Genesis 12: Sister

Summary: Abram is commanded to leave Haran. He leaves with Sarai, Lot, and the believers of that time. They come to Canaan. Abram is promised the land of Canaan. Because of famine, Abram moves on to Egypt. He tells the Egyptians that Sarai is his sister so that they won't kill him in order to make her available. The pharaoh realizes Sarai is his wife, returns her to him, and orders his people to let Abram leave with all of his possessions.

Personal Reflection: It always seems strange to me that we seem to feel like we have to justify Abram's actions here. Here are some of the justifications for his deception. First, Sarai really was his sister (in a 2nd millenium BC, Jewish culture kind of way). Back then in that culture, "sister" or "brother" simply meant a relative of some kind. Note how Abram calls Lot his brother in Genesis 14:16 as well as in other places when Lot is his nephew. Also, note Genesis 20:12 to see that Sarai is related to Abram. Second, it has been said that "Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg. 255). I agree that this is true. God won't command us to do things that are wrong, but I also don't think that this necessarily means that Abram was in tune with the Lord at this point. In fact, I have always thought that the pharaoh of Egypt was a pretty good guy in this whole story. I wonder if Abram just went on his own here. I really like David Guzik's commentary on Abram's deception. Which brings me to something I heard from my Old Testament teacher. He said, and I paraphrase "Catholics know that the pope is infallible, Mormons know that the prophet is fallible, and neither one really believes it." I think in the LDS church we could be more forgiving of faults we might see in leaders. This story about Abram may be one such instance, where a great and good prophet of the Lord behaved as a human being.

This brings up another important point. The Old Testament often doesn't moralize on issues. Sometimes, it leaves us to decide for ourselves whether something was good or bad. This is one of those cases. Just because the Bible doesn't come right out and say, Abram shouldn't have lied, it doesn't mean that he was right in doing so. I find the Bible a little obscure in that way. Sometimes we have to decide for ourselves, with the help of God what the moral of the story is.

Also, I want to point out the fact that Abram is travelling again in this chapter. Wandering is an interesting theme we could bring up. The Lord promises Abram the land, but, in the end, Abram and his family don't really possess it for long, they end up in Egypt and elsewhere, but Abram shows great faith and trust in the promises of the Lord as he waits for all of the Lord's promises to be fulfilled.