Abraham's sister

absolutely

Yes, Abraham lied to Pharoah.

J. Vernon McGee used to preach that we have a misunderstanding of people of faith...that the faithful certainly did indeed sin. Abraham sinned by lying to Pharo...interesting that this scenario is replayed by his son, Isaac.....by lying about his own wife Rebekah.

Genesis 26:6 ¶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
12 ¶ Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

There are quite a few parallels between the two stories....what I do not understand is that in both situations, both Abraham and Isaac were blessed despite what they had done. Has anyone studied this topic?

 

In the first question a parent has chosen to not be available - no lie there.

I have always felt badly for Abraham in a way. Can you imagine having the ruler of nation calling you out for your lie when you were supposed to be a testimony for the true and living God?

OUCH!!

 

If you'll look closely, you'll see that the family life of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bordered on the dysfunctional.

They were truly flawed people. Just as we are. How in the world did God carry out his plans with those guys and their children? Or with any of us?

 

not available is not a lie. not here would be a lie.

 

Availability isn't really relative. If you're sitting there you are available- you just choose to not come to the phone. If you're working on something or doing something that requires your attention, you may well not be available.

So yes, saying that someone isn't available is a lie- just as Abraham lied about his wife. He shouldn't have done it, and neither should we. But, he is fallible, just as we prove when we tell someone we aren't available when, in honesty, we are.

 

If a child is told that their parent is unavailable, they should believe the parent, and it isn't a lie. The parent might have something more pressing on his/her mind to address the call at that moment.