Day 2: Lech Lecha/Genesis 12:14-13:18

When a woman and a man marry, they become one before the Father. The husband has given his name to the wife and she is a representative of it as well. The wife has submitted herself to the husband and he is to provide, shelter, and protect his wife all as part of a covenant to each other. Neither the man nor the woman is permitted to be promiscuous or to act as if they are not married any longer.

Upon entering Egypt, Abram asked his wife to pretend they were not married so that his own life would not be at risk. Seemingly, Abram thought Sarai’s life would be perfectly safe with this arrangement. At sixty-five plus, Sarai must have been exceptionally beautiful for Abram to fear other men’s covetousness on account of his wife. As she left Abram’s covering, she would have potentially entered under the covering of another man as a future husband. This was obviously displeasure for Elohim.

Pharaoh assumed he could take Sarai for himself, adding her to his harem of wives and concubines. Sarai, however, was already spoken for, even if not properly at the moment, and married to another—Abram was her earth-bound husband who was making a few mistakes—as well as being betrothed to Elohim who had orchestrated this entire episode.

Since Sarai was in covenant with both a man of Elohim and Elohim Himself, she was vindicated by Elohim as a point of cursing those who would curse Abram. Pharaoh had no rights of intimacy or mastery over one of Yah’s elect. As a nation leader, Pharaoh was used to getting what he wanted; yet, he was, also, held accountable as an individual caught in sin. His chastisement were plagues sent by the Creator upon Pharaoh and his household.

Later, the entire nation of Egypt would be guilty of the same sin. They would presume the role of husbandry to Israel and mistreat her with no regard for what proper stewardship should be. Moreover, Israel was already being courted by YHVH. Elohim was her suitor and would-be husband if she would accept Him. All of Egypt would suffer plagues on account of taking Israel captive as a prisoner bride and treating her with contempt.

Egypt would try to reign over Israel as a brutal husband who had no legitimate rights of intimacy or mastery to rule her. That was, after all, Yah’s position and job description. Elohim forced a separation between a wrong master and His bride when He sent plagues upon Egypt as a warning, chastisement, and punishment for their indecencies. Like Sarai of old, Israel would leave Egypt and find her purpose in sojourning with Elohim, bearing the next generation that would be recognized as the seed of Abraham and Isaac.

Our lives are bound to and by Elohim, if we have said yes to His Covenant and accepted His authority in our lives. We are to become one with our earthly helpmate, our King has ransomed us to Himself as our Kinsman Redeemer. We belong to Him and He hides us in His arms, making us one with Him. As His betrothed, Yeshua will not allow us to be cursed by others without repercussions. His vengeance will come to those who curse the Bride of Messiah.

We, too, must be careful not to spurn YHVH’s anointed by slander. We are also responsible to love our neighbor as we love ourselves for they are to be one with the Bridegroom, too Therefore, we are to be one with them, serving the same Elohim, filled with the same Ruach. When we have to sojourn in Egypt, Babylon, or other parts of the corrupt world, our Husband looks out for us, bearing us in Himself. The inhabitants of those lands will have the chance to do right by us and be blessed or to act corruptly toward us and be cursed.

A victory for this real-life scenario is that those nations and their members would be blessed by seeing and realizing Messiah is in us. This conclusion would be ongoing proof of YHVH’s Providence. YHVH gave Abram a Covenant promise that the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. As we find ourselves in the world, remember the promise and be someone who is responsible for carrying it, along with the Name of our Betrothed.

Dwell upon Song of Solomon 6:2-3, “My Beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of balsam, to pasture his flock in the gardens and gather lilies. I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine, He Who pastures His flock among the lilies.”