Genesis 12.10-20
gospel song
Call to worship:
OT:
pastor michael champoux
Exodus 2.23-25
NT:
pastor bobby owens
Matthew 2.13-15
song:
behold our god
historical reading
pastor andrew loginow
apostles’ creed
song:
o great god
Confession & Pardon:
pastor Shane sluka
song:
dr. brett eckel
prayer over tithes & offering
song:
my Jesus I love thee
Sermon:
dr. alex loginow
Genesis 12.10-20
Introduction
Progressive can’t stop you from becoming your parents. Those ads are hilarious. Genius! The one where the guy’s at the coffee shop and the barista sets the coffee down and says, “latte for Jan;” and the guy whose waiting for his coffee picks it right up – “we’ve got a latte for Jan; J-A-N as in January; could be Jan, I guess.” Bethany said she’s literally done that before.
Those ads are brilliant because they’re true. Not only do social norms seem to matter less to us as we age, but we also seem to inherit the good and bad from our parents. And not only from our biological parents, but also from our historical and spiritual parents. As Christians we read a passage like this – about Father Abraham – and we must see that even if progressive can save us money by bundling home and auto, they can’t stop us from becoming our parents.
Abraham Jeopardizes the Promise
Abraham is one of our fathers in the faith; he’s one of the patriarchs – it’s why we call him Father Abraham. We pick up in verse 10 where Abraham leaves Canaan due to famine. Famine is a consistent theme in the ancient Near East, and while it is often associated with God’s judgment, that isn’t mentioned here. Famine meant death in ancient Palestine. Canaan was totally dependent upon rainfall for water; Egypt, on the other hand, is home to the Nile River.
So, it totally makes sense why an ancient nomad like Abraham ponders an Egyptian sojourn here, but the hitch is Abraham was called – by God! – to Canaan. Abraham wasn’t supposed to leave Canaan. My how the turn tables. Father Abraham’s trust from verses 4-9 is suddenly and surely absent. The moment things got hairy, Abe absconded (it means, “he left” #vocabulary).
Seriously though, how often do we do the same? The last 2 weeks we’ve noted that the land promise to Abraham was initially fulfilled at Joshua’s conquest:
Thus yhwh gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And yhwh gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for yhwh had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that yhwh had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass (Josh 21.43-45).
The New Testament reveals that the land promise to Abraham will be finally and fully consummated in the renewed heavens and earth (Rom 8; Heb 4; Rev 21-22). So, we ask, again, how often do we do the same? How often do we live, and sin, and worry as if the final resurrection, and judgment, and new creation isn’t where we’re all headed? How often do we live as practical atheists, pragmatic naturalists; how often do we, like Abraham going to Egypt, think, and speak, and act as if God’s promises aren’t certain?
Well, if we’ve already been tipped off that trouble is on the horizon, it becomes clear in verse 11 forward. And 1st thing I think we should address the elephant in the room – how hot was Sarah? Like, for real? She’s 65 years old and Abe’s scared to death the Egyptians are going to kill him to take her away. Not only that, but when they do get to Egypt, he’s right! The Egyptians think she’s so hot that they’re literally like, “we cannot in good conscience allow this foxy mama, or grandmama, to leave. Pharaoh must have her!”
And apparently this scenario was so inevitable that Abraham had a contingency. Abraham’s like, “here’s the plan: if they know you’re my wife, they’re obviously gonna want to kill me and take you, so we’ll tell them you’re my sister (which is a ½ truth – Sarah and Abraham did have the same father, but she is also his wife). What a stark contrast from the 1st 9 verses of chapter 12! Abraham led his family well in vss. 1-9; but here he fails miserably.
This is a healthy reminder to the men of CCC – God has called men, husbands, fathers to lead your family in the fear of the Lord. If you are a husband, if you are a father, you are the pastor of your home. You can be a good leader, or you can be a bad leader, but you don’t have any say in the matter, you are the God ordained leader of your family.
In vss. 14-16 we see that ole’ Abe’s scheme doesn’t go off as he’d planned. Pharaoh and his men do think Sarah’s a smokestack, so Pharaoh takes her to join his harem and in exchange gives Abraham an extravagant bride price, more wealth. This is where we find ourselves at the low point in the pericope; this is the “all is lost” moment; the dark night of the soul. What is going to happen? Both the land promise and the son promise appear to be in jeopardy – the land promise is in jeopardy because Abraham left Canaan, and the son promise is in jeopardy because Abraham just sex-trafficked his wife to Pharaoh. What will Abraham do?
Nothing. Abraham will do nothing. It is yhwh who will act. It is God who will save.
Verses 17-20 includes the only time yhwh is mentioned in the Egyptian sojourn pericope. yhwh afflicts Pharaoh’s house with great plagues. Once Pharaoh figures out what’s going on, he expels Abraham and Sarah from Egypt [King of the Hill – “Exodus!”]. Abraham was supposed to be a blessing to the nations, but Abraham brings cursing on Egypt instead of blessing. It is the Lord who preserves Abraham, Sarah, and the promise.
A few points of application we can draw from the text: (1) the sanctity of marriage. As most of you know, this isn’t the last time we’ll see issues in the marriage of Abraham and Sarah, but here God preserves their marriage. God stops Pharaoh from adultery with Sarah, but the blame is on Abraham. Marriage is hard and it demands daily work from both husband and wife to cultivate a God-honoring marriage, but the responsibility to lead the marriage in a Christ-centered way lays at the feet of the husband.
Men, the most important thing you’ll do every day is to shepherd your marriage. Nothing will bless your children more than a healthy marriage. Nothing will bless CCC more than for you to have a healthy marriage. Nothing will bless your spouse more and nothing will bless you more in a day-to-day way than to have a healthy marriage. And that’s because marriage is a tangible sign of the gospel – it is a flesh-and-blood sacrament. Marriage is not actually a sacrament, but it is sacramental. So, men, if your marriage has not been a priority, then your 1st priority is to repent, confess your sin, make it right.
(2) Our sins are many, but God’s mercy is more. Despite Abraham’s sin, God is merciful. God returns Sarah to Abraham. God blesses Abraham with even more wealth through Pharaoh’s bride price.
God spares Abraham and Sarah’s life, even though Pharaoh had every legal right to execute them. God forbid we adopt the mindset that we continue in sin that grace may abound (Rom 6.1), but Scripture also reveals that God doesn’t practice karma. God doesn’t exact judgment tit for tat on our sin. And that’s good news for us because everything we think, say, and do is tainted by sin, but thanks be to God that all our sin is a drop in the ocean of his mercy!
(3) Nothing, and I mean nothing, will thwart the promises of God. Abraham’s hairbrained scheme couldn’t hinder the promises of God. Pharaoh’s political and military power couldn’t ruin the promises of God. The nations of the world today cannot frustrate the promises of God. Our sin cannot affect the promises of God. Nothing, and I mean nothing will thwart the promises of God!
God Preserves the Promise
And God’s promise is the main point here. Remember the original audience of this narrative was post Exodus Israel wandering in the wilderness (same wilderness as Abraham in 12.9). And how can they not see themselves in Abraham? Israel’s story, in so many ways, recapitulates Abraham’s – (1) famine forces the family to Egypt, (2) potential death of males and preservation of females, (3) God’s great plagues result in departure, (4) stand before Pharaoh, and (5) return to Canaan with great wealth.
Biblical theologians refer to the recognition of these organic divinely inspired patterns as typology. The Old Testament is fit to burst with types and antitypes, signs and symbols, shadows revealing a bigger picture, a grander story. And what is that grander story? Can you see it? God is preserving the Genesis 3.15 promise – the seed, the offspring, the son of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent.
Jesus Fulfills the Promise
And his name is Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God, the 2nd person of Holy Trinity who, like Father Abraham, was called by God to sojourn in a far country. So, he was conceived by the Spirit and born of virgin, the practically barren one, the daughter of Sarah, the daughter of Eve. Jesus in the one true singular seed of Abraham (Gal 3.16). He is the seed, the offspring, the son of the woman from Genesis 3.15.
And though Abraham traded the stones of Canaan for potential bread in Egypt, the Lord Jesus sojourned into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. There the devil tempted him to turn stones to bread, but, unlike Abraham, Jesus trusted his Father. Also, Abraham traded his bride for his hide. But Jesus gave his life on the cross to redeem his bride – the church. Abraham brought a curse upon the nations with the plagues. Jesus blesses the nations through his resurrection from the dead.
Jesus is the only hero of this story. Jesus is the only hero of every story. Jesus is the hero of your story, if you repent and believe.
Like Father Abraham, our only hope is faith in Jesus Christ, the promised one. And so, we reevaluate our faith as we prepare for Holy Eucharist. Ask yourself, do you know that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you? Do you understand that you are guilty before God because of your sin and that you justly deserve eternal conscious punishment in hell? Do you know that because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God will forgive your sin, and you will be raised from the dead when Christ returns to live in the new world?
That knowledge of the gospel is imperative, but also insufficient. Now ask yourself do you assent to the validity of those truth claims? Do you confess them and not deny them? Do you acknowledge the reality of God’s holiness, your sin, and the exclusive hope of Christ?
I pray you do assent, but even so, faith is not genuine unless you also transfer your trust to Jesus alone. Do you rest in Jesus? Are you exclusively relying on the person and work of Christ to be reconciled to God? We pray that if not, today would be the day of salvation for you, that the Spirit would work regeneration in your heart to open your eyes to see the beauty of who Jesus is and what Jesus did and see that there is no other hope in life and death.
If you do have faith, now ask yourself: do I repent? Do I humble myself before the Lord Jesus? Do I confess my sin? Do I turn from my sin?
Church, we cannot remind ourselves too often that the faith and repentance is the path of Christ. Faith and repentance in the good news of Jesus is our doorway into the Christian life, but it is also the trail we blaze as we sojourn in this far country. With every step we take right foot – faith; left – repentance. We breathe in faith; we breathe out repentance.
Conclusion
And we must because as Christians when we read a passage like this – about Father Abraham –we see that even if progressive can save us money by bundling home and auto, they can’t stop us from becoming our parents. But the good news is we have an elder brother who’s greater than Father Abraham! Abraham left the stones of Canaan for the hope of bread in Egypt; Jesus went into the wilderness where the devil tempted him to turn the stones to bread, but Jesus trusted his Father. Abraham traded his wife for his life; Jesus gave his life to redeem his bride. In every story, on every page – Jesus is our hero. Rest in him.