Why did Abraham lie to Pharaoh about Sarah being his sister in Gen 12?

Question

It says that Abraham feared for his life (Gen 12:12). Does this mean Abraham didn't trust God in spite of the NT view that Abraham was a man of faith (Heb 11:8-12, Gal 3:9)?

Why is the repeated mistake with Abimilech then recorded in Gen 20?

Answer 1

Um... Abraham didn't lie. The word "sister" can also mean "kinswoman", and Sarah was, in fact, a kinswoman to Abraham (see Gen. 20:12) (this is an example of bearing false witness by telling the truth).

Now, why did he allow them to be deceived? Why didn't he say things outright? In addition to the fact that he was a human being flawed and struggling with sin, it was also the time of Sodom and Gomorrah (chapter 19 is right between the covenant of 17 and the repeat problem in 20). He could have rightly assumed that by wandering into an enemy camp he was signing his own death warrant. While we might enjoy condemning him for these failures in faith, we can't exactly say that we would have done better.

Answer 2

Regardless of his faith, Abraham was still a man - he had not yet been perfected: he was still on his walk of progressive sanctification.

The same question could be asked as to why David sinned with Bathsheba, or why Samson fell for Delilah.

And any of countless more examples - the men and women portrayed in the Bible were not perfect (excepting Christ). Even Peter, who had been with Jesus since the earliest days of His ministry, denied him three times during the trial before the Sanhedrin.

Every instance is an opportunity to showcase God's faithfulness, mercy, and grace - even when his chosen ones fail Him.

Even those with the stoutest faith in God can forget or become fearful: while backsliding or temporarily turning from God to our own wisdom is never promoted, it is the entire life story that must be examined. When doing that with Abraham, it is obvious that though he was not perfect, he was following God.

Answer 3

First of all, God did protect Abraham:

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
--Gen 12:17

For the rest of it, it was a matter of Faith on Abraham's part. His faith wavered, and he so he acted in this instance out of fear of man, rather than fear of God.