Godly fathers-ungodly sons-8

Fatherhood is not as easy as many believe it to be. God does not hide truth from us, which means He sometimes shows us the sins that men try to hide. This topic on fatherhood is just that type of example. Being a godly father is a full time responsibility, not only on Sundays. Abraham is the patriarch of Judaism, Islam, and ‘Christianity”! But, it is not without some serious sins of the father.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 

Genesis 12:2  And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 12:3  And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." 

Almost out of nowhere Abram appears and God is calling him out of the land within which he has lived for his entire life.

We see here that this blessing and curse is given alone to Abram. There is no Jewish nation that can claim it for their own, which is what many claim today.

12:4  So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 

12:5  Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. 12:6  Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 

It would seem that Abram obeyed completely even though God has not revealed to us just how Abram came to know Him and obey Him.

12:7  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. 12:8  Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 12:9  Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. 

Bethel remained an important city for the nation of Israel and was in the promised land.

12:10  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. 

There is not one word that suggests that Abram asked God about leaving the land God had just revealed to him.

12:11  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; 2:12  and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 12:13  "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." 

It is apparent that while God spoke to Abram directly and he obeyed, he still did not fully know God or trust God.

12:14  It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15  Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 

How could Abram allow this to happen? He let them take his wife into Pharaoh’s harem!!! What did Sarai think about all of this? Was Abram this weak?

12:16  Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. 12:17  But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 

Pharaoh was more righteous at this time than Abram. He paid Abram very well for his ‘sister’! But, God was not pleased and He protected Sarai even when Abram would not.

12:18  Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 12:19  "Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go." 

Pharaoh could have done more, but he sent Abram away. He was much richer in material things, but sadly this behavior gives us some insight into his character. This will prove insightful as we continue our study.

12:20  Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. 

Pharaoh did not take back his gifts, but he banished him as he did not want to be constantly reminded of this problem that Abram had created for him.

Weak husbands sometimes can become weak fathers as well.

More next Saturday.