The Test of the Famine

Transcription

1 The Test of the Famine I. Introduction and review A. We have been looking at Abram s life B. And we have considered his affinity to compromise 1. By compromise we mean obeying in part and disobeying in part a. It should be considered compromise even if the percentage of disobedience is extremely small 2. When God s first call came to Abram in Ur of the Chaldees, he compromised 3. When the second call came to Abram when he was residing in Haran, he also compromised, however it was a much smaller compromise this time C. Why does a man or woman compromise in relation to obedience to God 1. It is as a result of their failure to trust God: a. That He will protect them, b. That He will take care of them, c. That He will cheat them out of something, or d. That He will not give them something that they want 2. What was Abram s reasons the first time a. I won t be able to see my father anymore b. Who will take care of the family 3. The second time a. Who will take care of Lot Page 1 of 6

2 b. I would be all alone D. So what does God need to do with Abram 1. Build up his faith in his God 2. How do you build faith a. Exposure to God and His goodness b. Testing the faith that you have 3. Has God done the first prong of this process? [Gen. 12:1-9] II. Testing Abram s faith [Gen. 12:10-20] A. As Abram was in this new land he had been promised, he traveled around it to see what all was there B. Then a famine came to the land of Canaan [12:10] 1. This is an agrarian society 2. Famine can come from two main sources 3. War and lack of rain 4. Since there is no mention of warfare, I assume that the source of the famine is a lack of water 5. Abram s wealth is measure for the most part by his flocks and herds 6. Those animals must be fed and watered or they die 7. Their offspring will not survive without feed and water C. With the coming of this famine Abram was looking at losing everything 1. How many of you have ever been in that situation a. The bank account dwindles b. What s coming in fails to cover what needs to go out Page 2 of 6

3 c. There is a rising sense of panic d. It is a time that tries the souls of men and women D. Abram is faced with some difficult decisions 1. Do I stay in this new land or do I leave to find a temporary place of recovery 2. If I stay it appears that I will lose everything 3. Is it possible that either Sarai and/or Lot were counseling him in this decision? E. Abram decides to travel to Egypt, but only on a temporary basis 1. Definition of SOJOURN: a temporary stay [a sojourn in the country] F. What did Abram not do 1. Consult with his God 2. Recollect the promises that God had made to him 3. How would those promises have affected his decision? a. He will give Abram a special piece of property b. He will make a great nation our of Abram c. God would bless him [sing.] d. God would make his [singular] name great e. Abram will be a blessing [sing.] f. God will bless those that bless Abram and curse those who curse him g. God will bless the entire earth through Abram 4. We tend to divide decisions up into two categories: Page 3 of 6

4 a. ones we can make b. ones we need God to make c. If God is the Master, He should be making all of them G. As Abram arrives in Egypt, he is faced with another dilemma [12:11-13] 1. His wife Sarai is very beautiful a. She s approx. 65 b. The average life span is 150 years [Abram lived to be 175, Sarai lived to be 127] c. About 32.5 years old if 75 year life span d. And she hadn t had any children 2. The Egyptians respected the institution of marriage such that one man could not take another man s wife a. But if the man died, you could then take his wife, especially if you were the king 3. In order to protect himself, Abram instructs his wife to say that she is his sister a. Is that false (1) she was the daughter of Abram s father, Terah, but they had different mothers [20:12] (2) so here again Abram chooses to compromise (a) (b) he tells a partial truth and part lie he focuses on the the truthful part b. He also chooses to ignore the promises of God Page 4 of 6

5 c. Can the Egyptians kill Abram? (1) not if God is going to fulfil His promise 4. When her husband instructed her to compromise the truth a. What should she do? b. How should she respond to Abram s request? (1) with respect and honor, but not compromise H. The intervention of God [12:14-20] 1. God has a plan and He will not allow Abram, Sarai or Pharaoh to ruin it 2. As the dispensation is being turned over, what has Abram done a. He has ruined his witness with Pharaoh. III. Lesson to learn from Abram A. Even great men fail 1. Abram was the friend of God [Jam. 2:23] 2. He held a unique position in history 3. He still fails 4. And the greater the man, the greater and more far reaching the circumstances B. Many of us fall to the temptation to compromise as did Abram 1. For example: a. Sampson b. David c. Salomon d. Peter Page 5 of 6

6 C. Compromise will eventually bring personal tragedy 1. Compromise acts as a weight being attached to your soul 2. One compromise many times leads to another 3. The weight of succesive compromise begins to wear on us 4. Spiritual fatigue begins to set in 5. And walking with God is prevented and communication is disturbed D. However, the weight of compromise is added in small, sometimes unnoticeable increments 1. We aren t aware of how it is weighing us down until we ve gone too far 2. And in time it robs us of our spiritual vitality E. Compromise always drags others down with us 1. When the godly slump there are far more ramifications for others a. At times that doesn t seem fair b. Consider God s point of view on this question [Luke 12:48] c. We are accountable for our actions and decisions 2. We must always consult with our Master when deciding how to live and what to do 3. Choose not to injure the Sarais in your life or lead the Pharaohs in your life astray Page 6 of 6