In last chapter we said farewell to one of the greatest character in scripture. Now our journey continues with Isaac, the promised son. This chapter will teach us a very important lesson on parenting as well as consequence of getting close to SIN. Let’s look at this portion of scripture together and learn.
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: āDo not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.ā
Abimelech is title or family name of ruling family in region. This is the son of the king or ruler who Abraham met back in ch. 20. Gerar is town on border of Egypt. It is the closest you can get to Egypt without entering it. If you recall , God had warned Abraham and same warning is repeated here to Isaac regarding Egypt. There was famine in land as it was at the time of Abraham and he made a mistake of going down to Egypt( for detail read Chapter 12 Study). Egypt in bible is a type of the world. Whenever Egypt is mentioned in scripture it refers to as “GOING DOWN” and it is always “GOING UP ” to Jerusalem. God once again confirms the covenant with Isaac which he gave to Abraham. This is a great lesson for parents, our obedience to God is important. Although, we can not secure our kids salvation as that is a decision they have to make but God does not forget our walk in faith. He blesses our kids and according to scripture to 1000 generations. Here God gives the same warning to Isaac and God wants him to obey but he does not say if you don’t, I will take away the blessing which was promised to Abraham.
6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, āShe is my sisterā; for he was afraid to say, āShe is my wife,ā because he thought, ālest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.ā
Isaac decides to stay in Gerar and although he did not go into Egypt, he stayed close by. So many times we too make same mistake. Like Lot we look toward Sodom and desire the things we see but that is very dangerous. In 2 chronicles 7:14 says we are to turn away from our wicked ways. Paul tells young Timothy to flee from youthful lust. when we are constantly in sinful environment, we will end up in that sin. Be careful what you read, watch on TV, where you go, who you spend your time with. If you keep hanging out with friends who go to bar or drinking party, sooner or later you will be tempted to have a drink. God tells Isaac to stay in promised land and what does he do? he dwells on edge. Many times we want to get close to world and still remain in promised land. When you start asking such question as “does bible say smoking is bad? can Christian do this or do that? be careful you are trying to live on edge. Now when people of the land asked about Rebekah, amazingly he gave same answer his father did. Parents, do you think we need to watch how we handle things? our kids learn solutions of life from us. what is your first reaction when crisis hits? is it prayer or is it trying to solve it yourself? You are teaching your kids how to walk in faith. They are watching and learning.
8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, āQuite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, āShe is my sisterā?ā Isaac said to him, āBecause I said, āLest I die on account of her.āā10 And Abimelech said, āWhat is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.ā 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, āHe who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.ā
Not only did Isaac learn from his father but Abimelech also knew what happened back in chapter 20. His father probably told him about what happened and now when he sees Isaac with Rebekah, he is angry. He realizes what could have happened. He was wise and right a way he told his people not to go near Rebekah. He did not want the same fate that his people were in back in chapter 20. Isaac needs to be corrected for his cowardice behavior but unlike his father when faced with truth he admitted ” I lied because I was afraid”. He did not try to make excuse, justify or explain his side of the story. He needs to be commanded for that.
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.
After realizing his mistake, Isaac returns to promised land where he should be. When did he receive 100 fold blessings? after he confessed to Abimelech. You want to be blessed? Confess your sin and then go on.
13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
Isaac strayed and stumbled but he confessed and moved forward. We should all have same attitude. You might fall or give into temptation but our salvation is secured by God’s grace. You move forward and continue growing in relation with Jesus.
15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his fatherās servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, āGo away from us, for you are much mightier than we.ā17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.
People who are not saved do not understand the growth of obedient Christian life. They do not understand GRACE of God and say “it is not fair you are blessed”. I know, you fell. Even as Christian, we sometime talk about people who were casual Christian and are newly saved. I knew you back then. I heard about you and like philistine here, we try to “dig up” dirt in futile effort to fill well of water of life. Isaac moved forward restoring the wells his father had dug up. As it is in our day , fresh water was very important in these times and wells were dug up for survival of self as well as livestock.
19 Also Isaacās servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaacās herdsmen, saying, āThe water is ours.ā So he called the name of the well Esek,[a] because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.[b] 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,[c] because he said, āFor now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.ā
Isaac could have resisted the demand since the Abimelech had given permission to Abraham the right to dwell anywhere in the land and wells belonged to Abraham but instead he chose to take a high road and moved further up. In addition, his servants dug up another well deep in valley and it turned out to be “living water ” or “spring water”. Jesus said to the woman at the well, Ask me and I will giving you LIVING WATER and you will not thirst again. John 7:38 says 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.ā Where did they find living water? when he was in valley. This is often the case when you have lost all hope, when you are seeking for direction and you don’t see any way out. There seems to be no solution. You have tried everything and nothing seems to work, it is when you are in valley that you find JESUS, the LIVING WATER. Have you lost all hope? seek Jesus he will guide you. Esek means the “quarrel well” . The philistine claimed this well should belong to them on ground that Isaac no longer had the permission to dig. They proceeded to dig second well but the men of Gerar followed them there and demand that well as well. Isaac named it Sitnah “Hatred well”. Was it a smooth sailing for Isaac after he found living water? No, when we find Jesus and are born again , we must understand challenges will follow. Jesus was tempted as soon as he was baptized by John. Don’t be discouraged when difficulties come, when those around you leave because of your faith; just continue to be obedient to God and you will be rewarded. Isaac chose to give them the wells and moved much farther beyond any region to which men of Gerar had claim to. Finally, they dug a third well and he called it ‘Rehobath” which means AMPLE ROOM. Every one of us has rehobath waiting for us. Many times we dig one well and there is a problem;then we dig a second well and it has issues, and instead of digging a third well, we give up thinking what is the use? God does not want to use me but God wants us to keep digging. The enemy tries to discourage us through problems and hindrance but we must keep going, keep digging and we will find our Rehobath.
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, āI am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abrahamās sake.ā 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaacās servants dug a well.
If you recall, Abraham made covenant with the Philistines at Beersheba ( Gen 21:32-34). Isaac also lived there after the sacrifice of mount Moriah (Gen 22:19). Maybe after the experience at Gerar, Isaac wanted to come back tp the place where he had felt closest to God. And, sure enough God met him the first night. God had spoken to him as he was leaving the land but he had failed to stay as close as he should have. God once again reassured him of the covenant and he had no reason to fear anyone or anything for God was with him and he will keep his promises for Abraham’s sake. There Isaac built an altar of his own – only one he ever built and worshipped the Lord. Like Isaac, we too have no reason to fear anybody or anything. We have the same promise. God has told us, I will never leave you or forsake you. keep walking with God and continue growing in faith, he will never abandon you.
26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, āWhy have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?ā28 But they said, āWe have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, āLet there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.āā30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.32 It came to pass the same day that Isaacās servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, āWe have found water.ā 33 So he called it Shebah.[d] Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba[e] to this day.
Here, Issac’s one time enemies seek him to make peace, possibly because of his policy of nonresistance had finally shamed them. Also they knew Jehovah was blessing Isaac and he was growing stronger all the time. They reminded him all the good things they had done for him. Issac too was quite agreeable after his recent encounter with God. They had a feast and sealed it with Oath. If we keep walking according to the word of God, our life will impact the people around us. The same people who created problems initially, will come to you seeking peace. We have to let our lights shine and resist devil, he will flee from you. As the Philistines were departing, Isaac’s servants came with good news that the well they were digging had struck good supply of water. He called it “SHEBAH” meaning well of oath.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.
We will discuss this last verse of the chapter dealing with Easu’s wives later in Genesis when we study chapter 37. The absence of any mention of the 2 sons suggests that they had stayed back home either in Mamre or Lahai-roi, but now family was united once again.
only savior jesus 