Do you like to drive? Some people love it. Just give them a bag of sunflower seeds and they can drive forever—much to the chagrin of their family. I like driving except through parking lots. My stress level rises there because there are so many potential hazards like runaway shopping carts, kids darting in and out, and cars suddenly pulling out of parking spaces. On top of all that, there’s those speed bumps you have to contend with. If I can, I’ll drive clear around a speed bump rather than drive over it. What’s the worst is failing to see a speed bump so that you accidently launch yourself over it straining the vehicle’s suspension and giving your passengers a nasty jolt. Minding the speed bumps is a good rule for every motorist to follow.
Last week we started a sermon series about a man named Abraham. We’re following his journey of faith because it’s a lot like our journey. We’ve learned so far that this journey is one that begins with God. It is he in his grace who sets us on this journey to heaven and promises to accompany us. But what we’ll learn today is that this journey of faith is not without its speed bumps. Abraham failed to mind the speed bump he encountered in our text and launched himself and his wife into trouble as a result. But even then God did not abandon them. He intervened to keep his promises to Abraham of undying love. Let’s see what we can learn about minding the speed bumps on our journey of faith.
First of all, does it surprise you to hear that there are speed bumps on this journey of faith? Shouldn’t it just be a smooth ride to heaven? For example once Abram, as he was still called then, moved to Canaan as God directed him to do, shouldn’t life have been easy for him? After all God had promised to bless him and to make his name great. But what we learn today is that a severe famine hit the land of Canaan. The lack of food may have been especially hard on Abram because his entourage by then may have numbered two hundred people in addition to all the cattle and sheep he owned. And as a newcomer in the land Abram probably didn’t have the time or place to store away extra food to prepare for a calamity like this.
But Abram was resourceful. He decided to head south to Egypt—a perennial breadbasket and oasis in times of famine because if nothing else, the Nile River could usually be counted on to provide water for farmers there. While it made sense to head to Egypt, there’s no record that Abram consulted God in the matter. And so while Abram would escape a crisis of the body, he ran headlong into a crisis of the soul.
I’ll explain what that means, but first let me ask you this. How often do you consult God before making important decisions? If we do pray, isn’t it often after we’ve made up our mind about what we’re going to do? At that point we’re really just asking God to rubberstamp whatever decision we’ve made! You see, Abram’s problem was that he failed to consider the spiritual implications of his decision. Would his journey to Egypt unnecessarily put his faith in jeopardy? How about us? Do we think through the spiritual implications of taking a certain job, of dating a certain person, or of going on a certain weekend getaway? Often we don’t, do we? We just think of the physical side of things. “It’s a great job with good benefits!” “But she’s so beautiful.” “He’s so smart!” What we often fail to consider is that the new job or that special someone may not help us grow closer to our Lord. Instead they will cause us to drift from him because either we’ll become too busy for regular worship, or because our new friends won’t share our faith in Jesus and may make us second-guess our trust in him.
But back to Abram. Why was it so spiritually dangerous for Abram to head down to Egypt? Can you figure it out from this conversation Abram had with his wife Sarai as they drew near the Egyptian border? “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 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 12:11-13). About the only good thing Abram said there was that his wife was beautiful. But then what did he go on to ask Sarai to do? He wanted her to lie about her relationship with him. Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would be so taken with Sarai’s beauty that they would kill him to get their hands on his wife. This was not paranoia. This is how things worked in places like Egypt. If the rich and powerful saw something they wanted, they took it. Consider how King David himself had arranged for a man’s murder so he could marry that man’s wife!
So that brings us back to the question: what was Abram doing in Egypt if there was a real danger that he could be killed and Sarai abducted? “But what choice do I have?” Abram might have wondered. “If I stay in Canaan, I’ll die of hunger!” The problem was that Abram was relying on himself to navigate this speed bump. What he should have done was to consult his Lord, and think back to the promises God had already given to him. God had said: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” According to that promise, the Egyptians would have brought about their own doom had they laid a finger on Abram or Sarai. But instead of listening to his heavenly Father, Abram listened to his fears. And those fears led Abram to think only of himself. He didn’t care that he was asking Sarai to lie. He didn’t care that he was asking her to put herself into a potentially comprising position—not as long as he would remain safe. Friends, when our trust in God is weak so is our love for one another.
So what happened? When they arrived in Egypt, Sarai’s beauty caught the attention of Pharaoh, the leader of the land. Then when he was introduced to her as Miss and not Mrs. Sarai, he added her to his harem, and gave Abram servants and cattle as if for a finder’s fee.
Would you like to have been in Abram’s sandals? Sure, your net worth just increased, but it cost you your wife! She was now the property of a powerful man and what could Abram do about it? Confess to Pharaoh that Sarai was really his wife? Abram would surely be killed then. What a mess he had gotten Sarai and himself into—all because he had tried to deal with the speed bump of a famine on his own, and had listened to his fears instead of to his heavenly Father.
The only person who could get Abram and Sarai out of the mess now was God. He did so by sending some sort of plague on Pharaoh’s household, and making it known to Pharaoh that the plague was a consequence of his taking another man’s wife. Pharaoh sent for Abram and gave him a tongue lashing for lying. He then kicked Abram and Sarai out of the country. But at least husband and wife were reunited, they were headed home to the Promised Land, and they were taking back with them considerable wealth.
Do you see the many parallels to our journey of faith? Like Abram, we’ve gotten ourselves into a mess with lies to save our own skin. We’ve blamed our classmates and coworkers for being rude when we are the ones who haven’t shown them love. Although we may have never actually betrayed our spouse like Abram did, we have fantasized about it. And like Sari we have willingly kept our mouth shut when asked to do something we know is not God-pleasing. These sins have gotten us into a mess from which we cannot get ourselves out of, for the consequence of any sin is eternal hell!
But just as God intervened in Abram’s case, he has intervened for us. When God directed his anger at Pharaoh rather than at Abram, it reminded me of how God directed his anger at his Son for our sins instead of at us. As a result we have been freed from punishment. But not only that, we also walk away with a guarantee of heaven! That’s even better than Abram walking away from Egypt a rich man in spite of his sin! What an illustration of God’s grace! Grace is more than “not getting what you deserve.” Grace is getting the opposite of what you deserve.
Please don’t think, however, that God’s grace is a free pass for us to run roughshod through life, like a driver mindlessly careening over the speed bumps in a busy parking lot because he’s driving a Hummer. No, someone who does that will cause chaos and hurt, not only to others but to himself as well. Think of how Abram’s sin must have strained his relationship with his wife Sarai. Think of what a poor witness Abram gave to the unbelieving Pharaoh, not to mention to his own household who knew about all those awesome promises God had given to their master. While Abram had boldly proclaimed his faith back in Canaan, he certainly wasn’t living the faith in Egypt, so why should they?
Brothers and sisters, be mindful of the speed bumps you encounter in your journey of faith. Do that by being ready for them because they’re sure to come. And their purpose is not to trip you up, but to slow you down so you have to think about the decisions you make in life—decisions you’ll want to make only after consulting your heavenly Father and asking him what makes the most sense for you spiritually. And when you do make your decision, base it on faith not fear. Do things the way God wants you to do them even if that doesn’t make sense—like honoring those in authority even if they’re not very good at what they do, or putting God first with your treasures and time even though you don’t seem to have a lot of either. And don’t just have faith when it comes to the big things like trusting God’s forgiveness, have faith in God’s promises to give you the strength to face one day at a time without having to run to the medicine cabinet or reach for a bottle (Jeske). And when you do fail, like Abram, turn to the God who has already intervened and has forgiven you for Jesus’ sake. He will pick you up and put you back on your journey to heaven. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What was the speed bump that Abram encountered in our text today? Name at least two speed bumps you’ve encountered lately on your journey of faith.
What two things should Abram have done when he encountered his speed bump?
(To do at home) Abram listened to his fears more than to his heavenly Father. List two other Bible characters who did the same thing and got themselves into trouble.
(To do at home) Abram’s lack of faith led to a lack of love for his wife Sarai. Why is that? Why does our failure to love God always lead to a failure to love others?
How did God intervene in Abram’s mess? How has he intervened in the messes we’ve created?
Our text today does a great job of illustrating what grace is. Finish this statement. Grace is…
(To do at home) Read Genesis 20. In light of our text today, why is this chapter surprising? How is it not surprising?
