Isaac And The Dirty Wells

Genesis 26:17-23 - Jacob and dirty wells

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Of the three very little is actually devoted to the life of Isaac. Chapter 26 is entirely devoted to a story about Isaac and if you have time to read the whole chapter you will see that Isaac parallels the life of his father, Abraham, in many ways. For example like his father, Isaac passes off his wife, Rebekah, as his sister and is found out. In verse 10 Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, reprimands Isaac for this - read verse 10.

A Great Drought

We read at the beginning of this chapter that there is a famine in the land and Isaac starts to make tracks, again like his father, towards Egypt but at Gerar God appears to him and tells him not to go down to Egypt but to remain in the land of the Philistines. If you look at verse 12 you will see that God richly blessed Isaac in this land. A yield of hundredfold in harvest is beyond anyone’s expectations. In fact it is a miracle. The result of this blessing is that the people of Philistia become jealous of Isaac and in verse 16 Abimelech instructs him to leave because in their eyes Isaac has become much more powerful than they are.

Verse 17, where we picked up the story this morning, tells us that Isaac camped in the valley of Gerar. Everyone knows and realised the need for water at a time of famine brought on by drought. Each day without water would bring the death of animals and people a step closer. Water was at a premium in such a dry land.

A Great Decision

When he settled there Isaac remembered that his father had passed that way on his journey to Egypt and had dug wells. He remembered that his father had found water in that area so he knows there is water in this land. He searches out the old wells of his father. He finds them but he also finds that the Philistines had filled them in with rubbish and with earth. They had deliberately stopped them up. The enemy had been busy over the years piling debris and dirt in to the clean wells to prevent their use.

Verse 19 Isaac sets his servant about the task of clearing the wells so that they once again can be used for the purpose for which they had been dug in the first place.

Verse 20 - when the herdsmen of Gerar see the well in operation again they claim ownership of it and contend with the servants of Isaac for its use. Isaac names the well Esek - meaning they contended with him. Isaac up camps and moves on and verse 21 his servants reopen another well but once again the herdsmen of Gerar claim ownership and so Isaac names the well Sitnah meaning enmity. It seems the herdsmen of Gerar are following the servants of Isaac and every well they reopen in this dry land they claim ownership over. They had done none of the hard labour of clearing the wells so that the fresh water could be used again but they were going to claim the benefits of that hard labour. Isaac is so gracious and moves each time.

Verse 22 we read that he dug another well and this time there was no argument and so he named it Rehoboth which means broad places or room. Read verse 22.

Then in verses 23-25 Isaac moves on to Beersheba and has an encounter with the living God. God appears to him and renews the Covenant promises to Isaac. God tells Isaac that He is the God of his father, Abraham, and that just as He had promised to bless Abraham so he will bless Isaac and be with Isaac as he journeys through life. Isaac’s response is to build and altar and to worship God. Then at the end of verse 25 we read this line - And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Verses 26-33 we have another encounter with Abimelech, the king of the Philistines. No doubt as he and his entourage arrive with Isaac his heart sinks. Are we going to be moved on again? After finding water that no one is contending over are we going to have to up camp and move? However, this time it is Abimelech who is suing for peace.

In verse 27 Isaac sees only hatred from the Philistines whereas in verses 28-9 Abimelech sees only good. They are reconciled and a peace accord is signed. Abimlech is very clear that they have seen that God is with Isaac and they want to live in peace with Isaac and the people of God.