationship. This is what happened to Abraham. It is all because he did not trust that the Lord would take care of him in Egypt.

Pharaoh asks three questions of Abraham and we do not see any response by Abraham. He doesn’t attempt to explain himself or why he did what he did. Sometimes the explanation will not help you any.

His second question asks why Abraham did not disclose that Sarah was his wife. No full disclosure here. Instead, Pharaoh has to find out because he receives an affliction from the Lord. This is not the first time a Pharaoh will realize the power of the Lord.

I doubt Pharaoh would’ve understood Abraham’s position. As royalty, he would never understand being afraid for his life in a foreign land. His third question clarifies by asking why Abraham said she was his sister. We are not given the explanation Abraham will later give to Abimelech.

All that we know is Abraham got a dressing down by Pharaoh and was told to leave. Pharaoh gives Sarah back to Abraham and simply says, “Here is your wife. Take her and go.” There is no salvaging this relationship. It is over. And it is Abraham’s fault. He gets a “police escort” out of Egypt by Pharaoh’s men.

One thing we do know is that Abraham left Egypt with Sarah and everything he gained while he was there. His manufactured prosperity went with him but not because the Lord was pleased with his decisions in Egypt. The Lord will bring the truth out if we do not.

Nothing in the text says that the Lord is displeased with Abraham for how he acts in Egypt. But His actions behind the scenes suggests that He wants the truth to be known. Abraham keeps all his possessions and get Sarah back, but he will never be accepted in Egypt again. He burnt the bridge.

Life Lessons from Abraham’s Manufactured Prosperity

Abraham’s manufactured prosperity teaches us a few things we can use in our life every day. First, Abraham tells a half-truth and it gets him in trouble in the end. Half-truths are still not the truth. We should be completely honest and tell the whole truth all the time.

Second, Abraham does not trust that the Lord will protect and provide for him and Sarah while they are in Egypt. He makes his own way of protecting himself. He gains prosperity that way, but it is at the risk of Sarah. In the end, he was lucky Pharaoh did not do more than just banish them from Egypt.

The Lord works behind the scenes to make sure the truth is known. He does not let us get away with manufacturing our own prosperity and taking care of ourselves. He wants us to trust in Him alone. We need to know that even if we tell the whole truth and there are consequences so that am more concerned, the Lord will take care of us.

Abraham did not trust the Lord and leaned on his own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) but it did not get him further life except for the Lord’s grace and letting him keep what he had gained while in Egypt. Not trusting in the Lord could lead to dire consequences for us.

Third, you can really destroy your relationships when you only tell half-truths and am more concerned about yourself than anyone else. I can imagine Sarah was happy with Abraham. He traded her for wealth and prosperity. She was in a strange place with strange people.

Even worse is what the text clearly says about Pharaoh’s response to Abraham. There was no way Abraham would form a good relationship with Pharaoh and it was his fault. He was the one who acted out of mistrust and fear for his own life. We cannot let these emotions and thoughts rule us.

Such ways of thinking destroy our relationships in the end. It is not worth destroying your relationships are afraid of what might happen. Once again, the Lord will take care of you. Abraham ruined what could’ve been a good relationship with Pharaoh because of his fear.

To our knowledge, he didn’t even respond when Pharaoh asked him three pointed questions. Something tells me that when you’re standing in Pharaoh’s court and he is angry with you, you probably should keep your mouth shut. But it didn’t have to be that way.

As you will see with our character studies, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly in biblical people. We need to learn from all three aspects of who they are. The New Testament does not mention much bad about Abraham. But in his origin story here in Genesis, we can see all three aspects.

The Saga Continues…

We have seen in the last issue Abraham’s manufactured prosperity and how that is different from God-given prosperity in this issue. But the story continues in the life lessons from Abraham do not stop here. We’re still just getting started with Abraham’s life story. In the next issue, we will talk about Abraham as the Man God blesses.