Mistakes

by DARKE, R. | Category: General | Aug 1957

Though the mistakes of great men of God often come as a surprise to us, God has recorded such events in His word that we might benefit from them. It is always good, therefore, to remember the outcome of some of these experiences Abraham, for example, who is thrice called the friend of God, wavered in his faith when confronted by famine, and went down into Egypt (Genesis 12.10). No reader of God's word could believe that he was happy there, in the same way as no true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ can be happy in the world once he has well and truly tasted that the Lord is good. But great man of faith that Abraham was, he proved to be only a man when the hour of trial came, and one step downward, away from the Lord, resulted in him becoming enmeshed in deception and deceit which must have vexed his righteous soul. Anticipating the troubles which his venture into Egypt would precipitate, he conspired with his wife, Sarai, that she should call herself his sister (Genesis 12.13). He lived this half truth for some time, and what an unhappy man he must have been! Then God took a hand in the event, and caused the whole truth to be told as He always will. With his house plagued by God because of Sarai, whom he had taken to wife, Pharaoh sent for Abram and asked,

" Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

Why saidst thou, She is my sister ? " (Genesis 12.18, 19).

How small Abram, the friend of God, must have felt in the presence of Pharaoh when his guilt was revealed! What feelings of regret and remorse were his that he ever allowed himself to become entangled in Egypt! "Oh, to be free," would be the longing cry of his burdened soul. It is wonderful to read of Abram's deliverance from this great mistake. Genesis 12.19 tells us that Pharaoh gave Abram back his wife, and we can rest assured that Abram would not stay in Egypt any longer than he could help. Having known the forgiveness of God, the mercy of God, the deliverance of God, and the blessing of God, we read that

"Abram WENT UP out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the South. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he WENT ON ... from the South even to Bethel " (Genesis 13.1, 2).

How relieved Abram must have felt! How light his tread as he returned to Bethel, the house of God. Let us, then, seek to learn a lesson from the tragic mistake of this great man. To be confronted by famine can mean spiritual starvation in our lives or in the assembly; our faith, too, can waver, and we can be drawn quickly into the world of which Egypt is a type by '~ the sights that dazzle, and the tempting sounds" we hear. Once away from the Lord and the protective care of His people, we quickly find ourselves in compromising circumstances, and it is not long before we are resorting to deceit and half truths.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive."

Are we happy in all this? Of course not. Do we long for deliverance? Of course we do. Let us then take heed to Abram's way by making a clean breast of things to man and to God. Confession is truly good for the soul, but like Abram we must not only confess but also forsake. We need to come up out of the world to get back on the path which will lead to Bethel. By this time we should be wiser and better men and women for God. We must never forget that the way of the disciple is onward, not downward; forward and not backward. Paul said,

"I press on ... forgetting the things which are behind .

(Philippians 3.12-14).

So must we

"Make level (or weigh carefully) the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left : remove thy foot from evil" (Proverbs 4.26, 27).

DARKE, R. | Aug 1957
General