Word of Encouragement (01/18/2022)
So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD (Gen. 13:1-4).
This happens after Abram returns from Egypt unscathed by the grace of God despite his cowardly act of giving up his wife. In fact, he returns from Egypt richer than before. When Pharaoh found out by God’s intervention that Sarai was Abram’s wife, he urged him to take his wife and go with all that he had. Pharaoh likely sent him away with many gifts, making Abram even richer. This is what many Jewish commentators say, seeing the parallel between Abram’s journey to and from Egypt and Israel’s journey to and from Egypt: Abram go down to Egypt because there was a famine in Canaan and Jacob goes down to Egypt for the same reason; God afflicts Pharaoh and his house with great plagues for taking Sarai and God afflicts Pharaoh and the Egyptians with great plagues for enslaving the Hebrews; Pharaoh surrenders to God and urges Abram to leave Egypt and Pharaoh surrenders to God and urges Moses and the Hebrews to leave Egypt. Because of these parallels, many think that, just as the Egyptians let the Hebrews have what they asked when they left Egypt (Ex. 12:36), Pharaoh must have showered Abram with many gifts when he left Egypt,
This might have been what kings of that time did in this kind of situation. Something similar happens again with King Abimelech in Gerar. Abimelech takes Sarah, thinking that she is Abraham’s sister. God intervenes again. When Abimelech finds out, “Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him” (Gen. 20:14). And we read in Gen. 12:16, “...for her sake [Pharaoh] dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” It may be that Pharaoh gave Abram the dowry for Sarai, thinking that she was his sister. And we know that Hagar was an Egyptian maid to Sarai, who was probably acquired when Abram was in Egypt.
So, When Abram came back to Canaan, he was a much richer man! How gracious God was! Not only did He protect Abram from the terrible consequences of his cowardly action; God also blessed Him with greater riches! This is not to say that we should sin more so that God’s grace may abound more. But in this initial stage of Abram’s journey with God, God showed His power and grace to build up Abram’s faith in Him.
This did not go unnoticed by Abram. So, when he returned to Canaan, he returned to a place where he built an altar and called on the name of the Lord. Regarding this, John Gill says,
“And there Abram called on the name of the Lord; prayed unto him, and gave him thanks for the preservation of him and his wife in Egypt; for the support of himself and his family there during the famine in Canaan; for the increase of his worldly substance, and for the protection of him, and all that belonged to him, in his journey from Egypt thither; and for all the instances of his grace, and the rich experiences of his goodness he had favoured him with.”
How wonderful it is to have the God of Abraham to be our God! But even greater is our blessing because our God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! If a holy God could love and be gracious to a sinner like Abraham, it was only because he was united to the coming Christ through his faith. I hope we, too, can acknowledge that God does not deal with us according to what our sins deserve but has blessed us far beyond what we deserve. Let us, then, call upon the name of the LORD and give thanks to Him!