1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:1-2).
Not only did Abraham survive Egypt, apparently his wealth increased during his time in Egypt. This is all the more remarkable since the entire reason he went to Egypt was because of a regional famine. So even though God was likely not pleased with Abraham’s tactics in regard to Sarah and Pharaoh, He did bless Abraham. But we should not read too much into the material wealth blessing of Abraham since God doesn’t promise to materially bless in this world those who are faithful to Him. And although Abraham was blessed with material wealth, we should be all too aware that in many cases God calls us to reject wealth and rather follow the Son of God to the way that leads to life, a way that is often through ‘briar patches’, times of trouble and austerity. We ought not to seek these things out but be willing that if God says, ‘jump’, we say ‘how high’.
Not only did Abraham survive Egypt, apparently his wealth increased during his time in Egypt. This is all the more remarkable since the entire reason he went to Egypt was because of a regional famine. So even though God was likely not pleased with Abraham’s tactics in regard to Sarah and Pharaoh, He did bless Abraham. But we should not read too much into the material wealth blessing of Abraham since God doesn’t promise to materially bless in this world those who are faithful to Him. And although Abraham was blessed with material wealth, we should be all too aware that in many cases God calls us to reject wealth and rather follow the Son of God to the way that leads to life, a way that is often through ‘briar patches’, times of trouble and austerity. We ought not to seek these things out but be willing that if God says, ‘jump’, we say ‘how high’.
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