“It’s in the Bible . . .” my friend said, advocating . . . for arranged marriages. Remember stories where parents chose their children’s spouses. This still happens in many cultures in our world. Honestly, as we prepared to send a daughter off to college, the practice made more and more sense to me. Just kidding. There are many stories in the Bible which we should identify as descriptive instead of prescriptive. In other words, the narrator tells us what a person did, but does not tell us to follow their example.
Today’s story provides a great example. Sometimes our worst fears come true. Abram lived in the ancient world where Kings took whatever they liked. Anticipating Pharaoh taking Sarai as his wife, Abram asked her to protect his life by saying she was his sister. Sure enough, Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. Abram was rewarded with lots of possessions. Pharaoh was rewarded with lots of diseases in his household. Somehow Pharaoh figured it all out and gave Sarai back. Abram, Sarai and all their newly acquired property went with them out of the country. All’s well that ends well, right?
When I read this today, I wondered what Sarai must have felt when Abram asked her to imply that she was his sister. Was it ok for her to be taken into Pharaoh’s harem? No. Harem is one vowel removed from harm! The story describes but does not prescribe. For four weekends in a row, I will be a witness of weddings in our congregation. I would never counsel any groom to act in this way. Think of the vows: to love and to cherish.
Sometimes God protects us not because of our actions, but despite them. Abram’s concern for his own safety put Sarai’s safety at risk. As my three-year-old granddaughter once chided me about mud I tracked in, “That is not cool, dude!” We should give thanks for times that God protected us as we made foolish decisions. And we should repent and avoid repeating them. Most of all we should care for our family’s needs. It’s in the Bible!
