Genesis 12:9 Commentary and Bible Study

Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south and now we have a difficult and sorrowful phase of his journey for us to learn from. There is famine. What should he do? This is the first great test in the life of faith of Abraham. The land which God had led him to is suddenly struck by famine. What is he to do? To his credit, he doesn't go back to Haran, and he doesn't go back to Ur. He goes to Egypt. There was plenty in Egypt. So temporally with every intention of returning, they proceed to Egypt. So far so good. It's a test. Now it is always difficult to determine whether we should just wait upon God in some difficult situation, or how much responsibility is ours to take a common-sense initiative towards solving the problem and commit it into the Lord's hands. How we look at this is very sensitive. Some people say, ‘Oh, we do not read that Abram prayed at this point, so his big mistake was to go down to Egypt without prayer,’ but it is very unfair to say that, because there are many points where the narrative does say that Abram prayed when clearly he did, so we cannot assume that he was behaving in an unspiritual manner on this occasion. We may be critical of that, but we needn't be, because the word had not yet been given: ‘Go not down to Egypt for help.’ That was in the future, for future generations. It was therefore perfectly reasonable for him to go down to Egypt where there was corn, where there was no famine. He said to himself evidently, ‘I have been called out of there; I am not going back to Ur to seek help.’ So he found another place which was Egypt and determined to go there. I don't think you can judge him for that. I don't think you can say he was wrong in looking for pasture for his flocks and his herds, and for food, in Egypt. But clearly he did go wrong and he is not commended for what he did when he got there, and here comes the difficult part.