Genesis 12

"When he [Abram] was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.  When the Egyptians see you, they will say, "This is his wife."  They will kill me but let you live.'"

Genesis 12:11-12

This is the part of Abram's story where he tells his wife to pretend that she's his sister.  He does this to save his own skin because he's afraid they'll kill him and take his wife.  To me, this is just about the worst thing a man could do.  Maybe I just don't understand the customs of the time, but I'd rather be killed than watch my wife be taken by another man while she claims to be my sister.  She is the only thing in this world more precious to me than my son!

Another thing that bothers me about this story is that Abram did all of these things right after God promised him the Promised Land (hence it's name).  This is only one of the many times that Abram doubts the Lord and tries to use his own reasoning instead of having faith in God's promise.  I've always wondered why God chose Abram for this.  He chose Noah to survive the Flood because he was not corrupt.  He chose Mary to father Jesus because she was blameless.  He chose David to slay Goliath because he was faithful.

What Godly trait did Abram display, that he was chosen to be the father of God's people?  I think this is one of those cases in which God chose the unworthy in order to show His own greatness.