SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 26
BIBLE VERSES:
“The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.” (Genesis 26:2-6)
“That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” (Genesis 26:24)
“They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.” (Genesis 26:28-31)
ISAAC AND ABIMELECH (vs. 1-35)
When there was a famine, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him not to go to Egypt. He promised with an oath to bless him and give him all the lands to his descendants because Abraham had obeyed and kept his commandments, decrees and laws.
When men in Gerar asked him about his wife, he told them it was his sister for fear of being killed on account of Rebekah because she was beautiful. When Abimelech knew that Rebekah was his wife, he gave orders of death penalty to all people who would molest Isaac or his wife.
God blessed Isaac and he reaped a hundred fold of crops. He became very wealthy and the Philistines envied him. They filled with earth all the wells that Abraham had dug. Abimelech told him to move away. So Issac moved away from them and escaped in the valley of Gerar. He reopEned the wells Abraham dug and gave them the same names his father had given them.
Isaac’s servants discovered new well but the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with isaac’s herdsmen. So they named the disputed well Esek. when they dug another well, they also quarrel over the well so he named is Sitnah. They moved on and finally dug another well named Rehoboth meaning “now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land” (v. 22).
When Isaac went to Beersheba, the Lord appeared to him saying: “I am the God of your father Baraham. Do not be afraid for I am with you; I wiill bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham” (v. 24). Issac build an altar and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (v. 25).
Abimelech together with Ahuzzath , his personal adviser and Philco, the commander of his forces came to visit Isaac. They came to make a peace treaty with Isaac and IsaAc made a feast for them. Isaac’s servant told him that they had dug a well and named it Shibah.
When Esau was forty, he married two Hittite women. Judith and Basmath. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
THOUGHTS;
Isaac repeated his father’s sin by telling “half lie”. As a result, he lost testimony and got a public rebuke by the heathen king. Parents should help children shape their values with good examples to follow.
Wells of water represents the divine resource of God for spiritual life. The enemy stole the wells of that Abraham dug. Today, the spiritual wells have been taken from us by the world. We need to get back the old wells again (prayer, Bible and worship).
Isaac’s men dug new wells, The first were disputed by the Philistines. Isaac did not want to pick a fight with them. Instead, he compromised to avoid conflict and for the sake of peace. Are you willing to forgo a valuable possession or an important position to keep peace? As God for his advice.