Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. "Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you." It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? "Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go." Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. (Genesis 12:10-20 NASB)
Having yesterday examined whether Abram was being shrewed and faithful or cowardly and un-trusting, I want to look at Pharaoh. How did Pharaoh know from the "plagues" on his household, that the problem was that Sarai was Abram's wife, and not his sister as he claimed?
There is a lot of detail just left out of this story. The account of Abram's second go-around in Genesis 20 has a lot more specifics. Here we're not told if Pharaoh consummated his marriage with Sarai, we're not told what form the "plagues" took, and we're not told how he determined that Sarai was already married. There's a lot left out, so I'm forced to look elsewhere for clues.
First, in Genesis 20 I am given more detail, and there it says in verse 4 that the king did not come near her. I would find it strange if God allowed it in chapter 12 but not later on in chapter 20. On the other hand, the account in chapter 20 is sandwiched between God giving specifics of Isaac's coming, and the actually birth of Isaac. So, in order to set aside any concerns that Isaac might not be from Abraham, was I given specifics? Even so, it seems unlikely that God would permit Pharaoh to "touch" Sarai, when He prevents this other king from doing so.
Second, it seems from the account of Joseph and Moses that Egyptians are rather adept at, and hold in high regard, spiritual "magic". The priests of Pharaoh are able to replicate some of the plagues that God sends on the Egyptians. Dream interpretations are held in high regard, and that there are those who can interpret them is "understood". I wonder if God revealed through Pharaoh's "priests" or other such official the real situation Pharaoh and his household was in.
These two things are really just possibilities without firm support. What I can surmise from this is that God thought it was important to ensure Sarai did not remain with Pharaoh. That may seem an obvious statement, but consider that Abram could have moved on and married another. God didn't really need Sarai to accomplish His plan, He just "wanted" to accomplish His plan through her. But could there have been another reason God want sent plagues on Pharaoh and his household?
The accounts of God and His dealings with Egypt are not exactly the same as they are for other nations around Israel. He seems to reveal Himself more and permit them to exist longer than other nations. That is not to say He doesn't punish them and that there no passages that prophesy against them. But there are also passages that prophesy against Israel as well. For reasons I have not been able to find in Scripture, God seems to really like Egypt. He uses them to "care" for His people in a sense that He does not with Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. With those empires there is a dispersion of His people. With Egypt they are kept together and assembled to become a formidable nation (which is probably why the Egyptians feared them).
On the other hand, Israel is warned not to "return" to Egypt, even to buy horses (which I always thought was an interesting specific). It's as if God wants to work on Egypt, but also keep His people untainted by them. This doesn't really work, and even in the Second-Temple period, there are a great number of Jews in Egypt. They even build their own temple in Elephantine. In spite of Jeremiah's prophesy against working with/going to Egypt, he is kidnapped by Jewish rebels who then escape to Egypt (one of the great ironies of his life).
I suspect that this account of Abram in Egypt might be one of the earliest accounts of God's work among them, to reveal Himself to them. History does not teach that God was able to reach them as a nation, or never for very long, but Scripture can be seen to indicate He tries on several occasions. For whatever reason, God loves Egypt.
Can I learn from this that my Master is also the Master of communication? Regardless of how Pharaoh knew Sarai was Abram's wife, the knowledge originated with my Master. Even if my Master worked through Egypt's "spiritual magic" to reveal it, he got the message loud and clear. So, if my Master is so clear with a pagan who He never really reaches completely, why would I wonder so often what my Master says to me? Can't I trust that what He wants me to know He will reveal? Can't I rely on His timing? He informed Pharaoh in a timely fashion, so why would I doubt He would work more vaguely with me (when it was important)?
I think my problem here is that I want to know what I want to know when I want to know it. On the other hand, my Master reveals only what He wants me to know, and only as He wants me to know it. The "progressive revelation" my Master uses with Abram/Abraham, He also uses with me. That's how I got out here to Nevada in the first place. It was a progressive revelation of where and how He would make it possible for us to be here. And yet, I still struggle with wanting to be in control of the flow of information from my Master. And that means that I still struggle with letting Him have mastery over me. Once again, I must submit to the Master of communication and timing. What I perceive now from my Master is that I'm a slow learner. I get that loud and clear.
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