It makes you wonder if Abraham knew that this was going to happen. After all, it worked out that way in Egypt.
So what is the lesson we are supposed to learn here? Would God really reward someone who fearfully lies and deceives others? Isn’t Abraham again demonstrating his lack of faith and his distrust of God’s protective guidance?
Here’s one thing we can be sure of: God blesses and is blessed in spite of our foolish mistakes, not because of them.
The King of Gerar and the Pharaoh of Egypt had very little to prevent them from vengefully eliminating one insignificant nomad, but they chose to reverence an unfamiliar God and heap gifts on His servant instead. Abraham should have learned his lessons by now, but instead of holding fast to the promises that had been made to him, he cowered behind a falsehood, and yet he still walked away a richer man.
Does this seem unjust, or are we able to take comfort in the miraculous way God’s will is accomplished and He is glorified, despite our bumbling acts of selfishness and stupidity?
I’ve always thought the message was God will love us no matter the mistakes we make.
I would hope a cursory understanding of the message of the Bible would communicate that truth. My point was to highlight the unlikely turn of events in this particular passage.
Oh and I also just noticed something. It’s been a while since we’ve seen our pal Newt and i’m starting to wonder what he’s been up to during all this.
We can assume that Newt is scrambling to salvage the remains of his charred real estate investments in the Cities of the Plains.
Ouch. I’ve seen some bad real estate investments but that’s got to be the worst one yet.