Abram's Lie

00:00:00 Speaker 1: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. 00:00:04 Speaker 2: Previously on The Chosen People. 00:00:08 Speaker 3: Don't you sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a nation all of your own? To make a name for yourself rather than relying on the name of another? 00:00:18 Speaker 2: Lots questions stung. Abram had a dysfunctional relationship with greatness and legacy. Having no child of his own or any hope for one on the horizon, he knew whatever he gained would be dispersed among his servants and relatives. Nothing would live on beyond him. Abram didn't aim for greatness. Instead, he remained reliable, steady, and predictable. 00:00:43 Speaker 4: Abram. 00:00:44 Speaker 5: Who's there? 00:00:46 Speaker 2: Abram could feel the presence of the voice, but couldn't capture its source. 00:00:50 Speaker 6: Abram, you are to go out from your land Leave your father's house and your relatives behind and go to the land I will show you. 00:01:02 Speaker 2: Images of a future Abram could barely understand flickered in and out of focus in his mind's eye faster than he could discern. But the intent was clear. He was to have a legacy like the one Lot pined for. 00:01:18 Speaker 7: You have to trust me, Sarai. I have weighed the cost, but... More importantly, I know in my heart we must follow the words of this god. 00:01:34 Speaker 1: Abram, look at me. Are we to upend our entire way of life on the words of a random god? 00:01:41 Speaker 2: Abram didn't know why this god chose him. He wasn't a substantial or charismatic man. He wasn't even the greatest in his household. How would he accomplish all it had foretold? Even still, With this god's voice reverberating in his mind, he felt a confidence flicker in his heart. He could become great. Abram and Lot were exhausted after overseeing the gruelling sojourn south through the notoriously treacherous desert called the Negev. A devastating famine had swept through the land. It compelled their band of expatriates to carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels until they were eventually forced to enter the lions' and vipers' territory on the long, barren desert road to Egypt. The Egyptians and Canaanites reaped the benefits of long-established, prosperous trade routes, so seeking help and refuge in Egypt was the only option for Abram and Lot's people. Relieved but wary of their new neighbors, They were finally settling their tents and livestock in the unoccupied lands outside of the city of On, the gateway city to the mighty Egyptian nation. 00:03:03 Speaker 4: Abram! Abram! 00:03:05 Speaker 5: What did I tell you? No, no, don't look over. But listen carefully. That's the fifth time I've caught them staring today. 00:03:12 Speaker 4: At Sarai? Yes. 00:03:16 Speaker 3: Oh no, now they're whispering between themselves. 00:03:21 Speaker 2: Abram chanced a look over to the Egyptian officials patrolling their camp, a condition of the temporary occupation of their lands. Sure enough, the men's eyes lingered on his wife, again and again taking their fill. An uneasy pit formed in Abram's stomach, and he struggled to master the fury and fear rising within him. 00:03:44 Speaker 3: I should tell her to go inside and stay out of sight. 00:03:47 Speaker 5: Oh no, that won't do any good. They've already seen her. 00:03:50 Speaker 3: Do you think they know she's my wife? Have you or any of the servants spoken to them? 00:03:57 Speaker 8: Me? 00:03:58 Speaker 5: No way! I haven't said a word. What do you think, Abram? What do you think they'd do if they... if they wanted her? 00:04:06 Speaker 3: I fear what would happen to me, or you, or any of our household or workers, for that matter, if they were to decide to take her from me by force. I'm no good to any of you dead. I can't carry out this calling if I'm dead. Perhaps, perhaps there's a way to save myself. 00:04:30 Speaker 2: Abram fell silent for a long while. The stress of responsibility and the fear of failure squeezed his chest. A thousand different future scenarios raced through his mind. He thought about all the potential dangers and avenues of destruction. He thought out loud beside his nephew, spiraling. 00:04:52 Speaker 3: This is a brutal land. If they want Sarai, they're not going to ask. They'll take her and kill me. 00:05:00 Speaker 5: Then what? Everyone here will scatter. 00:05:03 Speaker 3: My father's wealth will be gone, and the legacy I was called to carry will disappear. Let's say they ask about her. 00:05:11 Speaker 5: What will you say? What will you do? 00:05:14 Speaker 3: If I tell them she's my wife, they'll kill me. But if I tell them she's my sister... They'll probably spare me. You realize this ruse would mean that you could lose your wife. Yes, but perhaps it would also allow me the benefit of time. It's time to find a way out. We've only just reached safety and can't risk upsetting or offending our hosts. Yeah, not to mention, we'd probably benefit from any potential suitors Sarah might have. 00:05:50 Speaker 5: But... I'm sorry, Uncle. 00:05:52 Speaker 4: I'm sorry. 00:05:53 Speaker 3: But you have to admit, gaining the Egyptians' favor and filling our coffers wouldn't exactly hurt. 00:06:00 Speaker 5: I mean, look at us, Abram. Look at the state of our clothes. Look at how the numbers of our herds have dwindled. 00:06:07 Speaker 6: We're practically skeletons. 00:06:09 Speaker 3: This famine has taken its toll on all of us. 00:06:14 Speaker 5: I admit we could use the resources. Abram, Abram, I get it. 00:06:18 Speaker 1: This is a tough spot to be in, believe me. 00:06:21 Speaker 3: I know. Frankly, I think if we're going to be in this precarious situation, why not benefit from it? 00:06:28 Speaker 2: I'm sorry it has to be you, but I'm certain no one's given. 00:06:32 Speaker 3: My wife a second glance with the way she frets and fusses over our daughters day and night. 00:06:38 Speaker 5: No one would mistake her for an unmarried. 00:06:40 Speaker 4: Woman, believe you me. 00:06:44 Speaker 3: Be that as it may, I don't envy the conversation you're about to have with your wife. 00:06:50 Speaker 2: Later that day, Abram steeled himself as he drew back the entrance of their tent. Sarai was seated inside amending one of his tunics. Though far past her prime, Sarai was undeniably beautiful, every bit as regal and striking as befitted their noble bloodline. Though Abram had known her since they were children, and they had been married for well over half their lives, there were still moments when her beauty took his breath away. Abram was lost in his thoughts again, pausing at the tense entrance. He was vibrating in place, nearly shaking with paranoia and self-doubt. His love for Sarai ran deep, but the uncertainty of the future plagued his mind. He was lost in an imaginary world, unable to escape. His stillness at the entryway drew her gaze, and he smiled tenderly. Pleased, she smiled warmly back. 00:07:48 Speaker 1: What is it, Abram? 00:07:50 Speaker 3: Sir, I must ask you something. It's very important that we are aligned in this matter. 00:07:56 Speaker 1: I am your wife. You are my husband and lord. You know I will support you. 00:08:02 Speaker 3: Yes, you are steady as the northern star, my dear. I couldn't have asked for a better wife. In fact, this is the matter I must speak to you about. 00:08:14 Speaker 1: You're making me nervous with that tone. What is it? 00:08:18 Speaker 3: You've drawn the attention of Pharaoh's officials. And because of that, we should be prepared to tell them you're my sister, not my wife. This is for your protection as well as my own. If you've drawn the eye of a prominent Egyptian as your brother, my life would be spared. 00:08:39 Speaker 1: So you'd lie. 00:08:41 Speaker 5: It's not an outright lie. We do share a father. 00:08:46 Speaker 1: Abram, you would tell a half-truth and deny me the protection of my husband? Lie to spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord? 00:08:58 Speaker 2: Abram winced. His resolution wavered at her directness. In its wake came guilt, and he was ashamed to admit it. Instead of listening to his wife's hurt, Abram became defensive, The cost of the mission was too great to feel remorse for his plan now. The guilt lingered, but he shoved it down and again summoned his resolve. 00:09:21 Speaker 3: Sir, I don't think you fully grasp the danger we are in, that I am in. I've seen more of the world than you. I know what these foreign men would do to a man with the wife they desire. 00:09:38 Speaker 1: And so you would oversee the bidding for my hand, accept the favors of my suitors? This is something you could abide by? 00:09:47 Speaker 3: Sarai, this gives me no pleasure. But in this way, we would preserve our future family and secure our future. Who would lead our people if not me? You know this god has compelled us to leave our home. We've already strayed too far from the land I was promised. I must prevent any other missteps. This pretense could spare my life and buy me the time to right the course. 00:10:21 Speaker 1: And you are to achieve what was promised to us. 00:10:26 Speaker 3: Alone. It is my weight to bear. My responsibility to trust in my destiny. I'm not asking you to have the same faith I have. But I am asking that you trust me. Your preservation is also my responsibility. And this is the only way I see both of us surviving, should the inevitable come to pass. We don't have time to flee. And this ruse will buy me the time I need to plan a way out. I will not fail you. 00:11:03 Speaker 1: You would abandon me here? 00:11:05 Speaker 5: You don't understand. 00:11:07 Speaker 1: You're right about that, Abram. I don't understand. But I also don't have the benefit of denying your will. So here I am, a bride for sale to the highest bidder. 00:11:18 Speaker 2: And, as it had before, that settled the matter. What Abram and Lot had feared and predicted did indeed come to pass. Soon after Sarai's disheartening conversation with her husband, Pharaoh's officials called. To Sarai's surprise, Pharaoh himself had taken an interest in her. He had recently built an estate in the city of On to more firmly take a foothold at his nation's border, in light of the influx of migrants pouring in in response to the famine in the land. Widely known as a man who appreciated art and beautiful things, beautiful women included, he paid close attention to the reports of the more attractive women who arrived in their caravan from Canaan. What had taken place in the weeks since was a flurry of attention and favors, all to Abram's benefit and to the delight of Lot and his wife, who benefited by association. Meeting no resistance from Abram, Sarai had been taken to Pharaoh's household and added to his harem of women. At first, Sarai could not stomach the adjustment, but she was surprised to find how quickly she warmed to the Pharaoh's affections. Pharaoh was pleased with her. and began to court her outright. Abram, her brother, receiving gift after gift. As their flocks and coffers grew, Sarai hated herself for it, and regretted how she had behaved in her vanity at being preferred by Pharaoh. 00:12:50 Speaker 4: It all felt like a. 00:12:51 Speaker 2: Great betrayal of everything she had known her entire life, but she had to admit that she had not felt cherished in a long time. Abram had become distant and preoccupied of later, taking on his responsibilities as burdens, never asking for help, and blindly trusting in a god she had yet to see or hear herself. She had long held back her doubts about this promise to Abram about having a family. They had tried for years to produce an heir and failed. Baron was her badge. This wouldn't likely deter the pharaoh, as he had plenty of women to carry his children. Instead, he seemed determined to make. 00:13:31 Speaker 4: Her a wife regardless. 00:13:33 Speaker 2: A prize he could flaunt in the faces of her people, indebted as they were to him as they were forced to inhabit his land. She knew the courting period was closing, perhaps even that evening, since Pharaoh had asked Sarai's family to dine with him. Sarai was unsure whether or not Abram had devised a way to get her out of this impending commitment to Pharaoh, but her anxiety grew each day. There was a finality to this predicament that left a pit in Sarai's stomach, And if she was made to go through with this marriage to Pharaoh, would Abraham be forced to abandon the promise he had uprooted their lives for? And if she did, even the slim hope of ever having a child. 00:14:14 Speaker 4: Would be impossible. 00:14:16 Speaker 2: Sarai dared not hope for a miracle as grand as that, but perhaps she could ask this God for rescue from her impending marriage to Pharaoh. Perhaps she could muster a bit of faith in Abraham's God if he rescued her from these circumstances. Abram was seated in the seat of honor at Pharaoh's table. Pharaoh was lounging at the head of the great table. Meats, cheeses and fruit laced the table. Abram, Lot and his wife sat as guests, partaking in the king's decadence. Pharaoh was an imposing man with thick arms and a deep voice. His clean-shaven face revealed his broad jaw and muscular neck. Abram trembled in his presence. He was a man of power. not just physically, but militarily. Abram's entire company could be wiped out instantly if he met the ire of Pharaoh. For that reason, he trod lightly. Sarai's dignity may be the price he had to pay for his safety. Sarai tried to catch his eye or read his face for any sign of reassurance, but Abram fixed his eyes anywhere but his wife. Sarai's heart began to sink, and she desperately reached out in a silent prayer to his God. hoping beyond hope that deliverance would come. 00:15:38 Speaker 8: Sarai, my beauty, you seem distracted this evening. Are you not delighted to hear that your brother Abram and I have finally agreed on your dowry? 00:15:49 Speaker 5: You are to be one of my brides at last. 00:15:53 Speaker 1: Oh, I am, my lord. Thank you. Your generosity is overwhelming. You have already shown me such kindness that I could hardly hope for anything more. You honor me, and you honor my family as well. Especially my faithful brother. 00:16:12 Speaker 4: Quite right. 00:16:14 Speaker 8: His honor has proven true, and I have made him a wealthy man because of it. Your family will live in luxury and above your stations. Sure to be the envy of the other refugees in my country. 00:16:27 Speaker 3: Hear, hear! We drink to you and your hospitality, oh illustrious ones. 00:16:33 Speaker 1: We are in your debt and your loyal servants, your highness. 00:16:37 Speaker 2: Sarai watched Abram as they all lifted their cups to honor the pharaoh, but he said nothing. 00:16:43 Speaker 1: How soon until we can begin preparations, my lord? 00:16:48 Speaker 8: So eager, my beauty. We can begin making arrangements tomorrow. 00:16:55 Speaker 1: Oh, Sarai, you must let me help you. As you know, I've had so much experience in these matters. 00:17:00 Speaker 8: Yes. 00:17:01 Speaker 2: The conversation prattled on and washed over Sarai without her contribution as she continued to watch Abram's disengagement from across the table. It wasn't until a pretty serving girl appeared at his elbow to take a plate away that he re-engaged with the world around him. 00:17:19 Speaker 3: Thank you. 00:17:21 Speaker 5: What is your name? 00:17:22 Speaker 4: My name is Hagar. 00:17:24 Speaker 1: Is there anything else I can get you, master? 00:17:28 Speaker 5: No, thank you. I don't need anything, Hagar. 00:17:32 Speaker 8: Abram, has my servant piqued your interest? Consider her a part of my dowry, a gift for bringing me such a lovely wife. 00:17:43 Speaker 5: Your generosity knows no bounds, Pharaoh. 00:17:46 Speaker 2: And though she knew her husband did not intend to wound her with these words, she fumed that the only kindness her husband seemingly had to spare was for some stranger and not his own wife. She managed to sit quietly for the rest of the feast, speaking only when a response was warranted. Later, alone in her quarters for the night, she wept in the silence that everyone had abandoned her. Deliverance, she thought, was not coming. She looked out her window, staring up at the stars. She was anxious and afraid. But in that moment of sorrow, an otherworldly stillness settled around her. She couldn't quite understand it, But the presence of God was with her at that moment. It had a weight to it, and she could have sworn she felt some comforting arms wrap around her. That night, under a canopy of stars and uncertainty, Sarai, despite her tears, felt comforted. Abram had failed her, but the God of Abram wouldn't. That night, working in the margins of Pharaoh's dreams, God was at work, He would come to defend her. 00:19:03 Speaker 5: Wake up! 00:19:04 Speaker 2: Abram opened his eyes to see two spears inches away from his throat. Pharaoh's men had entered his tent, poised to strike if he struggled or screamed. 00:19:14 Speaker 5: What's happening? Why have you come here? 00:19:17 Speaker 2: Silence! 00:19:18 Speaker 5: Pharaoh has summoned you. Follow us or feel the tips of our spears. 00:19:24 Speaker 2: Abram wrapped himself up and followed the men to the palace. Once again, his mind raced with imaginary scenarios. Had Sarai given up? Had she conspired against him? Was Pharaoh going to kill him or go back on his word? Abram shuffled on his feet nervously in the receiving hall of Pharaoh's palace, and what was stranger still was that the palace, usually humming with activity from servants, merchants, guests, and officials, was eerily quiet. Abram heard rumors that a sudden sickness was rampant in Pharaoh's household. It wasn't unusual for a disease to sweep through a city, but if the rumors were to be believed, the sickness seemed only to affect those inside the palace grounds. The accounts also claimed that they were miraculously healed when people. 00:20:13 Speaker 4: Left the premises. 00:20:14 Speaker 2: It was almost as if an angry god had cursed Pharaoh and his household. In a rare, fleeting moment of concern for his wife, Abram wondered if Sarai had also fallen ill. Perhaps that was why Pharaoh had summoned him, to tell him news of his wife's death. As if in response to his thoughts, Pharaoh stormed into the receiving hall. And Abram dropped to his knees in reverence for the ruler and his soon-to-be brother-in-law. 00:20:43 Speaker 4: Stand, Abram. 00:20:45 Speaker 2: Abram stood but waited for Pharaoh to speak first. He could not help but notice the paleness of his skin and the glassiness of his eyes. He wondered if the Pharaoh was afflicted by this mysterious illness as well. 00:20:59 Speaker 4: What have you done to me? 00:21:02 Speaker 3: Your Highness, forgive me, but I do not understand your meaning. 00:21:07 Speaker 2: When Abram looked up at the pharaoh, he quickly averted his eyes again. It was hard to tell, and he didn't want to be caught staring too long. But the skin visible at his collar and sleeves looked raw and red from scratching, perhaps from boils. He was a ghastly sight. 00:21:25 Speaker 4: Don't you? 00:21:27 Speaker 8: This disease upon my household, upon my very person, has come over us too quickly to be something new. The natural world. Which of your backcountry gods have you called upon to curse me? 00:21:46 Speaker 5: Your Highness, I would never... No, no. 00:21:51 Speaker 4: You deny your involvement in this matter. 00:21:54 Speaker 5: Forgive me, Pharaoh. 00:21:56 Speaker 3: I do not know how this came to be or if anyone has been involved. But you must believe me, I had no part in it. 00:22:06 Speaker 8: No, I don't believe someone as lowly as you could call harm upon me. 00:22:15 Speaker 2: Pharaoh paused and fixed Abram with an unflinching and inscrutable stare. Abram remembered that the Egyptians considered their pharaohs to be gods themselves when they ascended to their thrones. He also remembered that the Egyptians were deeply superstitious, though, given what had happened... Abram could not say he could take issue with that way of thinking. 00:22:39 Speaker 8: You could not do this to me. But perhaps there is something I have done to anger the gods. 00:22:48 Speaker 3: Surely you have done nothing wrong, your highness. You have treated both your subjects and even strangers like myself with great kindness. 00:22:59 Speaker 4: We happen to agree on this matter. I am Pharaoh. I am the image of Ra. 00:23:07 Speaker 8: I am the morning and evening star, acting as an arm of the gods themselves. I have consulted my priests, and we cannot find any reason that justifies this wrath. Unless, of course, I have caught the eye of another god. A foreign god? 00:23:28 Speaker 4: Abram? 00:23:31 Speaker 8: Have you been completely truthful with me? 00:23:36 Speaker 5: Your Highness, what are you accusing me of? 00:23:42 Speaker 8: There's been a bit of gossip that has reached my ears. I admit, I didn't want to believe it initially, because you enthusiastically encouraged my actions. 00:23:54 Speaker 5: Surely an honest man such as. 00:23:56 Speaker 8: Yourself would not accept gift after gift... if he did not desire the courtship to come to fruition. 00:24:04 Speaker 2: Abram's heart caught in his chest. Adrenaline pulsed through his body as every fear he had in coming to this place became realized. 00:24:12 Speaker 4: Abram, who is Sarai to you? 00:24:17 Speaker 5: Your Highness, I beg forgiveness. 00:24:20 Speaker 3: Sarai is my wife, just as your spies have surely told you. The gossip, it's true. I was afraid of what would happen to me if a man desired my wife. I never guessed that she would be chosen by the most powerful man in the world. I didn't know how to escape my deception, which had gone on for too long. Forgive me, and take pity on a man who fears not for his own life, but for the lives of many that he is responsible for. 00:24:54 Speaker 5: Please, spare my life. Please best arise as well. She was only doing what I asked of her. 00:25:03 Speaker 3: Oh. 00:25:05 Speaker 8: You dare beg me for mercy? You received treasures from my trove based on a lie, and you dare ask for more? 00:25:20 Speaker 5: You don't deserve my mercy. 00:25:23 Speaker 8: You deserve to hang for the crows to Slowly peck at your eyes. Nevertheless, if your god is powerful enough to wipe out my household, I have no choice but to spare your life. And Sarai's too. I believe that she is as innocent as I am. 00:25:56 Speaker 4: In this matter. 00:25:57 Speaker 5: Thank you, Lord Pharaoh. Thank you for. 00:26:00 Speaker 8: Do not thank me as if we are friends forgetting a quarrel. 00:26:04 Speaker 4: I want you and your God far away from me and my land. 00:26:10 Speaker 8: Take your wife and take the flocks and gifts I have given you. 00:26:14 Speaker 4: That should assuage your. 00:26:16 Speaker 5: God and lift the plagues from my household. 00:26:20 Speaker 2: Abram sighed in relief and sagged to the floor. His heart still beat wildly in his chest, but he thanked Pharaoh profusely, even as his attendants brought forth a perplexed Sarai and ushered them out. Abram was relieved to observe that she didn't appear to be sick. Abram could only assume she was the sole exception to the curse that had wreaked havoc on Pharaoh's household. Abram wasn't sure how to apologize, so he didn't. 00:26:49 Speaker 5: Are you all right? 00:26:51 Speaker 7: Yes. 00:26:52 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:26:54 Speaker 2: Abram and Sarai hurried from the palace to make arrangements to leave immediately, for fear that the Pharaoh might change his mind. As they fled, Sarai kept her eyes on the ground ahead of her, but the same awe he felt was written all over her face. The God who had called them out of Haran and led them to Canaan. 00:27:14 Speaker 4: Was at work. 00:27:16 Speaker 2: Even the words Pharaoh uttered were seemingly placed in his mouth by Abram's God, as if to remind Abram of the call that had been bestowed upon him. 00:27:27 Speaker 6: Abram, you are to go out from your land. 00:27:32 Speaker 2: Abram felt rebuked by Pharaoh's words, by God's words, and knew that despite his assuredness that he was doing what he thought was right, he never should have left the land he had been promised. His mistakes had almost cost him and Sarai their integrity and their lives. Abram pondered on all that had happened and resolved never again to leave the land his God had promised. Surely his God has proven himself to be a mighty rescuer and trustworthy beyond his comprehension. Steve Gatina, Max Bard, Zach Schelleberger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher and Mitch Lashinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan-Smith. written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely, and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review. 00:28:54 Speaker 1: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.