“And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.” Genesis 12:11-13
During Sarah’s travelling with Abraham from Haran to Canaan, two important events happened which highlighted her integrity, faith, and longsuffering. Both revolved around Abraham trying to hide Sarah’s true relationship to him, and only revealing her kinship. These half-truths put Sarah in a dangerous position.
According to what we see here, Sarah was a beautiful woman. Remember she was sixty-five years old when they started travelling. She was so beautiful that it worried Abraham. He thought of a plan to protect himself by telling the people in Egypt that she was his sister. Pharaoh desired to take her into his household, but God sent a plague, and revealed the truth to Pharaoh, and rescued Sarah.
The second incident was at Gerar when Abraham again denied that Sarah was his wife for fear of death and that Sarah would be abducted because of her beauty. God intervened again, and revealed the truth to Abimelech, and commanded him to release Sarah. Because of God’s continuing care for Sarah, she escaped adultery.
There is no record that Sarah ever publicly confronted her husband or showed disapproval of what he did. That is evidence of her obedience and respect for him. She could have defended herself by contradicting him and revealing her identity, but instead she trusted that Abraham knew what he was doing. She kept silent and allowed God to work things out.
I wonder how we would have reacted in either of these situations. It can be so easy when problems rise, to try and work out a solution on our own. How important it is that we seek wisdom from God before we act or speak. Sarah trusted Abraham to do what was best for her, and so she kept silent. She had faith that the Lord was in complete control and trusted Him to keep them safe until all that He had promised was fulfilled.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that we can safely trust our life in your hands. You have started a good work in us, and you will fulfill it.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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