A. INTRODUCTION: GENESIS 26:1-16
Why Sons Repeat the Weaknesses of Their Father
1. Think they got away with it.
2. Think it made them great.
3. Subconscious; sons don’t realize it.
4. Think it makes them happy.
5. Their sinful nature drives them.
6. Think they can’t help it.
“A severe famine struck the area, so Isaac moved to the land of the Philistines. God told Isaac, ‘Don’t go to Egypt. If you stay in the land I will give it to you and your descendants. I promised this land to your father Abraham and through you to your descendants. I will bless all the nations of the earth. I will do this because Abraham obeyed me and followed me. Isaac stayed among the Philistines, and when the men asked about Rebekah he said, ‘She is my sister.’ He was afraid they would kill him to get her. When Abimelech saw him caressing Rebekah, he challenged Isaac. ‘Why did you tell me she was your sister, when she is your wife?’ Isaac confessed he was afraid someone would kill him to get her. Abimelech said, ‘If someone slept with her we would be guilty of a great sin.’ Then Abimelech decreed, ‘Anyone who hurts this man or his wife will die’” (Gen. 26:1-11, Condensed).
1. The Bible reminds us of Abraham’s previous sin. “As before in Abraham’s time” (26:1, NLT, see Gen. 12:16-20, 20:1-18). The sins of the father grow in his sons.
2. God stopped Isaac from entering Egypt. “Do not go to Egypt” (26:2, NLT).
a. Would have sinned there as Abraham.
b. Danger or death in Egypt.
c. The Promise Land is special to God. “I will give you all this land” (26:3, NLT).
3. Egypt is a type of the world in Scriptures (1 John 2:15), so the way to Egypt is down. “Don’t go down to Egypt” (26:2).
4. The land belonged to the Philistines when God promised it to Isaac and his descendants (26:4).
5. The covenant with Abraham is renewed with Isaac. “I will bless thee . . . unto thee and to thy seed will I give all this land” (26:3).
6. The covenant is extended to his sons and to the coming Son of God, i.e., the Messiah. “And to thy seed . . . and in thy seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed” (26:3-4).
7. Why did God bless Abraham? “Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws” (26:5, NLT).
8. Isaac began with obedience and was in the center of God’s will. “Isaac dwelt in Gerar” (26:6).
9. In the center of God’s will we are tempted and sin. “She is my sister” (26:7).
10. An exaggeration is a lie. “She is my sister.” Isaac had married his uncle’s daughter. The lie that was tolerated by Isaac was abhorred by the unsaved king.
11. What was the issue? “She was very beautiful” (26:7, NLT). “Men looketh on the outward appearance” (1 Sam. 16:7).
12. The sins of the father pop up in the lives of his sons. Abraham asked Sarah to lie, “Say . . . thou art my sister” (12:13). Then he lied. “She is my sister” (20:2). Isaac said, “She is my sister” (26:7).
13. The sin of Isaac also involved embarrassment and defensiveness. “The man of the palace asked him” (26:7).
14. Isaac and Abraham could not trust God to defend them from the Philistines, while they trusted for other things.
15. The sin had a greater impact than on Isaac, Abimelech or the men of that place. It would have contaminated the coming of Jesus Christ.
16. Isaac lived with his sin a long time. “He had been there a long time when Abimelech . . . looked out a window and saw” (26:8).
17. The word “sporting” (KJV) is also translated “caressing” (CB) and “fondling” (NLT). It means a loving touch.
18. It’s embarrassing for an unsaved person to confront a Christian bout a moral lapse. Isaac had lied and deceived all.
How To Protect From Generational Sins
1. Ask God for wisdom and spiritual discernment. Do we all have “besetting” sins?
2. Ask God for protection in the hour of trial and temptation.
3. Ask God to give you the patience to endure. “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3, KJV).
4. Confess your weaknesses (and sin) to God.
5. Claim victory by faith (2 Cor. 2:14).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord,
I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
For more information on the TRBC Pastor’s Bible Class, log on to the Internet www.itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-elmer-towns .
