SO THAT IT WILL GO WELL WITH ME

It is considered an axiom in the West that you are responsible for your own actions and no one else’s. Our ancient fathers had a different opinion. Just as Canaan was cursed for the actions of Ham, Mitzrayim — Egypt — is cursed for the actions of Abram. The biblical narrative holds that we bear guilt for the consequences of our actions as they go forth from us and land on ground we will never stand on. In Genesis 12, God visits Abram face to face at the tree of Moreh and makes the promise directly — I will make your name great, I will make you a great nation, people will be blessed because of your name. And then He brings him to the land of promise. Abram scans the horizon. His eyes see nothing desirable. Between Bethel and Ai — the house of God and ruins — he makes the decision to descend to Egypt. In the descent, Abram takes the role of the serpent. He uses guile and deception — לְמַעַן יִיטַב־לִי lema’an yitav-li — so that it will go well with me — to convince Pharaoh that Sarai is his sister. Pharaoh reaches forth and takes her. The ground he inhabits pays for what Abram arranged. And Abram comes out rich. The serpent is crafty and wily in the ways of wealth. The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. The nachash move can put you ahead. By every material measure, Abram was successful. But material wealth is not an indicator of the inner condition of the man. It is the focus of the eye that is the indicator. You are far more powerful than you realize. For you are the very image of God after all. And what you do has far-reaching consequences — consequences that reach out beyond you and affect the very ground that those you encounter stand on. Whose ground right now is cursed so that it will all go well with you? LOCUST — For Men East of Eden Original Hebrew scholarship. No borrowed frameworks. HEBREW REFERENCE לְמַעַן יִיטַב־לִי (lema’an yitav-li) — so that it will go well with me — Genesis 12:13 מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim) — Egypt נָחָשׁ (nachash) — serpent, the crafty one מֹרֶה (Moreh) — instruction, teacher בֵית־אֵל (Bethel) — house of God עַי (Ai) — ruins Subscribe: @locustinthetext Instagram: @jeremymitchell.coach Contact: [email protected]