Genesis 12

As Abram enters the scene, Genesis settles down for a more intimate (though no less enthralling) account of a single family line for its remaining 39 steps chapters. Like Noah, Abram obeys God's directive; he has to up sticks and move to Canaan. If he does so, not only will he be blessed, but so too will all of humankind. In verse 5, I like the use of the phrase "all the possessions they had accumulated." It evokes an image of Abram as a pack rat, perhaps needing several U-Haul trucks to drag his stuff along with him. I know I'm probably reading too much into that, but I know I still have lots of school papers and other various sundries that I will likely never look at again--until I have to clean the garage, and I think, "I can't get rid of this. I'll miss it!"

On the way, Abram takes a sojourn to Egypt because of a famine that apparently doesn't affect the Nile's flood cycle. There, he makes a mistake that he will repeat almost verbatim in chapter 20: To prevent his foxy wife, Sarai, from getting roped into Pharaoh's harem (which would lead to Abram's death), Abram fibs and says that she's his sister. Which is really a half-truth, as she's his half-sister.

Such a tactic elicits a wry shake of the head, but I know I sometimes prevaricate in order to avoid having to deal with anything bothersome. Equivocations, half-truths, white lies--it doesn't matter which kind I use; they're all schemes to selfishly make my life easier. Not that I commit outright fraud, but to God, I may as well have done so. And even when it doesn't come back to bite me in the butt, I'm still disparaging God by not putting complete faith in Him.

Abram lives the high life off his half-truth (which essentially means it's a lie), receiving Pharaoh's acclaim, some livestock, and even flunkies to do his bidding. Of course, it can't last, as God strikes Pharoah's household with a malady that also has the astounding effect of informing Pharaoh that Sarai is actually Abram's wife. In all seriousness, who did rat Abram out? God, I assume? It's not as though some sudden ailment will, by itself, allow Pharaoh to suddenly make the leap and realize that that toothsome sexagenarian is actually that Hebrew dude's wife, not his sister. In his sickness, Pharaoh is probably feeling too wretched to give Abram even a slap on the wrist, letting him go virtually scot-free. But having his lie exposed was probably enough to gnaw at Abram's soul.

When I try to deceive someone or hide a possibly unseemly truth, I admit that it also gnaws at my soul. I suppose that's good because it means that I'm still receptive to God's prodding, which is probably one of his ways of saying that I'm doing something wrong. Without opening the can of worms of whether one should be 100% honest 100% of the time, I do know I have to stop equivocating when it's merely for my own benefit. Once again, I will need to have faith that God will bring me through, even if it makes my earthly life more difficult in the process.