Genesis 12:10

Abraham went down to Egypt because there was a famine in the land. This journey led only to trouble. There are many parallels with the whole nations enslavement in Egypt and the later release from slavery, though the Bible itself does not seem to make much of these parallels. Although the trip led to trouble, there is no indication whether God approved or not of Abraham's decision to go to Egypt. Several commentators take the view that Abraham had certainly not gone there "in faith", and imply that this move was part of the cause of his subsequent troubles. However, in Genesis 26 there was again a famine in the land, and Isaac was told by God to stay in the land and not to go down to Egypt. Isaac obeyed God, but then he went through a very similar "she is my sister" routine that Abraham was about to embark on.

So from all this I conclude that Abraham's decision to go to Egypt is not the key issue. In our own lives we can can often ask ourselves if certain things are happening because I made this decision, or did not make that decision. Now if God has told us to do a certain thing, or not to do a certain thing, then we should definitely obey that command and it matters. However, sometimes God has not said anything to us. (As a footnote, if you haven't heard God speak about an issue in your life perhaps it is because He hasn't said anything!). What matters most is how we react in situations. And if God has spoken to us and we have obeyed, it is still imperative that we react in the right way. Isaac and Abraham were equally wrong to lie. We will look at the incident itself tomorrow.