The Bizarro Abram

In the 8th season of the best sitcom of all time, there’s an episode entitled “The Bizarro Jerry”—a classic Seinfeld episode.

In the episode, all sorts of weird things happen. Kramer gets a job—kinda. He’s not actually hired; he’s accidentally invited into a staff meeting and then just keeps showing up for work. He takes a briefcase with him (but its only contents are a few sleeves of Ritz crackers), and he’s quickly fired (which is difficult because he doesn’t really even work there).

Elaine becomes friends with a guy named Kevin who has two other friends: a short, bald man named Gene and a tall, crazy-haired guy they just call ‘Feldman.”

Kevin and Gene and Feldman are almost the exact opposite of Elaine’s other friends: Jerry, George, and Kramer.

Kevin, Gene, Feldman are good people. They do nice things. They read…books!

It’s bizarro world; everything is backwards. Kevin’s apartment is a mirror image of Jerry’s. Jerry’s nemesis is Newman, a rotund postal worker. Kevin, on the other hand, is friends with a jolly FedEx delivery man named Fargas.

That Seinfeld episode came to mind as I read our text for this morning. There’s a Seinfeld episode corresponding to just about any event, even things that happened in the ANE.

You see, last week, we met a fellow named Abram. The LORD called Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to a land the LORD would show him (Gen 12:1).

And Abram goes. He trusts the LORD’s promise to him to make him into a great nation. Abram believes what the LORD has to say. He’s obedient—Abram goes, as the LORD had told him. And Abram worships the LORD in the midst of the pagan, Canaanite land in which he finds himself.

The picture we have of Abram in the first half of Genesis 12 is of a man worth emulating. Abram trusts, obeys, and worships the LORD.

Now the second half of Genesis 12…for lack of a better phrase, it’s Bizarro Abram. He’s different, almost completely different. We see the other side of the guy we were introduced to last week.

What are we to make of this? Unlike Seinfeld, this isn’t funny. And it’s hard to imagine a shift like this. Yet, here we are. It’s completely upside-down. In a way, it’s hard to reconcile the two Abrams (faithful, obedient Abram and Bizarro Abram).

At the same time, we get it. It’s a conflict present in most of us. The apostle Paul dealt with it himself. He writes this honest assessment of his struggle in Romans 7:

Romans 7:15 NIV

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

Romans 7:19 NIV

19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

It’s Paul and Bizarro Paul.

We know the struggle, the dichotomy that often exists within us.

We see this clearly in Genesis 12. The chapter starts out with the Abram who trusts and obeys and worships the LORD, and then concludes with Bizarro Abram in our text for today.

As Victor Hamilton puts it: “How different is the Abram of 12:10–20 from the trusting, obedient Abram of 12:1–9!”

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Genesis 12. If you’re able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.

Genesis 12:10–13:4 NIV

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. 1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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Our text begins with the mention of a famine in the land and Abram traveling to Egypt to live there for a while.

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Egypt, because of the Nile River, was better placed to provide food for people and animals during a time of drought. Knowing this, Abram decides this is where he and the people with him ought to venture.

It’s not a bad idea, but is it God’s idea? God doesn’t direct Abram to Egypt. It’s not a bad idea, but is it God’s idea?

Abram trusted the LORD enough to leave his home country, his father’s household, and set off for the land the LORD would give him.

Now, who is Abram trusting?

Distrust Replaces Trust

As is common in Biblical stories, the author doesn’t give any direct evaluation of the participants’ actions, leaving us to figure out the ethical questions and answers.

There’s no commentary at all in the text about whether this move to Egypt is a good idea or a bad idea.

“Yet all the indications are that Abram did not stop to enquire, but went on his own initiative, taking everything into account but God.” -Derek Kidner

Isn’t that something? What an interesting and foolish and altogether common scenario this is!

Abram here is very much like me (maybe a little like you, too). Instead of turning to the LORD, calling out to Him in prayer, seeking His guidance and direction, I tend to trust my gut. Make my own decision. Guide myself. Make the call.

I mean, come on! I’m smart enough. Educated enough. Experienced enough. I can figure this out without help. Like a petulant toddler, I can do it myself.

If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in many a situation like Abram.

Our ideas and decisions may not be outright bad, but do our ideas and decisions take into consideration the LORD’s will or any direction from Him?

That’s something to think about.

Clearly, Abram’s not trusting what God has said, what God has promised. In Genesis 12:2-3, the LORD is clear: The LORD is going to make Abram a great nation and will bless Abram. Abram trusted that initially. Incredibly, he believed the LORD.

Here, Abram’s showing little to no trust at all.

What do you think? If the LORD led Abram to the land He had for him and promised to bless him and make his name great, do you think the LORD is going to let Abram starve?

Has this severe famine taken God by surprise and tied His hands?

The problem is, Abram’s looking out for himself instead of trusting God to look out for him.

Abram’s actions here imply he thinks God is unable to care for him or protect him.

By taking matters into his own hands, by deciding all on his lonesome, by doing it himself like a big boy, Abram lost the opportunity to discover that the LORD could provide for His people, not only a land, but also necessary food.

The trusting Abram of verses 1-9 shows himself to be distrusting Abram here.

He failed to draw near to the LORD and, when trouble struck, failed to trust Him.

Hamilton argues, and I think he’s correct, though this is hard to swallow: “The source of Abram’s danger was confidence in his own judgment. Like Abram, we have to learn that it is all to easy to find ourselves off the track, simply because we have trusted our own reasoning instead of consulting our Guide. All kinds of dangers follow.”

The takeaway here for us then is to keep trusting—actively trusting the LORD, with a trust that seeks Him in all things. Before we take a step in this direction or that, to seek Him and consult Him. To trust our Guide. To turn to His Word. To speak with Him in prayer.

In Abram’s mistrust and distrust,

Deception Replaces Obedience

You remember the obedience of Abram in verse 4. The LORD spoke to him and Abram went, as the LORD had told him.

Simple, immediate obedience.

Contrast his obedience with his deceitfulness. As OT scholar Joyce Baldwin writes:

“Here, with brutal disregard for his wife and a total lapse of faith in his LORD, Abram resorted to deceit in order to save his own skin.”

For everything Abram may not know about the LORD and the ways of the LORD at this point, he has to know that this is wrong. Selfish. Sinful. Stupid.

Abram reveals his self-centered reasoning in verse 12—“that I will be treated well…and my life will be spared because of you.”

This is Abram’s main concern; no matter what happened to his wife, Abram’s making sure he’s treated well and ensuring his life will be spared.

Men, don’t be like Bizarro Abram.

Go ahead and tell your wife how beautiful she is. Those are Abram’s first recorded words. Tell your wife how beautiful she is, but don’t lie about her and give her up to the king of Egypt (or anyone else) to spare yourself.

That’s a bad idea and a complete abdication of our responsibility as husbands. Ephesians 5 tells us to lay down our lives for them, not use them to protect ours.

Abram plans this little ruse. Sarai seems to consent or at least go along with it. Abram lies and deceives the Egyptians, showing again his distrust of the LORD, believing he has to take care of himself.

And, apart from handing his wife over to Pharaoh’s house, things go well for Abram. He acquires a great deal of livestock and servants. Camels, even!

What would have trust and obedience in and to the LORD afforded Abram? We don’t know for sure, but far more than anything Pharaoh could give Abram.

The LORD owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) The world is the LORD’s and everything in it.

Instead of being deceitful, why not stick with obedience to the LORD, trusting Him and following His path?

Again, Abram’s following his own judgment, and that’s just plain dumb. D-U-M-B, dumb.

Abram’s scheme is as ridiculous as it is faithless.

Faithlessness Replaces Worship

Think about it. The LORD has told Abram he’ll be a great nation. The implication is that Abram and his wife are going to have a child or children and those children are going to have a whole mess of children.

But now, Abram’s faithless scheme has sent his wife to be one of Pharaoh’s wives.

How is Abram supposed to become a great nation if his wife is no longer with him?

Instead of trusting the LORD to provide for them in this famine, Abram exchanges the worship of the LORD for his own faithless scheming.

When Abram was following the LORD’s lead, when he went as the LORD had told him, Abram built altars to the LORD. Abram was following and worshipping the LORD.

Now, Abram’s following his own lead, going where he feels is best, doing what he’s thinks is right.

And notice: there is no worship. Abram might be worshipping himself a little, but he’s not worshipping the LORD.

According to one Robert Frost poem: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

I’m not sure Abram’s plan was altogether thought out, but it sure went awry. Abram’s plan is, to put it plainly, not good. It’s not going to work out.

This silly, sinful, stupid idea doesn’t have time to play itself out before the LORD—the One Abram neglected all along—intervenes.

In verse 17, we have the first mention of the LORD since verse 8. Verse 17 marks an important shift in the story.

It’s time in the narrative to switch from “a history according to Abraham’s plan… to a history under the control of the LORD Yahweh’s plan.”

It’s been bizarro world with Bizarro Abram at the helm, doing what was right in his own eyes; after we see the utter failure of Abram—the distrust, deceit, and faithlessness—it’s time for Abram and all of us to look to the LORD.

Abram’s trust and obedience and worship have waned, but

The LORD’s Grace and Power Remain Unchanged

Pharaoh’s taking of Sarai brings divine punishment on him and his house. This event (plagues; cf. Ex. 11:1) prefigures the exodus from Egypt when God punishes another pharaoh for his mistreatment of Abram’s descendants.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Something like this will happen again.

We don’t know what serious diseases (NIV) or great plagues (ESV, RSV, NASB) the LORD used, but we know from the 10 plagues in Exodus, the LORD has the power to do whatever He pleases.

His power is unmatched; the Creator can make anything happen.

The all-powerful God hits Pharaoh hard. And after Pharaoh confronts Abram, he expels Abram from Egypt, sending him away with everything he had there and the wife he’d surrendered.

The reason Abram emerges unpunished is solely that the Pharaoh has experienced the power behind him.

On his own, Abram voluntarily rolled over and handed to Pharaoh his own wife. Abram would never of made it out of Egypt with his life or his wife unless the LORD stepped-in.

Why does the LORD intervene, step-in, save Abram and Sarai? Why does the LORD visit His wrath against Egypt?

The LORD is going to keep His promise, no matter what.

The LORD is going to extend grace—undeserved favor—to His people, over and over and over.

The same LORD who called Abram is going to keep him and bless him and make him flourish. It’s grace. The unfailing, unchanging favor of the LORD toward undeserving people like Abram. And me, and you.

By the grace and power of the LORD—and only by His grace and power—Abram and Sarai and Lot and everything and everyone with them, make their way back up from Egypt.

From Egypt, to the Negev (the southern part of Canaan), from place to place, until he arrived at a familiar spot, eventually making it back to where they had stayed before, back to where Abram had built an altar to the LORD.

He went back. A picture, perhaps, of repentance. To go back to the place of sacrifice and worship. To go back there, to the location of the altar he had built.

And there, Genesis 13:4 tells us, Abram called on the name of the LORD.

“Abram sensed his need of forgiveness, cleansing and renewal, and he sought them at the place where he had already worshipped the LORD. It is important to notice that he came back, that the way was open for him to come back, and that the LORD received him back, as the continuing story proves.”-Joyce Baldwin

This is a story of Abram and Bizarro Abram, yes. But, even more, like every story in the Bible, it’s a story of the grace and the power of God in the lives of His people.

We stumble and falter and fail. The evil we don’t want to do, we do. The good we want to do, we don’t do.

We are sinners, all. This is not in question.

But the LORD is good and He is gracious. We waver back and forth, from faithfulness to folly. We don’t always practice our position.

But the LORD is steady. Constant. Faithful. Unfailing. Unwavering. Sure and steadfast.

Psalm 136:1 NIV

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

We see this pattern throughout the Bible: famine-travel to another land-captivity-return. The same sequence is followed in the experiences of Moses and the Exodus. It happens to some degree during the various exiles of God’s people in the OT.

In all of these events, the faithlessness of the people pales in comparison to the faithfulness of the LORD.

And that friends, is the essence of the gospel.

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Like Abram, to borrow the lyric of a song: “my faith is like shifting sand, changed by every wave; my faith is like shifting sand, so I stand on grace.”

I am such a debtor to God’s grace. My trust will waver. My obedience may wane. My worship may be stifled by the details of life. But the grace and power of God—His steadfast love—never fails.

So I stand on grace.