Was Abram’s Flight to Egypt an Act of Faith? (Genesis 12:10)

Genesis 12:10 is silent on whether God allowed or forbade Abraham from traveling to Egypt to escape famine. Therefore, we may be persuaded that one should not accuse Abraham of the sin of unbelief since Genesis 12 does not say that God reprimands Abram.

Martin Luther believed that Abraham did not sin when he fled to Egypt and lied about Sarai.

Even though Abraham, full of faith, is aware of the various dangers, he still looks only at the promise. He knows that it has been given to him and his seed and has, so to speak, been attached to his body. Hence though he maintains that God will do what He has promised even if he should be killed in Egypt, he nevertheless feels that God must not be put to the test. Therefore he looks for every means of safety or self-defense, as though he were saying: “I am not avoiding the death of this body if it thus pleases God; and yet the promise must not be wasted through negligence.“ (Luther’s Works Vol.2, 293–294)

However, there are other portions of Scripture that suggest that Abram’s flight from Canaan for Egypt is an act of disbelief and should be censured.

1. Genesis 12:1–3

And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, and from your kin and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing. (Gen 12:1–2)

God commands Abraham to go to Canaan. God promises Abraham that if Abraham obeys His command, he will be blessed. Genesis 12:1–3 is a conditional promise of blessing. The command is not to simply visit Canaan but to remain and stay. Otherwise, Abram would have simply packed for a short trip.

2. Isaiah 31:1

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very mighty, but they do not regard at the Holy One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh! (Is 31:1)

The immediate context is the nation of Judah. Here, God threatens curse on the people of Judah for relying on human resources instead of seeking God if they flee to Egypt.

In a similar way, instead of building or returning to an altar to worship God and trust that “God would provide” (Gen 22:14), Abram sought for the resources in Egypt and violates the principle of Isaiah 31:1.

3. Genesis 26:1–3

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham…And Yahweh appeared to [Isaac] and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. (Gen 26:1–3)

Famine is God’s means of testing His people, particularly in the Old Testament (Ruth 1:1; 2 Sam 21:1; 2 Sam 23:13; 1 Kgs 8:37–39; 1 Kgs 18:2; 2 Kgs 4:38). In Genesis 26, there is another famine in Canaan during the time of Isaac. Here, God explicitly tells Isaac not to go to Egypt. God anticipates that the natural human inclination is to go to Egypt. If Isaac stays in Canaan, God promises blessing. This is the same conditional promise originally given to Abraham.

4. Genesis 46:1–4

So Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes with his hand.” (Gen 46:1–4)

After learning that Joseph was still alive, Jacob decides to go to Egypt to see Joseph one final time. Scripture states that Jacob is fearful. Why?

Jacob is aware of the negative consequences when his grandfather Abraham traversed to Egypt. Jacob also understands God’s explicit instruction to his father Isaac to refrain from going to Egypt.

Jacob worships God while still in the southern part of Canaan at Beersheba. God responds by appearing to Jacob and affirming His approval of Jacob’s decision to go to Egypt. God promises to follow Jacob to Egypt.

One can appeal to the argument of silence, but it is reasonable to assume that Abram did not worship God nor seek His direction before heading to Egypt. Unlike Jacob in Genesis 46:1, Abram does not worship God nor seek His direction in Genesis 12:10.

5. Matthew 2:13

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” (Matt 2:13)

The Bible describes an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph to instruct him to flee to Egypt. There was no famine, but there is a future unforeseen danger which Joseph cannot know without divine revelation.

An argument can be made that because of the teachings of the Old Testament, it is necessary for God to be clear and command Joseph to go to Egypt. Matthew 2:15 later states that God’s command for Joseph to flee to Egypt is also to fulfill prophecy.

Conclusion

Based on a survey of other portions of Scripture, there is biblical evidence to suggest that Abram’s flight to Egypt in Genesis 12:10 is an act of disbelief that “God will provide.”

Abram’s departure from Canaan to Egypt signals a drift away from a state of trust and devotion to Yahweh and serves as an indicator of spiritual declension. The famine was probably God’s way of testing the patriarch’s faith and patience. At this point, Abram lacked spiritual maturity and failed the test. His move to Egypt is made without divine warrant and contradicts God’s previous directive (Gen 12:1). Viewed in connection with God’s subsequent warning to Isaac in the days of famine (Gen 26:1–2), Abram has stepped outside God’s revealed will and thereby placed himself (and the promise) into the sphere of temptation and danger. (Robert Gonzales, Where Sin Abounds, 117)

If Abram had stayed in Canaan when the famine came, his faith would have grown. He would have seen the Lord providing. Since he did not stay in Canaan, the same famine that could have been a means of spiritual growth actually took him away from God, led to sin, and eventually brought great humiliation. (James Boice, Genesis Vol.2, 477)