The Abraham Studies by Reuven ben Gershom
Study Two
The Journey – Part Two
Genesis Chapter 12 verses 10 to 20.
“Now there was a famine in the land, and Avram (Abram) went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai (Sarah) his wife, ‘Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore, it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife;’ and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.’ So it was, when Avram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s palace. He treated Avram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But, YHVH (the LORD) plagued Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Sarai, Avram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Avram 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?’ I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.’ So Pharaoh commanded army concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.”
As the above Scripture states, when Avram finally arrived in the land, having visited in Shechem, and then continued to Bethel, he was in the very land where he was to be blessed and become “a great nation,” there came a time that Avraham was suddenly confronted with what? “A famine,” a severe drought.
As you will be able to see from our chart when the wind comes from the east, that is from over the desert it brings dry weather, and it will bring a drought when the winds continue from the east for a prolonged period of time. However, when the wind comes from the west, it will come from over the Great Sea, being today’s Mediterranean Sea, and it will bring rain, and we all know that rain will richly bless men, their land, crops and their herds, etc. This truth is confirmed by YHVH Elohim to Israel in Vayikra (Leviticus) chapter 26.
“If you walk in my ways, I will give you rain in its season and the land shall increase her yield. But, if you despise my Word and not uphold it, you shall sow your seed in vain.” (Paraphrased).
The Almighty would bring a drought to punish Israel. Thus, whenever Israel was faithful, the blessings came from the west with rain. However, when they were unfaithful, a drought would come with the winds from the east. All this proves that YHVH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, is in control over all things. With the drought hampering his thoughts, Avraham headed south and sojourned in Egypt.
Remember, Avram stayed in Charan because of his physical ties, his family, and their lifestyle, yet now he is in the land and is residing in Bethel and we will see that the famine and physical hunger will drive Avraham out of the land that YHVH has given him. This was a grave mistake, for his departure from Bethel and going to Egypt would effect the future of the entire world. However, I will deal more on this matter a little later.
BUT THE QUESTION ARISES … Why was there a drought in the land of promise?
Avram had left his home and had finally arrived at the place, where his Elohim wanted him to be. Yet in spite of YHVH’s clear instructions Avram had brought much of his indirect families with him, including their households. It is for this reason, I believe that YHVH Elohim now presented Avram with a test, let’s call it a test of his faith. Regardless of the drought that now faced Avram, he should have trusted his Elohim (God) who had spoken to him so many times before, and he should have stood his ground, for I believe with all my heart that YHVH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, that He would have provided Avram all his needs, and that there would have been sufficient sustenance for him, all who were with him as well as his herds! And beloved I believe this with perfect faith!
I also believe that in many ways that the Lord will also allow us to be tested at some times. We should understand that Elohim will only test us, however, please understand what I am about to say very clearly, He NEVER temps us, for temptation is the tool of “hasatan” – the adversary! And also the tool of the I, me, and myself, what is known as the “I will do what is best for me” attitude, rather than allowing our Heavenly Father to lead and guide us. If we obey the call of Elohim and we are at the right place, then at times there may be a test. YHVH is saying “trust Me, stay where I wish you to be.” I pray that we are listening to the message, which our Heavenly Father is giving us in this study!
Thus why did Avram flee to Egypt? And why did he not go back Charan? There are two specific reasons for this. 1. Egypt was closer, and 2. Egypt was very similar to Avram’s home, it was much like the city of Ur, as well as Charan. Avram knew that it had both houses of mud and stone and a big river. In addition, as we will soon realise, the Egyptians worshipped the sun god, whereas in Ur they worshipped the moon god. Therefore environment was so similar, thus being so familiar to the land Avram had come from he would not feel too out of place.
However, it should be noted that Avram and his family never strayed from their faith in the one and only true YHVH Elohim, regardless of the many errors that Avram made whilst he was in Egypt!
Thus, due to the lack of Avram’s faith as seen here, the man who would later become the “father of our faith” and the “friend of Elohim,” tragically packed up, and together with his whole tribe headed south. At no stage do we read that he prayed unto YHVH Elohim, asking Him what he should do. No, it his common sense that told him, ‘to go.’
Please dear friends, do not listen to your common sense, for it will basically come from the I, me and myself and it will most likely lead you astray. Always pray and wait on YHVH Elohim (the LORD God) in the Name of Yahushua the Messiah for clear direction!
We might ask, “Is there another reason Avram left the land of promise.” Yes, he departed to save his own skin for the sad truth is that fear of death had now entered into his life. Did you realise beloved, that fear is a greater sin than any other earthly sin, yes even murder?
Revelation chapter 21 verses 7 & 8 states …
“He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his Elohim, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Why is fear mentioned first in this list of all sins? Because, if you have fear, you simply do not trust YHVH Elohim, including the promises He has given you! You might as well say, “There is no Elohim.” Friends, release your fears unto the Almighty in the name of Yahushuaand trust Him and Him alone and He will honour you, guide you, and uplift you. Let there be no fear in our hearts!
I pray that you are being blessed by this Word study in relation to that wonderful man Avram for there is so much we can learn from this blessed man of Elohim, even in his failures and disobedience.
What are the consequences of Avram’s disobedience?
I am sure we all realise that, one wrong will lead to another, and that there will be consequences. There are many consequences that brought great turmoil for Avram and his family, throughout history and for billions of people to this very day, as we will soon find out.
Did you notice in the readings, that Avram never built a single altar whilst he was in Egypt and that YHVH not once spoke to him whilst he was there? On top of this, Avram lived comfortably in a stone house with a roof once again, just like it was when he lived in Ur and Charan, and he drank from another great river, being the Egyptian God river - the Nile.
Now one of the saddest stories in the Sanctified Scriptures: Avram instructed his wife to tell a deliberate lie on his behalf, and this is a greater sin than telling one yourself, for you have forced another to do the dirty work! How sad for a man of Elohim, to have brought himself into such a denigrating lowly situation. This lie, we know was sort of a half-truth, for his wife was his half sister. However, this half-truth was still a lie, and it offended YHVH Elohim, for Sarai was Avram’s wife and that was the question! Why did he do this? Obviously, Sarai, even as a mature lady was an extremely beautiful woman, thus Avram told Sarai, even before reaching the borders of Egypt, to lie for him. She was to say, if asked if she was his wife, that she was his sister.
Upon reaching Egypt, Sarai told the lie as ordered in order to save her husband’s skin. When Pharaoh saw her, he was immediately attracted to her beauty. Sarai entered the pharaoh’s household. Due to this situation, Avram prospered greatly whilst in Egypt. He obtained many large gifts, including of herds of sheep, oxen and donkeys and many servants and maidservants which were added to his already very large, household.
Is this not typical, when people do that which is wrong in the eyes of Elohim, all seems to go well for them, as wealth seems to accumulate. We can almost hear them say, “I don't need God, I am happy, and I am comfortable with my life!” Yes, life may seem good, but keep on that path and the result will be death! “For the wages of sin is death!” Romans 6:23.
Beloved, the self will try to keep you away from the things of YHVH Elohim and Yahushua the Messiah, with the desires, the pleasures, and the riches of the world. People are easily blinded. But, believe me, YHVH will not leave it at that, He must do something, He must and He will act!
Elohim was angry, because of Sarai and thus He poured great plagues upon Pharaoh’s household. Pharaoh then discovers the deception and calls Avram into his presence and accuses Avram of being a liar. Here we see a man who claims to be a follower of YHVH Elohim in a strange land and he is being scolded by an evil pagan king, yet this Pharaoh this time is in the right. Avraham, and his household are banished from Egypt and they are escorted by Pharaoh’s army to the border of Egypt and thrown out of the land. Tragically, our man of Elohim had lowered his standards to the point that he had disgraced his Elohim before these evil pagans. Please YHVH Elohim, in the blessed Name of Yahushua our loving Messiah, may we never find ourselves in such a terrible position.
Let us learn the powerful message contained in this study. I pray that the Spirit of our beloved Lord and Saviour is speaking to you, for I do know that YHVH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, clearly led me to write and share these Avraham Studies unto the multitudes, believers and unbelievers.
Thus, Avram was thrown out of Egypt and he returned to Canaan, being the Land of Promise. Avram having returned to the land, he must have repented for his lack of faith and his journey to Egypt, for as Avram returned to Bethel, he once again kneeled at the altar that he had built during his first visit, he once again called upon the mighty Name of the Almighty.
Praise YHVH, at last Avram is back where he should have been all the time!
BUT STOP … there is still something very wrong!
There is a real problem here, for when Avram returned to Canaan, he brought certain ill begotten things with him out of Egypt. It would be these things that would have a devastating effect on the entire world, an effect that is tragically still with us to this very day!
Beloved, you cannot go into Egypt and return to Canaan and remain unaffected by what you have done wrong. YHVH our Elohim forgives and yes, He removes the penalty of our sin, BUT He does not remove the consequences.
Let me explain.
Avram retained all the ill begotten gains from Egypt and this was to cause him great pain, not just then but for his seed and as I have already stated, it continues to this very day. One of the ill begotten gains Avraham took out of Egypt was an Egyptian slave named “Hagar.” This woman would not only attempt to wreck Avram’s marriage with Sarai, but she bore him a son to him, which was named “Ishmael.” Now you may begin to understand what I am trying to say here, that the consequences of bringing this woman, who was part of the ill begotten gains whilst he was in Egypt must be obvious.
Let me put it as plainly as possible - Did you realise that there would be no Arab Israeli conflict today, or Islamic terror problems worldwide, if Avram had left Egypt in Egypt!
The lesson beloved is, if you come out of Egypt - out of sin with repentance, get rid of ALL THINGS that you may have obtained whilst you were in sin. In other words leave the ill begotten things of Egypt in Egypt.
Scripturally, Egypt is a type, an analogy of SIN. If you have been away from YHVH and Messiah Yahushua, and have now come back to Him in Spirit and in truth, I pray you have come back to Him empty-handed. Do not bring those things with you, which were ill begotten whilst you may have been in sin. For there are things that do not belong in the life of a son or daughter in Messiah Yahushua, for these things will have an effect on your life, and it will have its consequences, just as it was in the life of Avram, and his generations to this day.
We have also been sojourners in Egypt before we came to know Messiah and repented of our sins, yet upon coming into a relationship with Messiah, we may have brought many things of the self, obtained whilst in sin, into our new life in Elohim. Please search your thoughts, your homes ands get rid of those things, which you may have retained, knowingly, or unknowingly from your past life, whatever it may be. It might be your old nature, selfishness, your attitude towards others, or material things of the world. All these things will have you at odds with the Almighty.
We need to shed religiosity, which may have been spurned originally through the Roman creed and passed on to the various churches, including a new name that was incorrectly applied to our beloved Lord and Saviour. I beg of you in THE Name above every name, it is Yahushua – YAH we know is the Father’s Name, and Shua means “Salvation”, “Restoration”, “Turning Back”, “Healing” and all that comes with faith in Him and heartfelt REPENTANCE of our sins! Whereas the name “Jesus”, is a manmade derivative of IeSous, which is directly related to another being and the meaning is very different indeed! Please read our study “The Memorial Name.”
Search your heart and you will know what you must shed. It is your choice. You can follow the crowd, or stand with Yahushua the Messiah! If you desire Elohim's blessings, then be separate, be different, be His witness and an example to others, showing the world that you are truly a child of the Almighty Elohim, and a follower of Yahushua His anointed one!
The hard question.
We should also ask, “Is there Egypt in the fellowship (body) I attend?” A fellowship in Egypt will be identified by those that compromise the TRUTH of THE WORD, for the sake of the majority. In these latter days there are those who, twist the Word of Elohim (God) with a new form of “health and wealth” theology, proclaiming the power of possibility thinking, whilst reaping in millions whilst their leaders live in grand mansions and own corporate jets and Rolls Royce’s and Versace suites by the dozens, whilst congregants being constantly encouraged, even squeezed, to give, give, and give. I pray there is none of this in the meetings that you attend, for they are a part of the great deception, thus part of the Egypt experience! But, we know that the world is Egypt laden, be it in the secular, and as I said it has sadly even reached in some Churches.
But it is more than all that for sadly the christian churches also upholds two pagan festivals that go back thousands of years before our Lord and Saviour even came to us on the earth and these were created by the State Church of Rome, one is the feast of the goddess Estra (Easter), however the Feast our Lord and Saviour celebrated was Passover, for as the New Covenant states … “For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians’ 5:7., and the other is a feast entirely related to the birth of SOL (the SUN god) and the winter solstice a festival celebrated on December 25, which we now call Christmas, a Mass for Christ which features that jolly tree, and believe it or not, but the Word of YHVH Elohim very clearly speaks about this as a pagan practice, but christians worldwide continue it as an annual duty and see nothing wrong with it, but one day they will need to repent, for they will be held accountable for their disobedience!
The concept of the Christmas tree originated around 3000 BC in ancient Egypt with King Osiris and Queen Isis and it was part of the winter solstice festival, a pagan feast. Read what Jeremiah had to say about this feast, and see if you still would want to put up a tree in your house, or even be part of the pagan festival of “Christmas” you will be in great error!
“Hear the word which YHVH speaks to you, O house of Yisroel. Thus said YHVH, Do not learn the way of the gentiles, and do not be awed by the signs of the heavens, for the gentiles are awed by them. For the prescribed customs of these peoples are worthless, for one cuts a tree from the forest, work for the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They adorn it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it does not topple.” Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 10:1-3.
This is the challenge YHVH Elohim is giving us all. If you want to go ahead spiritually, then get out of Egypt, and back to Elohim. Make sure you come back to Him empty handed, leaving ALL the ill begotten gain behind. Pray and seek the LORD your God and He will guide you, then, be where He wishes you to be, both spiritually and physically, just as Avraham had to return to “Bethel,” the “House of Elohim.”
If you are in Egypt, there is good news. YHVH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, has provided you with an escape route from Egypt and from sin, He provided “Hinei HaSeh Elohim,” “the (sacrificial) Lamb of Elohim,” Yahushua our Messiah! This is the “Good News,” everyone who repents, and confesses that Yahushua is Lord, and believes that Elohim raised Him from the dead, continues to uphold the ways of YHVH Elohim according to His and Yahushua’s Word, will be redeemed and will have life everlasting.
What about Avram? As we know from Bereshis (Genesis), he was fully restored to the Almighty, for this great man, who without doubt sinned and disobeyed YHVH’s (the LORD’s) clear instructions, would become “a friend of Elohim!” Later in Avraham’s life, his faith would be fully tested once more, for Elohim would require him to go and “sacrifice your only son.” This will be fully covered in Study Three, which is entitled … “Faith, Hope & Love” which is one of the most powerful and uplifting studies that the Lord has blessed me with to share with you!
Finally, what is the great lesson we learn from the life of Avram - Avraham? That Elohim can use a repentant sinner in His service to touch others in His Name, just as He did with Avram who went into Egypt. Remember Moshe (Moses) who both killed a man and objected to the call of his Elohim, Yeshayahu (Isaiah), a man who was of unclean lips, Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) who argued with Elohim, and Shaul of Tarsus (Paul) who had persecuted the followers of Yahushua the Messiah and he was also guilty of killing a man. Thus all these men, were just like Avraham and all were sinners, however, blessed be YHVH the Almighty, upon repentance He forgave them, and He used them in His service. And beloved He can use you and me no matter where we have been as long as we RETURN AGAIN UNTO HIM!
Beloved, what YHVH Elohim can do for Avram, He can also do for us!
“This is what YHVH the Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares YHVH the Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says YHVH the Almighty.” Zechariah 1:3.
FAITH, FORGIVENESS and FRIENDSHIP is available unto all who will submit unto the will of the Almighty Elohim, our Creator and His Son Yahushua THE Messiah!
May YaHVaH Elohim bless and keep you in the palm of His hand, in Messiah Yahushua’s loving Name!
The Abraham Studies Study Two
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