When Famine Threatens Everything

Notes

Josh’s Celebration

Community Groups

Joni & Friends Presentation

Introduction

The Apollo 13 mission, immortalized in the 1995 film starring Tom Hanks, offers a powerful real-life illustration of faith, perseverance, and unexpected blessings in the face of adversity.

Original Plan: In April 1970, Apollo 13 launched with the goal of being the third mission to land on the moon.

Unexpected Crisis: About 56 hours into the flight, an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the spacecraft and putting the lives of the three astronauts in grave danger.

Change of Plans: The moon landing was aborted. The new mission became simply to get the crew home alive.

Challenges Faced: Limited power, water, and oxygen Extreme cold in the spacecraft Need to improvise life-saving solutions with limited resources

Faith and Perseverance: The astronauts and ground crew worked tirelessly, pushing the limits of their ingenuity and resources. They had to trust in each other, their training, and the unseen team supporting them from Earth.

Unexpected Blessings: The crisis united people worldwide in prayer and support. The mission's "failure" became one of NASA's finest hours, demonstrating human resilience and problem-solving. The experience led to crucial improvements in spacecraft safety.

Safe Return: Against all odds, the crew returned safely to Earth after a harrowing four-day ordeal.

Like Abram's journey, the Apollo 13 mission demonstrates how unexpected crises can lead to profound experiences of faith, community, and personal growth (and crisis of both). It shows that sometimes our greatest triumphs come not from achieving our original goals, but from how we handle the unexpected challenges along the way. God works despite the failings and the successes of those that are involved. God is faithful.

If you have your Bibles or on your devices, you can turn to Genesis 12:10-20. If you are willing and able would you stand with me as I read God’s word this morning… this is the word of the Lord… let us pray… amen… you may be seated.

Change of Plans

We have a birds eye view of what God is doing…

Eden: All people created in God’s image, cultivate, tend, be fruitful and multiply

Fall of creation: Genesis 3

Fall of the family: Genesis 4

Fall of humanity: Genesis 6

Noah: A new Adam (Genesis 7-9)

Abraham: Genesis 12 (one family)

Israel: One nation

The church: All people

Had an idea of what life would be

God is going to bless… he is for me… if someone stands against me… watch out, you’ll have the creator of the universe standing against you. Wow!

Travelled so far already

Wasn’t sure where he was going, but God led and brought him to a land of promise.

As soon as he gets there… we’re told there is a famine… no food. No ability to sustain life. So they leave.

Circumstances out of our control

There is an obstacle and at worst, a threat to what God had promised.

Abram struggles (and often fails) to be God’s partner in blessing the nations. When Abram shows up in the land God leads him to, there’s a famine, and Abram promptly turns around and leaves.

There is no suggestion of punishment or curse. It is simply reported that this family has nowhere else to go. Barrenness is the way of human history. It is an effective metaphor for hopelessness. There is no foreseeable future. There is no human power to invent a future. Brueggemann, W. (1982). Genesis (p. 116). John Knox Press.

But praise be to God that bareness in the Bible is God’s arena for life-giving action!

I’ve heard Bible studies where many will sit and camp out here on whether or not he should have stayed, but I will take the approach we see in scripture is that Abram just goes. Should he have stayed… doesn’t say and doesn’t actually give us commentary either way… Abram is to be a blessing to the nations… so quite possibly God uses this obstacle for Abram to be a blessing in Egypt.

Can they be a blessing in the midst of what seems a difficult, undesirable, and no fault of their own circumstance? We’ll see.

Change of Location

Egypt? Really!?

Something larger going on… when we think of Egypt, our minds might run to the end of Genesis or even the book of Exodus… we’re seeing these foreshadows and callbacks throughout our journey in Genesis.

The wilderness exposes us

We see his conversation with Sarai Genesis 12:11–13 “As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.””

We don’t know why Abram put Sarai up as his sister. We read in Genesis 20:12 that she is the daughter of his father through another woman. They could be half-siblings or they could be step-siblings… either way technically it’s true, Sarai is his wife and sister.

There is debate in scholarship as to why Abram would do this, but we aren’t told and we don’t know enough of the social customs and expectations at that time to discern what he might have been thinking.

So what do we do with this…

We deal with the fact that Abram was deceptive and premeditated this situation. He obviously knew that something like this could happen… she’s beautiful/desirable, someone is going to take notice and want her.

Abram seems to have forgotten or not taken into account how God had already spoke, “I’ve got your back.”

We can hear echoes of Genesis 3… in this story as Abram chooses for himself what is good and neglects God’s promise to protect and bless him, all at his wife’s expense.

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

Abraham is trying to get goodness at his wife’s expense by lying and deceiving another. Truth vs. Deception. What God said he would do and not trusting what God would do, or if he see it through. A woman who was beautiful seeing and Eve who saw the fruit that it was good looking (desirable).

God told Abram he was going to be a blessing to all nations… here’s a nation… is he a blessing? Is he walking in what God called him to? No but we see plagues and serious diseases coming upon Pharaoh’s household.

Pharoah kicks them out. Abram is not a blessing to Egypt.

Instead of being a vehicle of blessing to Egypt, Abram brings a curse upon the nation––God’s punishment on the innocent Egyptians in defense of Abram. God is not rewarding Abram’s deception; rather, he is honoring the promise he made to him. So Pharaoh sends Abram away with a new accumulation of animals and Egyptian servants.

God Will Never Change

His plan, purposes, and desires will be accomplished… this will not be the only time where Abram does something like this. It’s curious. But as we encounter these foreshadows and callbacks to other parts of scripture we should be encouraged…

“The reason for repetitions and recursions of similar narratives throughout the Pentateuch is to show that the matter has been firmly decided by God and that God will act quickly to bring about His promise.” J. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative. (p.143)

God's omnipotence and omniscience allow Him to orchestrate multiple purposes simultaneously, weaving individual stories into His grand narrative. In Genesis 12:10-20, while focused on Abram's survival in Egypt, God is fulfilling promises, shaping His chosen people, revealing Himself to nations, and laying groundwork for future revelations. This divine multitasking demonstrates God's sovereignty and wisdom, assuring us that He can work through our personal journeys to accomplish His greater will. We can find comfort in knowing that our experiences, like Abram's, are part of a larger, divinely crafted tapestry.

If I could remind us of the blessing and sin pattern from last week…

The sin pattern is “see—take”. The blessing pattern is “hear—follow”

If I could call us back to the imperative given in Genesis 12:1–3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.””

I didn’t highlight this last week but I think worth noting in our trials and circumstances that are beyond our control where God wants to use us for His purposes in this life… He’s called us as lights, as salt, as a witness to where people will taste and see that God is good regardless of our circumstances (I might argue that the fruit of our lives might taste sweeter honoring Jesus in the midst of hardship)…

The imperative is followed by the promise, presented in five first-person statements (vv. 2–3a): (1) I will make of you, (2) I will bless you, (3) I will magnify your name, (4) I will bless those who bless you, (5) I will curse those who curse you Brueggemann, W. (1982). Genesis (p. 118). John Knox Press.

It reminds me of the New Testament writings of the Apostle Paul about what God will do:

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

Hebrews 13:20–21 “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Like Abram, Christians have life experiences that raise questions about God’s ability or willingness to take care of us. We wonder whether he will eventually bring us into his presence forever as he promises:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. (John 14:1–4).

While it is true that God never promises a problem-free life, when troubles do come into our life, we still often take it as a threat or obstacle to the fulfillment of the promises. And how do we react? Do we react with fear as Abram does in this story or with faith? Fear has us act in self-protective ways or to manipulate events for our own advantage. God, of course, calls us to trust in him, to have confidence in him. Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; pp. 170–171). Zondervan.

Conclusion

As we conclude our journey through Abram's detour to Egypt, we're reminded that our path, like his, often takes unexpected turns. Our lives rarely follow the exact course we envision. Yet, we see a profound truth: God's faithfulness never wavers, even when our own faith falters. Abram's story teaches us that God's promises hold true not because of our perfect obedience, but because of His perfect love and unchanging nature.

When we face our own famines, our own Egypts, or our own moments of fear and doubt, let us remember that these are not obstacles to God's plan, but often the very means through which He works. Like Abram, we may stumble, we may take detours, we may even make choices that seem to jeopardize God's promises. But God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, continues to shape us, bless us, and use us for His greater purpose.

As we leave here today, let's carry with us the assurance that the God who called Abram, is the same God who walks with us through every triumph and trial. May we learn to trust Him more deeply, to listen for His voice amidst the chaos, and to step out in faith, knowing that our detours are never beyond His control. For it is often in our most challenging moments that God's glory shines brightest, and His promises prove most true. Let us go forth, not in fear, but in faith, ready to be a blessing to others, just as God has blessed us. Amen.