SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 26
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“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)
ISAAC AND ABIMELECH (vs. 1-34)
Now there was a famine in the land besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time – and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Berar. 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 kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “the men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
Then Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who molest this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines topped up, filling them with earth.
Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek: because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of y8our 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.”:
Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent and there his servants dug a well.
Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, :Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” 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 molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. Andy 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 left him in peace.
That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.” When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and also Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
THOUGHTS (From Life Application Study Bible)
Isaac was afraid that the men in Gerar would kill him to get his beautiful wife, Rebekah. So he lied and claimed that Rebekah was his sister. He may have got this trick from his father, Abraham. Parents are models to shape their children’s values. As parents, we should be good examples for our children to follow.
God kept his promise to bless Isaac. The neighboring Philistines grew jealous because everything Isaac did seemed to go right. So they plugged his wells and tried to get rid of him. Jealousy is a dividing force strong enough to tear apart the mightiest of nations or the closest of friends. It forces you to separate yourself from what you were longing for in the first place. When you find yourself becoming jealous of others, try thanking God for their good fortune. Before striking out in anger, consider what you could lose – a friend, a job or a spouse.
The desolate Gerar area was located on the edge of a desert. Water was as precious as gold. If someone dug a well, he was staking a claim to the land. Some wells had locks to keep thieves from stealing the water. To fill in someone’s well with dirt was an act of war. It was one of the most serious crimes in the land. Isaac had every right to fight back when the Philistines ruined his wells, and yet he chose to keep the peace. In the end, the Philistines respected him for his patience.
Three times Isaac and his men dug new wells. When the first two disputes arose, Isaac moved on. Finally there was enough room for everyone. Rather than start a huge conflict, Isaac compromised for the sake of peace. Would you be willing to forsake an important position or valuable possession to keep peace? Ask God for the wisdom to know when to withdraw and when to stand and fight.
When his enemies wanted to make a peace treaty, Isaac was quick to respond, turning the occasion into a celebration. We should be just as receptive to those who want to make peace with us. When God’s influence in our lives attracts people – even enemies – we must take the opportunity to reach out to them with God’s love.
Esau married pagan women and this upset his parents greatly. Most parent can be a storehouse of good advice because they have a lifetime of insights into their children’s character. You may not agree with everything your parents say, but at least talk with them and listen carefully. This will help avoid the hard feelings Esau experienced.