Strike
One! Strike Two! (Genesis 12:10-20)
1. What is the earliest wrongful act you can remember doing? Do you remember how you felt when you knew it was wrong?
2. Why did
Abram go to Egypt? What does this tell
us about what Abraham believed about God?
Because of the famine in the land.
He’s taking into his fate into his own hands because he doesn’t believe that
God is sovereign.
(o) What did Abram do wrong?
To be fair, the situation was extreme but there’s no hint that he ever inquired of God (no prayer, no turning to God)
He didn’t trust God. Maybe God would have provided manna and quail. Maybe God would have brought a boy with five loaves and two fish. Maybe God would have even instructed Abram to go to Egypt.
Because Abram did not respond in faith, there is no testimony here.
It is interesting to note that this time of testing for Abram comes immediately after a great revelation of God.
(o) What are some things that you are tempted to take
care of for yourself?
3. Why do
you suppose that Abram lied to Pharaoh?
Was he justified?
To save his own life (entirely selfish).
(o) Note that Gen 20:12 indicates that Abram and Sarai are half siblings (same father, different mothers). How does that change how we perceive Abram’s lie?
In some ways it’s worse. A white lie with a sounding of truth – very deceptive and even devious.
“Introduce a dose of bare-bones reality into your
thinking: God and godly people
fail. To admire, honor, and respect
those whose lives effectively touch others is biblical (1 Thess 5:12-13). But to deify any man or woman is not. When you exalt someone, you will begin to expect
perfections form that person. And that
expectation promises only disillusionment.
Only God is perfect, and everyone else, whatever their age or position,
has a nature that is prone to failure (Romans 3:23). Often people avoid Christianity because of the failures of so
many who profess to be Christians. But
it is important to remember that Christians aren’t perfect, only forgiven. So don’t reject God when human beings
disappoint you. God never intended any
human to be deified. Grapple with the
reality of your own humanity. You
fail…daily, weekly, continually. All
people do-even the godly.” (Charles Swindoll)
It’s important to note that at v16, everything looks fine. Abram’s way worked! Maybe some people are in this part-they’re living a lie but aren’t experiencing the consequences, yet!
What
were the consequences to Abram’s lie?
Disease fell upon Pharaoh’s family
Interestingly, Pharaoh is entirely innocent in this
affair, yet his family suffers. Notice
how sin affects not just the guilty party, but also innocent others as well.
4. Suppose that Abram had identified himself as a believer in Yahweh, the one true God. How do you think Pharaoh would respond?
He would have a bad
opinion of Yahweh (what kind of God has believers like this).
He would have a bad
opinion of Yahweh’s people.
Ironically, it is
this pagan Pharaoh rebukes the father of the faith.
How have some of our own
actions marred the name of the Lord in the eyes of unbelievers?
The Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Inquisition – history is
strewn with atrocities done “in the name of Christ”.
In truth, we cannot escape how our lives reflect on God and
on other Christians.
“Why should I become a Christian? Look at how [ ] lives.”
Our goal should be to live in such a way so as to
undermine people’s misconceptions. At
the same time, we have to admit that many times, non-Christians have legitimate
gripes with the actions of certain Christians.
Ultimately, all people, including Christians, are sinners
and will at some point, disappoint. In
the end, Christianity is based on Christ, not His people.
5. What
should Abraham have learned from his previous similar experience?
Lying is a sin.
There are consequences to sin (in this case, to lying).
Before we chastise Abraham too
much for his déjà vu experience, in what ways are we guilty of “repeat
offenses”?
This shouldn’t be too hard, but here are a few:
doing things for self-glory, lying, being envious, being
lustful
Other biblical examples of repeated failure:
Moses – in Exodus 2, he kills an Egyptian out of
anger. in Numbers 20, he strikes at the
rock in anger
The Israelites – repeated incidents of complaining
Samson – in Judges 14, he fell for the wrong woman. 20 years later in Judges 16, he does the
same with Delilah.
Peter – denies Jesus three times!
6. Considering what we’ve learned about Abraham’s character in this study, why do you suppose that God chose Abraham to be father over His chosen nation?
Grace! 100% pure
unadulterated old-fashioned grace.
(Grace can be defined as unmerited favor).
God still works through Abram because He loves him. God stops Abram before his sin gets out of
hand (God wants to bring about)
God still works through Abram because He is faithful to
Himself (God’s glory is of utmost priority) – be careful not to get too
man-centered.
Strike
One! Strike Two! (Genesis 12:10-20)
1. What is the earliest wrongful act you can remember doing? Do you remember how you felt when you knew it was wrong?
2. Why did
Abram go to Egypt? What does this tell
us about what Abraham believed about God?
Because of the famine in the land.
He’s taking into his fate into his own hands because he doesn’t believe that
God is sovereign.
(o) What did Abram do wrong?
To be fair, the situation was extreme but there’s no hint that he ever inquired of God (no prayer, no turning to God) – he abandoned his altar!
He didn’t trust God. Maybe God would have provided manna and quail. Maybe God would have brought a boy with five loaves and two fish. Maybe God would have even instructed Abram to go to Egypt.
Because Abram did not respond in faith, there is no testimony here.
Don’t get lulled into spiritual complacency, especially after times of great blessing!
It is interesting to note that this time of testing for Abram comes immediately after a great revelation of God.
(o) What are some things that you are tempted to take
care of for yourself?
3. Why do
you suppose that Abram lied to Pharaoh?
Was he justified?
To save his own life (entirely selfish).
(o) Note that Gen 20:12 indicates that Abram and Sarai are half siblings (same father, different mothers). How does that change how we perceive Abram’s lie?
In some ways it’s worse. A white lie with a sounding of truth – very deceptive and even devious.
“Introduce a dose of bare-bones reality into your
thinking: God and godly people
fail. To admire, honor, and respect
those whose lives effectively touch others is biblical (1 Thess 5:12-13). But to deify any man or woman is not. When you exalt someone, you will begin to
expect perfections form that person.
And that expectation promises only disillusionment. Only God is perfect, and everyone else,
whatever their age or position, has a nature that is prone to failure (Romans
3:23). Often people avoid Christianity
because of the failures of so many who profess to be Christians. But it is important to remember that
Christians aren’t perfect, only forgiven.
So don’t reject God when human beings disappoint you. God never intended any human to be
deified. Grapple with the reality of
your own humanity. You fail…daily,
weekly, continually. All people do-even
the godly.” (Charles Swindoll)
It’s important to note that at v16, everything looks fine. Abram’s way worked! Maybe some people are in this part-they’re living a lie but aren’t experiencing the consequences, yet!
What
were the consequences to Abram’s lie?
He’s hardly being a blessing!
Interestingly, Pharaoh is entirely innocent in this
affair, yet his family suffers. Notice
how sin affects not just the guilty party, but also innocent others as well.
4. Suppose that Abram had identified himself as a believer in Yahweh, the one true God. How do you think Pharaoh would respond?
He would have a bad
opinion of Yahweh (what kind of God has believers like this).
He would have a bad
opinion of Yahweh’s people.
Ironically, it is
this pagan Pharaoh rebukes the father of the faith.
How have some of our own
actions marred the name of the Lord in the eyes of unbelievers?
The Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Inquisition – history is
strewn with atrocities done “in the name of Christ”.
In truth, we cannot escape how our lives reflect on God and
on other Christians.
“Why should I become a Christian? Look at how [ ] lives.”
Our goal should be to live in such a way so as to
undermine people’s misconceptions. At
the same time, we have to admit that many times, non-Christians have legitimate
gripes with the actions of certain Christians.
Ultimately, all people, including Christians, are sinners
and will at some point, disappoint. In
the end, Christianity is based on Christ, not His people.
5. What
should Abraham have learned from his previous similar experience?
Lying is a sin.
There are consequences to sin (in this case, to lying).
Before we chastise Abraham too
much for his déjà vu experience, in what ways are we guilty of “repeat
offenses”?
This shouldn’t be too hard, but here are a few:
doing things for self-glory, lying, being envious, being
lustful
Other biblical examples of repeated failure:
Moses – in Exodus 2, he kills an Egyptian out of
anger. in Numbers 20, he strikes at the
rock in anger
The Israelites – repeated incidents of complaining
Samson – in Judges 14, he fell for the wrong woman. 20 years later in Judges 16, he does the
same with Delilah.
Peter – denies Jesus three times!
6. Considering what we’ve learned about Abraham’s character in this study, why do you suppose that God chose Abraham to be father over His chosen nation?
Grace! 100% pure
unadulterated old-fashioned grace.
(Grace can be defined as unmerited favor).
God still works through Abram because He loves him. God stops Abram before his sin gets out of
hand (God wants to bring about)
God still works through Abram because He is faithful to
Himself (God’s glory is of utmost priority) – be careful not to get too
man-centered.
Be alert! Don’t be lulled into complacency.