The journey of faith–a faith that will be the pinnacle of faith throughout the ages–began with an initial act of obedience from an unsuspecting Mesopotamian man. Abram was called by God out from a place of idolatry to serve Him, as well as to be the prototype of faith for the generations to come. The stage was set, the pieces were falling into place, and the question remains, will Abram be the second Adam? Will he be the one to set humanity straight and give life to a spiritually dead race? Will he be the Seed to crush the serpent’s head? How will his life unfold as he now bears the mark of God’s man? Will he continue trusting God despite circumstances…?
“Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
Genesis 12:10-13
The heart of a man with such profound faith has once again shown that it beats with self-love. In other words, God is trusted to lead him from his homeland to a foreign country–a trip that no doubt required long and arduous trekking and navigating, as well as protection from wild animals and bandits–and then, just like that, a man-plan that is laced with deceit is concocted to preserve his life. Never-mind the life and dignity of his wife, Sarai, he must sustain himself. And so it is with man, he continues to reveal that even in the midst of profound faith his heart is deceptively wicked and self-preserving.
Nevertheless, this is God’s man–the patriarch of a nascent ethnic group–that receives the very promises and covenant of God to restore a rebellious humanity to Garden blessings and fellowship with God Himself. This Abram is a marked man–a man through whom God will show profound loyal-love and inexorable forgiveness–and as such, God’s protection despite Abram’s lacking in faith prevails…and so it is with God. He will finish what He began in His fallen instruments, because of His namesake not theirs. Glory to God in the highest! How was God’s protection experienced in the case of Abram and his deceit with Sarai?
“…the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.”
Genesis 12:17
God intervened despite Abram. And as the biblical narrative continues to unfold, we will see that this is one of God’s most glorious attributes that will not only cover the pages of the Bible, but also something the Christian experience’s daily–the longsuffering of our Lord!
Take some time to meditate upon that reality–the longsuffering of our God–He makes a way for His chosen despite them, and then continues to make a way as He works all things for good in those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. This is our glorious God.
The stage has been set, and God has chosen His family through which He will bring the nations to worship YHWH–the one true God–and will restore (through this man’s Seed) a broken humanity unto Himself. Soon and very soon, but there is still a problem that must be deeply explored until this takes place. The condition of man’s heart continues to be revealed–his wicked and rebellious heart despite God’s power and promise–and it is this heart that will need to be changed. However, until that time, the picture will continue to remain bleak in its black and white scenes–full of jealousy, lust, murder, violence, adultery, rape, and on and on–but there will be drops of color that will nevertheless appear on the canvas. We will see this as God’s biblical narrative continues to unfold, and it will become abundantly clear Why Christ Had to Die.
— July 22, 2016