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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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 stopped up, filling them with earth.
Then Abimelek 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, where he settled. 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 herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac 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 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.”
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, Abimelek 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 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.
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.
Genesis 26:12-33
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 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.” Genesis 26:1-3
In the opening words of this chapter, we found the Lord giving Isaac specific direction in regard to where he was to go and what he was to do, much as He had done for Isaac’s father, Abraham.
“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.”
And so Isaac was obedient to what the Lord had commanded and as we see in today’s passage from chapter 26, he was blessed richly as God kept His promise. Look again at those words here:
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 stopped up, filling them with earth.
Then Abimelek 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, where he settled. 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 herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac 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 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.”
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, Abimelek 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 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.
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. Vv.12-33
Through these 22 verses, we find Isaac receiving blessing after blessing from the Lord.
First, he “planted crops” and “the same year reaped a hundredfold”. This bounty contributed to Isaac becoming “rich” and we read where “his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy”. This included “so many flocks and herds and servants” that he drew the envy of “the Philistines”. The scriptures tell us that they “filled” up “all the wells” that Abraham’s “servants had dug” years prior “with earth”. All this caused Abimelek to give the following order to Isaac:
“Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
These words showed just how much Isaac had grown in prominence and as we will see in the later verses of this passage, there will be an encounter between the king of Gerar and Isaac to develop a peace treaty.
Before we get there, we read where “Isaac moved away” and “encamped in the Valley of Gerar”. Once “settled”, the scriptures tell us that “Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham” before giving them “the same names his father had given them”. Those wells included:
1. A well dug by “Isaac’s servants” in “the valley” where they “discovered” a bounty of “fresh water”. Well, we read where this led to an argument with the “herders of Gerar” who were claiming the water belonged to them and so Isaac “named the well Esek” which translates to the word “dispute”.
2. Another well was dug and another quarrel erupted over it. Isaac named it “Sitnah” which means “opposition”.
3. From there another well was dug and this time the scriptures tell us that “no one quarreled over it” and so Isaac named it “Rehoboth” adding:
“Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
The name “Rehoboth” means “room”.
4. Finally, we read where Isaac “went up to Beersheba” where the Lord appeared to him and said the following:
“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.”
And so Isaac not only had “his servants” dig another well but he also “pitched his tent” and “called on the name of the Lord”. Beersheeba can be translated to mean “well of the oath”.
Well, after all that planting, harvesting, wealth accumulation, and well digging, Isaac had indeed received the Lord’s promise of abundant blessings. His stature had risen so drastically that we find the king, Abimelek, coming to visit “from Gerar” with “Ahuzzath his personal adviser” and “Phicol the commander of his forces”. This led Isaac to ask:
“Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
Explaining, we read where Abimelek and his entourage said:
“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.”
There is true beauty in this proclamation because we find the king realizing that he is no match for the true King, the Lord God Almighty and anyone He has aligned with. It wasn’t that Abimelek thought that he wasn’t a match for Isaac. Isaac was a mere man. But Isaac’s God? That was another story.
Friends, do others see us the same within a world that is becoming ever more godless? Do people see that we have something working in and through us that is not of this world, something powerful and holy that sets us apart?
Like Isaac, we have the potential for the Lord’s abundant blessings getting the attention of others and when we give Him all the glory and credit, they will too just as Abimelek did.
Well, going back to our story, we find Isaac having a great feast put on for his guests and “they ate and drank”. We read where the two parties “swore an oath to each other” early “the next morning” before Isaac sent the three men “on their way” in peace.
And with that, the scriptures tell us that one more well was dug and Isaac called it “Shibah” which means “oath of seven” and the town has bore the name of “Beersheba” ever since. Of interest, we continue to read about the town all the way through the prophet Amos in the Old Testament.
Isaac listened to what God wanted and responded through doing as he was told. In return, God was with him and provided the abundant blessings He promised. Today, He is no less with us and for us, those who faithfully believe in Him and the salvation He brings through His Son Jesus. Given this, let us follow Isaac’s lead and allow the Lord to do His work in and through us so that His providence and provision might be evident to all, and His holy name might be acknowledged, glorified, and honored, even by those who necessarily might not be God followers like Abimelek.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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