Pharaoh . . . sent [Abram] on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

— Genesis 12:20

It was a time of famine, and Abram and Sarai needed food. There was food in Egypt, but going there could be dangerous. (This would not be the first time God’s people sought food in Egypt during a famine, and this episode foreshadows events that took place later in the story of Abram’s descendants— see Genesis 37-50.)As Abram and Sarai entered Egypt, Abram came up with a plan. He told Sarai, in effect, “If people ask who you are, I will tell them you are my sister. If I say you are my wife, they might kill me to get to you.”So a deception began, and one lie led to another. Before long, Sarai was taken to become a wife in Pharaoh’s household. And the truth came out when God protected Sarai by inflicting diseases on Pharaoh and his household. (Some years later, a similar type of cover-up took place in the life of Abram’s son Isaac during another famine—Genesis 26.)Abram had thought he was providing for himself and his wife, but he learned that it is God who provides and protects. Pharaoh could easily have killed Abram for his actions, but God provided protection for him in that way too.Instead of being killed, Abram was sent away with all the gifts he had received when Sarai was taken into the palace. And those blessings came ultimately through the faithful provision of God.

Dear God, so often we think we can protect and provide for ourselves. Please take away our deception and pride, and help us to see that you alone are the one who provides. Amen.