Abraham could not explain the leadings of Providence; he had not realized his expectations; but he held fast the promise, "I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." With earnest prayer he considered how to preserve the life of his people and his flocks, but he would not allow circumstances to shake his faith in God's word. To escape the famine he went down into Egypt. He did not forsake Canaan, or in his extremity turn back to the Chaldean land from which he came, where there was no scarcity of bread; but he sought a temporary refuge as near as possible to the Land of Promise, intending shortly to return where God had placed him.

Abraham kunne ikke forklare Himmelens ledelse. Han havde ikke fået sine forventninger opfyldt; men han holdt fast ved løftet: "Jeg vil velsigne dig og gøre dit navn stort, og vær en velsignelse!" Under alvorlig bøn overvejede han, hvordan han skulle redde sine folks og sit kvægs liv; men han ville ikke tillade omstændighederne at rokke sin tro på Guds ord. For at undgå hungersnød rejste han til Ægypten. Han opgav ikke Kanaan og vendte heller ikke i denne vanskelige situation tilbage til Kaldæa, hvorfra han var kommet, og hvor der var rigelig føde. Han søgte et midlertidigt tilflugtsted så nær det forjættede land som muligt for snarest at vende tilbage til det sted, hvor Gud havde ført ham hen.