Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.
Genesis 26
1. And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine
that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech
king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
As you will see soon there are some recurring things in this chapter. It may seem to be familiar but it is happening to Isaac. Remember earlier in Genesis we see that Abraham with Lot was faced with a famine. And also we see that they fled to Egypt in Chapter 12.
Abimelech was closer to the coastal plains and he had fertile land, as we will see he was also king of the Philistines who seemed to always be a thorn in the flesh of Gods people.
2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into
Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Why do you think God appeared to Isaac and told him this? Maybe because Abraham had done this earlier. Sin of the Generations. Like father, like son.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless
thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these
countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham
thy father;
This is probably one the best things that God could say to us. "I will be with thee". Oh what power in these words. God says Isaac go where I tell you and don’t worry because I will be with you. Do you think these same words apply to us? Bro. Collins, Bro. Renew, Bro. Greene, Sis Chard, Sis. Green, Jeremiah, Richard, Kai, Carol, Rebekah. I will be with thee.
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven,
and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my
commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Now here is the answer. Because Abraham obeyed my voice. I have chosen your seen. I have chosen you because of the obedience of your father. Now look back into verse 4 what did God pass onto Isaac that he gave to Abraham? Did Abraham ever really see these?
Now let us go back to verse five. Somebody tell me what it means.
James 2:20-AV But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without
works is dead?
If there is anything that I would love to implant in the minds of Christians it would be this verse.
6. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
7 And the men of the place asked [him] of his wife; and he
said, She [is] my sister: for he feared to say, [She is] my wife;
lest, [said he], the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah;
because she [was] fair to look upon.
What is the difference between what Abraham said and what Isaac said here?
8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that
Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and
saw, and, behold, Isaac [was] sporting with Rebekah his wife.
It makes sense that sooner or later Abimelech would find out about this. Now the difference here is that God does not go to Abimelech but he saw Isaac and Rebekah together probably playing but in a manner only custom to husband and wife. Here is his reaction.
9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she
[is] thy wife: and how saidst thou, She [is] my sister? And Isaac
said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And Abimelech said, What [is] this thou hast done unto us?
one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou
shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Another bad testimony toward Abimelech. See how easy it is. Look at verse 9. What had God just told him in verse 3?. Boy how soon we forget.
11 And Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, He that
toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Abimelech still had respect for Isaac and his God and he protected him from being harmed by the Philistines.
12. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year
an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he
became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds,
and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Isaac was great just as Abraham was great. They were both blessed. Why? because they were obedient to God. They followed God. What did the people around him think about this? Why do you think they felt this way?
15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in
the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them,
and filled them with earth.
So they were so mad that they filled all the wells of Abraham. Wells were a sign of prosperity. This is how they watered the animals. So the Philistines found a way to hurt them. They wanted him to leave they were jealous. They wanted what he had but not the same way he got it.
Another note. Wells were a part of the Abrahamic seed. They were part of the inheritance. The Philistines wanted to get rid of that heritage.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much
mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the
valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had
digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had
stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their
names after the names by which his father had called them.
So Abimelech was scared of Isaac and Isaac left not to cause any confusion. But we will notice he still stayed in the land of his father. In the land of Abraham where Abraham dug the wells. And he redug the wells. He wanted some of Abraham. He wanted that rich heritage with God.
19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a
well of springing water.
20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen,
saying, The water [is] ours: and he called the name of the well
Esek(means contention); because they strove with him.
But when they cleared it the herdmen of Gerar came and destroyed it. This well kind of reminds me of my study time sometimes. It seems that every time I sit down to study Gods word there is a distraction. Something always trying to get we away from Gods word. Satan. But should I give up? Well let us look at Isaac.
21 And they digged another well, and strove(to strive, contend, make a case for) for
that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.(means strife)
22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for
that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth(room); and
he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be
fruitful in the land.
It took him three times and finally he found his well. After all the opposition. All the trouble finally he got what he wanted. What does this show us about Isaac?
Rehoboth means room. God said there was enough room for all. Men cannot have it all I will still bless my people.
23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.(well of the seven fold oath)
24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I
[am] the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I [am] with
thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant
Abraham’s sake.
Here the Lord appears to Isaac again. Reaffirming the promise that he had made to him and his father. "I am with thee" what a saying. Fear not, don’t worry.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of
the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants
digged a well.
With confirmation he made a sacrifice to the Lord. The way to draw closer to the Lord is to make a sacrifice to him.
26. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of
his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye
hate me, and have sent me away from you?
28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee:
and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, [even] betwixt
us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee,
and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent
thee away in peace: thou [art] now the blessed of the LORD.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to
another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in
peace.
Here is the king Abimelech reconciling his differences with Isaac. What do you think of Abimelech?
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants
came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and
said unto him, We have found water.
33 And he called it Shebah(an oath): therefore the name of the city [is]
Beersheba unto this day.
34. And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the
daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon
the Hittite:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
What did Esau do wrong? Married the Hittite women, not followers of the one true God. And he married two women.
Assignment: Why did Esau lose his blessings? Find scripture in the Old Testament and New Testament to back it up.
