Abraham & Sarah – A series in Genesis – Genesis 12:1-13:4

Genesis Origins Part 2: Abraham and Sarah – Week 1- Call and Compromise

Genesis 12:1–13:4 (CSB)

¹ The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
² I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

⁵ He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

⁶ Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.

⁹ Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live.

¹³ Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.”

¹⁴ When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s household.

¹⁶ He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife, Sarai.

¹⁸ So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

13 

¹Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him.

² Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

³ He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been,

⁴ to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there.

• I want to talk to you this morning about the call and the compromise
• Seeing that:

God’s call requires faith not only to go but to stay — trusting His promise even when circumstances look impossible.

Intro:

• There is a difference between excitement and endurance.
• Excitement is easy.
• Endurance is often hard.
• It’s one thing to say yes
• When God calls you into something new.
• It’s another thing to keep saying yes
• When the circumstances
• Don’t feel like they are matching the promise.
• We feel it when we start a new job
• And the first week is energizing
• But six months in,
• The pressure exposes maybe our fears.
• You can feel it when you step into marriage with joy
• And then conflict surfaces.
• Or when we step out in obedience
• And instead of blessing, famine shows up.

• Genesis 12 is one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture.
• God calls Abram.
• God makes covenant promises.
• God speaks blessing over him.
• But almost immediately,
• The promise is tested.
• And here’s what we learn:
• God’s call requires faith not only to go — but to stay.
• Trusting His promise
• Even when circumstances look impossible.
• Now remember who first heard this story.
• Moses is writing to Israel in the wilderness.
• They had left Egypt.
• They were headed to the promised land.
• And what were they experiencing?
• Hardship.
• Hunger.
• Uncertainty.
• So Moses tells them about Abram.
• He tells them:
• Your father in the faith also faced famine.
• Your father in the faith also felt fear.
• Your father in the faith also had moments of compromise.
• And yet — God remained faithful.
• This story is not just about Abram.
• It is about what kind of God we follow.

TEACHING:

Genesis 12:1–3 says:

“The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

• Notice something first.
• Abram did not initiate this relationship.
• God did.
• God speaks first.
• God calls first.
• God promises first.
• This is grace before obedience.
• Abram is 75 years old.
• No children.
• No nation.
• No land.
• And God says, “Go.”
• Leave security.
• Leave familiarity.
• Leave what you can see.
• Go to what I will show you.
• Here’s the thing:
• The call is specific in what he must leave
• But vague in where he is going.
• It’s the perfect picture of Faith
• Faith always involves both surrender and trust.

Verse 4 says, “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.”

• He operated with Simple obedience.

Hebrews 11:8 reflects on this moment and says

“Abram obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.”

• Faith is not full information.
• Faith is trusting the character of God.
• For Israel in the wilderness,
• This mattered deeply.
• They were walking toward a land they had not yet possessed.
• They were being asked to trust what they could not yet see.
• For us, it is the same.
• God’s call may be to forgive.
• God’s call may be to give generously.
• God’s call may be to step into disciple-making.
• God’s call may be to trust Him with your family.
• The question is not: Do I see the whole plan?
• The question is: Do I trust the One who calls?
• Now notice verse 7

“The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’”

• This Matters
• God does not just promise blessing in general
• He promises this land
• So when famine hits in this land
• The real question becomes:
• Will Abram trust that God can sustain him
• Where God has assigned him?
• This is where the “stay” comes in
• Faith is not only leaving Haran
• Faith is remaining in Canaan
• When Canaan feels empty

• It is easier to step out in excitement
• Than to stay when things get uncomfortable
• And notice something else in verse 8.

Genesis 12:8 says:

“From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there and called on the name of the Lord.”

• Before famine.
• Before failure.
• Before fear.
• Abram worshiped.
• He built an altar.
• He publicly declared allegiance to the Lord
• In a land filled with Canaanite worship.
• That altar is significant.
• Abram lived in tents — temporary structures.
• But he built altars — permanent markers of worship.
• He understood something:

My security is not in land ownership or what I have or don’t have but in covenant relationship with God.

• This is covenant grace.
• God binds Himself by promise
• Not because Abram earned it
• But because God is faithful
• And that same covenant grace is what holds us today

Genesis 15:6 will later say Abram “believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

• Even Abram’s righteousness rest on what God declares
• Not what Abram achieves
• This is the foundation of justification by faith
• This is what I call the rhythm of faith:
• God calls.
• We obey.
• We worship.
• But then the test comes.
• The Crisis of Famine

Genesis 12:10 says:

“There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.”

• The promise said land and blessing.
• The reality was famine.
• Do you see the tension?
• God just promised to bless him in this land
• And now the land cannot even feed him.
• For Israel in the wilderness,
• This would have hit home.
• They too had faced hunger.
• They too had questioned whether God would provide.

Here’s the issue:

• Will Abram trust the promise of God
• When circumstances contradict it?
• The bigger here-and-now question is,
• Will you and I?
• What has God said that right now,
• When you look around,
• It seems impossible?
• Will you trust him despite what you don’t yet see
• Possible story of Elijah’s servant 2 Kings 6:17
• My personal prayer time
• Back to our story
• Egypt represents security without faith.
• Egypt had the Nile.
• Egypt had infrastructure.
• Egypt had stability.
• It made sense to go there.
• And the text does not explicitly condemn Abram for going to Egypt.
• And that’s important
• The crisis itself is not necessarily sin
• But what unfolds next reveals his heart.
• When we leave the place of promise
• Without consulting the Promiser,
• Fear often follows.
• And fear always distorts.

Genesis 12:11–13:

“When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife.” They will kill me but let you live. Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.’”

• Do you hear the language?
• “So it will go well for me.”
• “My life will be spared.”
• Fear has replaced faith.
• God had just promised, “I will bless you. I will protect you.”
• But famine created fear.
• Fear created self-preservation.
• Self-preservation created compromise.
• Abram did not fully deny Sarai.
• She was technically his half-sister.
• But a half-truth used to manipulate is still deception.
• And notice something heartbreaking.
• The one who was supposed to bless the nations
• Is now using his wife as a shield for his own protection.
• Fear shrinks our calling.
• When we stop trusting God’s promise,
• We start protecting ourselves at the expense of others.
• How often do we do the same?
• We compromise integrity to secure income.
• We soften the truth to secure approval.
• We manipulate perception to secure reputation.
• We, in effect, go to Egypt.
• And yet, watch what happens next.

Genesis 12:17:

“But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.”

• God intervenes.
• Abram fails.
• But God remains faithful.
• Pharaoh rebukes Abram in verses 18–19:

“What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?”

• It is and uncomfortable thing
• When the world has clearer moral vision than the believer.
• Abram, the covenant bearer,
• Is corrected by a pagan king.
• But here is grace:
• God protects the covenant promise
• Even when His servant falters.
• This story is not primarily about the strength of Abram’s faith.
• It is about the steadfastness of God’s covenant.
• If the promise depended on Abram’s perfection,
• It would have ended in Egypt.
• But the promise rests on God.
• And here is the good news for you and me
• The promise that God has for us
• Does not rest on us either.
• It does not rest on our flawless obedience.
• It does not rest on our perfect faith.
• It does not collapse when we falter.
• Thank God the promise does not rest on us.
• It rests on His character.
• It rests on His covenant.
• It rests on His faithfulness.
• And ultimately, it rest on Christ
• Because centuries later,
  The true Seed of Abraham would face His own Egypt moment.
• But He would not compromise.
• Abram feared death and shifted the risk to Sarai.
• Jesus faced death and absorbed the risk Himself.
• Abram sought self-preservation.
• Jesus embraced self-sacrifice.
• Abram’s compromise endangered others.
• Jesus’ obedience secured others.
• And here is where the gospel deepens:
• Jesus did not just stay faithful as our example.
• He stayed faithful as our substitute.
• Where we run to Egypt,
• He remains in obedience.
• Where we lie to protect ourselves,
• He stands in truth and takes the consequences.
• On the cross,
• He bore the penalty of all our Egypt moments.
• The covenant promise stands secure
• Because Christ carried our failure.
• That is substitution.
• That is grace.

Galatians 3:8 says:

“All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

• That blessing is Christ.

Genesis 13:1–4:

“So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev — he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there.”

• Abram went back.
• Back to the altar.
• Back to worship.
• Back to calling on the name of the Lord.
• Failure did not disqualify him.
• He returned.
• For Israel in the wilderness,
• This was hope.
• You may fail.
• You may complain.
• You may long for Egypt.
• But you can return.
• And for us today,
• That matters deeply.
• God’s call requires faith not only to go but to stay.
• Stay in integrity.
• Stay in trust.
• Stay in worship.
• Stay in obedience when famine hits.
• But when we fail
• And we will
• The path forward is not hiding.
• It is returning to the altar.
• And for some of you,
• That return may be public.
• Just as Abram’s altar was visible in the land,
• Baptism is a visible declaration
• That you belong to the covenant-keeping God.
• If you have trusted Christ but never publicly identified with Him,
• Baptism may be your altar moment.
• And for others,
• Staying may involve generosity in famine seasons.
• Abram’s fear centered around survival.
• But covenant people learn to trust God not only with safety
• But with their resources.
• Even in lean seasons,
• We do not run to Egypt for security.
• We trust the Promiser.

CONCLUSION:

• Let me ask you something.
• Where is your Egypt?

• Where are you tempted to run when pressure rises?
• Is it financial control?
• Is it image management?
• Is it relational manipulation?
• Is it comfort?
• God may have called you somewhere
• Into a marriage,
• Into generosity,
• Into disciple-making,
• Into leadership
• And the famine has come.
• And you are tempted to protect yourself instead of trust Him.
• At New City,
• We say our mission is to inspire people to trust in and live like Jesus.
• Trust comes before living.
• Abram trusted enough to go
• But struggled to trust enough to stay.
• Where do you need to stay?
• Stay in obedience.
• Stay in integrity.
• Stay in worship.
• Stay in faithfulness.
• And if you have already compromised?
• Return to the altar.
• Return to worship.
• Return to calling on the name of the Lord.
• Notice something beautiful.
• The story does not end in Egypt.
• It ends at an altar.
• Your story does not have to end in failure.
• It can end in worship.
• And this is not moral improvement.
• This is covenant grace.
• The same God who called Abram
• Is the God who sent His Son.
• The same God
• Who protected the covenant through Abram’s weakness
• Is the God who secured salvation through Christ’s strength.
• You do not stay in God’s promise because you are strong.
• You stay because He is faithful.
• And today,
• We don’t just talk about the altar.
• We come to one.
• Because the cross is the ultimate altar.

• At Abram’s altar,
• He called on the name of the Lord.
• At the cross,
• God made a way for us
• To be able to call on His name and be saved.
• Communion is our return-to-the-altar moment.
• It is where we stop running.
• It is where we stop striving.
• It is where we stop protecting ourselves.
• And we remember:
• The covenant does not rest on us.
• It rests on Christ.
• On the night He was betrayed,
• Jesus took bread.
• He did not run from the famine of suffering.
• He stayed.
• He stayed faithful.
• He stayed obedient.
• He stayed on the path to the cross.
• And His body was broken.
• His blood was poured out.
• So that when we run to Egypt,
• There is still a way back.
• So that when we compromise,
• There is still grace.
• So that when famine hits,
• We can trust the promise.
• Today,
• Some of you need to say yes
• To the call of God for the first time.
• You need to leave your land
• Your self-rule
• And trust Christ as Lord.
• If that is you,
• As we take communion in a moment,
• You can confess Him.
• You can trust Him.
• You can return.
• Some of you need to stop running to Egypt.
• Some of you need to return to the altar.
• Communion is not a ritual of perfection.
• It is a table of grace.
• We come not because we stayed perfectly.
• We come because He did.
• So let’s stand together.

• If you are a follower of Jesus,
• Take the bread and remember His body broken for you.
• Take the cup and remember His blood shed for you.
• And as you do, ask yourself:
• Where do I need to stay?
• Where do I need to return?
• And thank Him
• That the promise does not rest on you.
• It rests on Christ.
• Let’s come to the altar and get our communion together.
• Then I will come and walk us through taking it

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (CSB)

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

(Pray over and take bread)

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’

(Pray over and take juice)

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”