Abraham—Called by God: THE TRIAL OF THE CALLED

6

THE TRIAL OF THE CALLED

And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

Genesis 12:9-10

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.…And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle.…

Genesis 13:2, 5-7

In this message we come to Abraham’s experience of trials. We have seen how Abraham was called by God and how, by God’s appearing, he was strengthened to answer that call. We have also seen that, by God’s appearing, Abraham was brought to the very place where God intended him to be. Firstly he was brought to Shechem (12:6) and then to the place between Bethel and Ai, the place between the house of God and the heap of ruins (12:8). That place between the house of God and the heap of ruins was the high point, and Abraham should have remained there.

However, suddenly, after such a high attainment in his experience of God, Abraham continued his journey, going toward the south (12:9). In studying this chapter, I have spent much time to find out the reason why Abraham continued his journey. Why did he journey on and not remain there between the house of God and the heap of ruins? Abraham had attained the high point, the place where God intended for him to be. By God’s mercy, he should have remained there. But Abraham journeyed southward. This means that he went downward. After such a high attainment in the experience of God, any journey would be downward. This continuing of his journey was the cause of Abraham’s failure.

We have seen that, at the beginning, Abraham dragged his feet through mud and water. Eventually, he was victorious, going all the way to Shechem and afterward to the place near Bethel. That was wonderful. In both of those places he built an altar and at the place between Bethel and Ai he also called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent as a declaration to the whole world that he was an anti-testimony to the situation at Babel. Do you not think that in doing so Abraham had arrived, attained the high point of his experience of God?

Perhaps you are thinking that if you had been Abraham, you surely would have remained there. But we should not think this way, for we are today’s Abraham. The ancient Abraham was just like us. As we have pointed out elsewhere, Abraham’s experience was a seed of our own experience. The record of Abraham in Genesis is his biography, but it is our autobiography. You may say, “No, it is Abraham’s autobiography and my biography.” But this record is your autobiography not your biography, because the biography of Abraham was written by Moses and your biography is written by yourself. Abraham’s experience corresponds with ours. We and he are one. Have you not had a wonderful time with the Lord in which you reached the high point and shouted, “Hallelujah! How good it is here! No place is better than this place. This is the best place for me to be.” Have you not said this? But what happened the very next day? You began to journey downward. The night before you said, “Hallelujah, this is the place for me,” and the next morning you began to journey downward to the border of Egypt. This means that you journeyed to a place that was so close to the world, close to the movie theaters. One night you were on the high point in Canaan and the next morning you were moving downward to the border of the world. Has this not happened to you? I am so happy and surprised to hear the junior high young people offer such wonderful prayers in the meetings. But I need to say an honest word to them; I do not trust you. After praying such a wonderful prayer one night in the meeting, the next morning you may journey downward to the border of worldly entertainments. Today you may say, “Hallelujah, this is the best place for me,” and next weekend you may move downward to the movie theater. Remember that we are today’s Abraham. It is easy to reach the high point, but it is not easy to remain there. There is not much room on the high point. If you move just slightly, you will fall downhill. It is very difficult to keep the God-appointed position. The high point is surrounded by pits, and it is easy to fall into one of them. The called ones will not usually go backward, but it is easy for them to go downward into Egypt. Abraham never went back to Chaldea, but he did go down into Egypt.

In 12:9—13:18 we see Abraham’s trial. The word trial is not a pleasant word. No one likes to experience trials. Do you like to have trials in your life? Although no one likes trials, they are good experiences. Not too long after Abraham was called and began to live by faith, a trial came to him. Do not pray, “Lord, You are so good to me. Don’t let any trials come to me.” This kind of prayer will only hasten the coming of the trials. The Lord will answer your prayer in just the opposite way. If you say, “Lord, don’t send any trials,” the Lord will say, “I will send a trial very quickly.” I am assured that no one can say that since he was called by the Lord he has always enjoyed good times. No one can say that.

Our God is not only the God of love but also the God of sovereignty. Our God is sovereign. Our God is not only the God of love, the God of light, and the God of life, but also the God of sovereignty. Everything is under His dispensation. He manages the whole world just for us. We must all believe that God manages the entire universe for every one of us. You may say, “How small I am! How could the sovereign God manage the universe just for me?” But He does manage it just for you. You must believe this. You are not so small that God does not sovereignly arrange your environment for you. You are big enough to have God’s sovereign arrangement. I have learned this from my own experience. Fifty years ago I did not like this story of Abraham going down to Egypt. I simply could not be happy with that experience. When, at that time, I read some messages on Abraham’s downward experience, I did not understand it and did not feel good about it. I even questioned God. But now, after many years of experience, I am very happy. How we need to hear this message on Abraham’s trial!

It is easy to reach the high point in our experience with God, but it is not easy to remain there. Look at the environment that surrounds you on every side. It was sovereignly arranged before you were born. God is sovereign. Although you may consider yourself a small creature, as far as God is concerned, you are a very important person. Before the foundation of the world, God arranged everything for you. He even arranged that you would be reading this message right now. We are under God’s arrangement. Do not try to escape. If you escape to a certain place, you will find that place to be the exact place that God arranged for you. When you reach old age, you will bow down and say, “Lord, I am fully convinced that You arranged everything for me before the foundation of the world.”

Abraham’s trial was for him to learn a lesson. We all need to learn some lessons. We cannot learn these lessons from our parents or from the experienced brothers and sisters. We all must learn some lessons of God’s sovereignty.

FAMINE

As we have seen, the second aspect of Abraham’s experience was living by faith. He had to live by trusting in God for his daily needs. In 12:10 we read that there was a grievous famine in the land. This famine was a test to see whether or not Abraham would trust in God in the matter of making a living, in the matter of his daily living.

If you examine 12:10-20, you will see that in this situation Abraham was weak and low. He failed to keep the God-appointed position and went down to Egypt. Behind Canaan was Babel, beside Canaan was Egypt, and close to Canaan was Sodom. Abraham moved gradually southward until he went down to Egypt. As we shall see, in Egypt he sinned by lying. Probably none of us would believe that Abraham could be so weak and low. God had appeared to him at Ur, at Haran, and at Shechem. At Shechem, God said to Abraham, “Unto thy seed will I give this land” (12:7). God told Abraham definitely that He was going to give that place to his descendants. Who was the God that spoke to Abraham? He was the Creator, the Possessor of heaven and earth. This was the very God that appeared to Abraham. When the famine came, Abraham should not have had any doubts but should have said, “I don’t care about the famine because I have the living God. I am not concerned about the lack of food because the One who called me, brought me here, and reappeared as a confirmation to my journey is the Almighty God. I have put my trust in Him and now I am living by trusting in Him for my daily need. I don’t care whether there is food or not.” Abraham should have prayed in this way.

However, what did Abraham do when the famine came? Did he pray? Did he say to his wife, “Dear, let us pray”? No, it seemed that Abraham forgot to pray. When such a period of testing came to him, he did not pray. Do not laugh at Abraham. When everything is going well, you find it easy to pray. But when the famine comes, you forget that you are a Christian and only remember that you are a human being. You forget the living God who appeared to you, only remembering that you have a stomach. Abraham was concerned about his stomach. He looked at the situation: in the land there was famine, and in Egypt there was plenty of food. Abraham and his wife did not talk very much. Immediately they both agreed to go to Egypt. I believe that even before they made this decision, they were already going downward. Both the husband and the wife forgot God. They did not consider where God wanted them to go. It was as if they had no God.

SINNING BY LYING • When Abraham and Sarah came to the border of Egypt, he said to her, “It shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive” (12:12). Fearing that the Egyptians would kill him and take his wife, Abraham prayed to Sarah, not to God saying, “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (12:13). Abraham and Sarah agreed that she should lie about being his wife. Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his wife in order to save his life. It seemed that he had no standard of morality. Among Christians, Abraham has been uplifted too highly. He was not that high. Many of us would not have done what Abraham did. But Abraham was so low that he was willing to sacrifice his wife, allowing her to be taken to be the wife of another man, in order to save his own life. How shameful that was! Do you believe that God’s called one, the father of faith, could do such a thing? We see by this that Abraham was not higher than we are. At the most, he was the same as we are. For the sake of his stomach he was prepared to sell his wife, and Sarah submitted to this. She was certainly the best wife, the standard of all wives. She was submissive, took Abraham’s counsel, and did not blame him.

In this matter Abraham was a good prophet, for things happened in Egypt exactly as he had predicted. The Egyptians took his wife away to Pharaoh’s palace (12:14-15). In a sense, Abraham did sell his wife. Because of Sarah, Pharaoh gave Abraham many things—sheep, oxen, camels, menservants, and maidservants (12:16). Abraham became rich. I have been unable to understand how Abraham, seeing that his wife had been taken, could have had the peace to receive all of these things from Pharaoh. But he did receive them. He did not fast. He did not say, “Oh, I can’t accept this. I want Sarah!” No, he let Sarah go. I believe that Abraham was certain that his wife was lost, that she was gone. According to his figuration, Sarah was gone. More or less, he received as the price of letting her go the cattle, oxen, and servants.

BEING KEPT BY GOD • But God would not let Abraham go. God came in, not to deal with Abraham but to deal with Pharaoh. Verse 17 says, “And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.” The Bible says that great plagues came upon Pharaoh and his house. Although it is not confirmed by the word in the Bible, I believe that from the time Pharaoh took Sarah he became seriously ill, becoming sick to such an extent that he was about to die. We are told that great plagues were upon him and his house. What were these plagues? Did a fire burn the palace? I do not believe that. After much consideration, I strongly believe that the plagues were certain diseases that came over Pharaoh and over everyone in the house with the exception of Sarah. The whole palace might have talked about what was happening, wondering why everyone had become sick, why Pharaoh was dying, and why only Sarah had been spared. Perhaps they said, “Who is that woman? Why is she not sick?” They might have asked Sarah the reason. Sarah, seeing the whole situation, began to understand. Then she told Pharaoh that she was Abraham’s wife. I believe that this is the way it might have happened. God’s hand was on Pharaoh for Sarah. He came in to preserve Abraham and his wife.

When we, the believers, have faith in God, all of the surrounding people receive the benefits, but when we fail to have faith in God, we may bring harm to the people in our surroundings. God was sovereign and Pharaoh suffered. Although I do not say that God took things out of Pharaoh’s hand and passed them on to Abraham, the real situation was somewhat like that. Eventually, Abraham did not lose his wife but instead gained great riches.

While he was in Egypt, Abraham experienced God’s keeping grace. Without the keeping grace, none of us can remain on the high point of our experience. We all need the keeping grace. Do not trust in your experience—trust in His keeping grace. As far as God’s keeping grace was concerned, Abraham was still on the high point even when he was selling his wife in Egypt. Whether he was on the top or on the bottom, he was always in God’s keeping grace. In a very good sense Abraham never touched Egypt, for the keeping grace was under him all the time. Although he went down to Egypt, he was still in the keeping grace. Even if you have fallen, you are still in the keeping grace, and the keeping grace will bring you back to the high point. The keeping grace could say to Abraham, “Abraham, don’t be naughty anymore. You gave me an opportunity to show you my sovereignty, but it is better for you to trust in me.”

HAVING LEARNED THE LESSON THAT GOD TAKES CARE OF HIM IN EVERYTHING AND THAT EVERYTHING IS IN GOD’S HAND • By this one experience in Egypt Abraham learned that the God who called him also took care of him and that everything was in His hand. As we shall see, the next chapter proves that Abraham had learned this lesson. Through this experience Abraham was disciplined not only to trust in God but to know that God is real and faithful.

As long as you are one of God’s called ones, He will take care of you whether or not you believe in Him or trust in Him. If you stay on the high point, He feeds you. If you fall to the bottom, He feeds you the more. Whether we stay on the high point or fall to the bottom is up to us. It does not make any difference to Him, for whether we are on the top or on the bottom, He takes care of us. This is our story as well as the story of Abraham. I can testify to you from my experience that God is real and faithful. Our Father is real and faithful. The One who has called us is real and faithful. Regardless of whether the economy of the world is good or bad, God takes care of us.

We, the called ones, can enjoy God. While we may be selling our wives, our God is taking care of us. While we may be planning to sell our wives to save our lives, God is planning how to preserve our wives, to gain many things for us, and to send us back to His place with all of the riches that we have acquired. When I read this story at first, I did not agree with it. Eventually, I was laughing because our calling God is so good. When Abraham was planning to sell his wife, God was preparing to bless him, preserve his life, and give him many riches. If I had been Abraham at that time, I would have said, “God, what can I say? I have no face to say anything to You.” If I had been Abraham and had looked at my wife, cattle, and servants, I would not even have had the face to say, “Father, thank You.” I would have said to Sarah, “Dear, let us go back. It doesn’t matter whether the servants want to come with us or not. I don’t deserve any of these riches that God has given us and I feel ashamed to enjoy them. I am not worthy, but God gives so freely. Sarah, while I was selling you, God gave all of these things to us. You may say that it is good, but I feel ashamed. Sarah, you pray and thank God for me. I just don’t have the face to pray for myself.” I do believe that this happened to Abraham.

In 13:1 we see that Abraham “went up out of Egypt.” He went back to the very place where the high point was, “unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord” (13:3-4). Abraham returned to the place where he had built an altar and pitched his tent. When Abraham was planning to sell his wife in Egypt, there was no altar, tent, or calling on the name of the Lord. There was no declaration of his anti-testimony to Babel. When he was in Egypt, he lost all of this. But Abraham came back to the beginning, to the place of the altar, and there he recovered his calling on the name of the Lord.

THE STRIVING OF THE BROTHER

After passing through the experience in chapter twelve, it might be easy for Abraham or for us to say, “Praise the Lord, I have learned the lesson!” But some tests are needed to prove whether or not we have truly learned the lesson. One test is the striving of the brother (13:5-13). Abraham had become rich by trying to sell his wife, and these riches caused him some trouble. He became too rich. Lot also acquired riches, and the land was too small to bear them both. In 13:6 we are told that “the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.” So there was “strife between the herdmen of Abraham’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle” (13:7). This became another trial for Abraham. Many times the second trial comes out of the blessing of the first trial. You may say, “Praise the Lord! When I was walking out of Egypt, I didn’t have the face to thank the Lord, but now after three months I can praise Him for His goodness to me. He preserved my wife and has given me all of these riches.” If you say this, you may soon find yourself in trouble, for the second trial will come from the blessing of the first trial. This is our experience.

Chapter thirteen indicates that Abraham had learned a lesson. This time he did not fail; he was prevailing because he had learned the lesson in the first trial. If you read carefully, you will see that in this case the fault was not with Abraham but with Lot. Abraham learned the lesson of not striving for himself and of having no choice for himself but of trusting in God’s care. He knew that he was in the hand of God and under the care of God. There is no hint in chapter thirteen of any kind of failure on the part of Abraham. He was completely successful. “And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left” (13:8-9). Abraham seemed to be telling Lot, “Lot, we are Hebrew brothers, the only Hebrews in the land. All of the others are Gentiles. They are looking at us. There should be no strife between us, for that would be a shame to the God in whom we trust. Lot, look over the land and choose the place where you would like to be. I will not strive or have any choice.” Deep within, Abraham must have said, “My choice is with God. I have learned the lesson by going down to Egypt. Now I know that I am under the care of my God and that under Him everything is mine. I don’t need to choose. I will let Lot make his choice.” Lot made his choice, departed from Abraham, and “pitched his tent toward Sodom,” not caring about the wickedness of Sodom (13:12-13).

It was not a small thing for Abraham to be left without Lot. Abraham did not have a son. His nephew, Lot, a very close relative, was just like a son to him. I believe that Abraham treated Lot as his own son. So when Lot left him, he was alone. But at this point God appeared to Abraham again. In Egypt, God dealt with Pharaoh in the plagues, but He did not appear to Abraham because he was in the wrong position. In Egypt, Abraham was in God’s keeping grace, but he did not have God’s appearing. Now in chapter thirteen Abraham was not only in God’s keeping grace but, having come back to the original place, was also in the right position. Furthermore, he did not strive for himself or choose for himself. As a result of the discipline he underwent in Egypt, he learned that his future and everything were in the hand of God and that he was under God’s care. So God appeared to him and said, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (13:14-15). Abraham told Lot to take his choice of the land. Then God came in and seemed to tell Abraham, “I do not allow you to choose. I am giving all the choices to you. Look northward, southward, eastward, and westward—all is yours. You gave the choice to Lot. Now I am giving everything to you.” We must learn from this never to strive for ourselves in the church life. Let your brother have all the choices. If you give the choice to your brother, God will come in and give all the choices to you.

This time in His appearing God confirmed the promise concerning the good land in 12:7 and the promise concerning the increase of his seed in 12:2. Our prevailing over any trial always confirms God’s promises to us. This happened to Abraham. Moreover, Abraham’s prevailing over this trial ushered him to the peak of his experience of God. He removed his tent and came to dwell in Hebron (13:18) where he dwelt for most of the remainder of his time in the fellowship with God (18:1).