I'm no Biblical scholar, but Abraham is a big huge deal. He's the father of both Judaism and Christianity. There was something about him that caused God to talk to him and deal with him on a personal level. The first thing said directly about Abraham in Chapter 12 is by God himself: "Leave your country, your people and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you." Then God proceeds to say a blessing over him, promising to make him into a great nation, to use him to bless countless people over all the earth.
There was something about this guy. He did just what he was told; he got up, took some of his peeps, and left. In those times, that was no small thing. In a collective society like that, one's identity, security, comfort, and future is all wrapped up in the community. The community values harmony and strives to maintain it, thereby helping all the individual members. To just leave that kind of setup, without knowing where you're going, is a real sign of faith. That would be like God saying to someone today, "Leave your job, leave your home, leave your family and your savings account, your whole American dream and go to the land I will show you."
Throughout Abraham's journey, he stops at various places, the Lord appears to him and makes more promises, and he builds alters in praise of the Lord. This seems to be a tight relationship they've got going. Then he finds himself in the midst of a bad famine, and decides to go to Egypt to find food. Before entering Egypt, this great man of God turns to his wife and says, in a nutshell, "They're going to see how beautiful you are, and if they find out you're my wife, they'll kill me but they'll let you live. So just tell them you're my sister."
Say what??
It doesn't record her response.
Was she scared? Was she like, "Um, aren't we doing all this because of God?? Do you realize you're basically throwing me under the bus here?"
We don't know. But we do know she lied, and got Pharaoh's attention in a serious way, in a rated NC-17 kind of way, and he rewarded Abraham for her. He gave him all kinds of things and made him a wealthy man. Then all hell broke loose, everyone got sick, Pharaoh found out the truth and yelled at Abraham and kicked him and his peeps out of the country.
Now, we know how the story goes. Abraham goes on to become the father of our faith. He grows so close to God that by the end, he's willing to sacrifice anything for Him. But in this chapter we see a man who loves God enough to become a vagrant in a wide, scary world, but freaks out over a new situation and loses his faith in a moment. Surely in his heart of hearts he knew that a God who made all those lofty promises to him isn't going to let him get canned in Egypt. Where did his faith go?
Although I don't agree with what he did I'm so glad this was included in the book. I do this all the time. Where does my faith go? Why can it be so strong in the midst of overwhelming events, but so tiny when faced with a new situation? I believe accounts like this, more than many other things in the Bible, illustrate God's great patience. He's in it for the long-haul, and as Timothy Keller says, God has the worst spouse in the history of the world (me, us). But he won't give up. By the time he's finished, maybe I'll be a woman of great faith, too.
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