PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM:
PROBLEMS IN THE PROMISED LAND
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. 2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 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; 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. 6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 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. 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. 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. 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 (Well Of Contention); because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah (The Well Of Separation). 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth The Well Of Room; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba. 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. 25 And he builded an altar (Dedication) there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there (Detachment): and there Isaac's servants digged a well (Dependence). 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. 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 (The Well Of Seven-Fold Blessings or Of Oath): therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
INTRO: PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM (3) - PROBLEMS IN THE PROMISED LAND
Illustration 2: In Tanzania, two guys went for an interview. One was smarter than the other but they were good friends and willing to work together so the less smarter could pass. The educated one said if he went first, he would come back with the answer to the interview questions. It happens that he went first.
Question 1: When was Tanzania’s independence?
Answer: It was supposed to be in 1960 but was postponed to 1961 due to many reasons.
Question 2: Who brought independence to Tanzania?
Answer: So many people participated in the process but it was Mwalimu Nyerere who finalized it.
Question: 3: It is believed that the planet Mars has life. Is it true?
Answer: Some say so but it has not been scientifically proven.
The smart one came out and quickly told his friend the answers. The friend went in.
Question 1: When were you born?
Answer: It was supposed to be in 1960 but was postponed to 1961 due to many reasons.
Question: What? Who is your mother?
Answer: So many people participated in the process but it was Mwalimu Nyerere who finalized it.
Question: Oh my god, are you crazy?
Answer: Some say so but it has not been scientifically proven.
PROBLEMS IN THE PROMISED LAND
Just Because God Has A Promise On Your Life Does Not Mean There Will Not Be Troubles. Just because you are loved by God does not mean you will not have some dark days. Just because it is written in Romans 9:13 that "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated" does not mean your Rachel will not die and your Joseph will not be sold into slavery. Just because God says “David is a man after my own heart” does not mean you can bypass troubles. Just because God showers you with blessings and you are the richest man in the east does not mean you will not lose all in one day – wealth and health. Psalms 34:19 says "many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord deliver him from them all. “Many” means troubles will add up. Psalm 119: “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” Ask all men of God in the Bible and they will tell you the same. Adam: Saw his own son killed. Noah: Saw himself mocked and building an ark for 120 years when there had been no rain. Abraham: Waited for 25 years to see a promise. Isaac: Children became rivals in his own house and attempted to kill each other. David saw his share of troubles – death of children before his eyes. Joseph: Betrayed and sold. Moses: Running for his life. Joshua: Encountering the loss of men in battle.
The Land And People Of Israel Are No Exception. Genesis 12 talks about their multiple blessings. But they have suffered atrocities more than any other people throughout the ages. Just because they are in the Promised Land does not mean that they will not have problems. Jerusalem is a complex city divided among various groups - see map. I left Israel with this one conclusion: Only God can fix it. Christians need to express solidarity with the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The Bible commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), to speak out for Zion’s sake (Isaiah 62:1), to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6) and to bless the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3).
The Middle East Is A Dangerous Neighborhood. Governments are falling and Israel is the only stable democracy in that region. Israel is surrounded by enemies bent on her destruction. But the troubling fact is that Israel is under attack right here in America. On college campuses across this country, Israel is being condemned as a racist, oppressive, apartheid regime. In churches across the country, anti-Israel activists are fooling our young people to believing that their values demand that they stand against Israel. We must stand and speak up for Israel in her need. Our faith demands it. Our spirituality demands it. The times require it. We must be silent no longer.
A LOOK AT THE PASSAGE: FOCUSES ON THE LIFE OF ISAAC.
Isaac Was The Son Abraham, And The Father Of Jacob, Who Became Israel. 13 chapters in Genesis are devoted to Abraham. About 10 chapters to the story of Jacob. But Isaac’s story is told in just 2 chapters: 24 (the account of Abraham finding him a wife, Rebekah) and 26. But Isaac’s life was by no means insignificant. He was the child that Abraham waited 100 years for - the child of promise. He was a miracle baby; conceived after Sarah had given up on all possibility of it still happening. Isaac’s name means laughter, given to him by both his parents because they laughed at the idea of having a child in old age. Our God still makes people laugh. He can do the impossible. Isaac was the one who carried the line of blessing. And on his deathbed, it was Isaac who lay his hands upon Jacob and gave the blessing to him unknowingly. Today, the Jews speak of “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. He is listed among the champions of faith in Hebrews 11. Isaac was given in marriage to Rebekah and settled in a placed called Gerar in the land of the Philistines - the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. While Isaac was there the Bible says that there was a famine and Isaac wanted to leave but God told him to stay.
SOME LESSONS TO LEARN ABOUT THIS PASSAGE.
1. Sometimes We Will Have To Face Problems In The Promise Land.
2. Sometimes Our Blessings Will Be In The Enemy’s Camp.
3. Sometimes God Will Tell You To Stay And Deal With The Enemy Instead Of Running.
4. We Cannot Live Off The Last Generations Wells – Genesis 26:15 Abraham’s wells were all filled in. The last generation’s wells may have been good for them, but many times that generation’s water is either dried up, or filled in.
5. Our Enemies Delights In Filling In Wells – Genesis 26:15b: You need to realize every day that the enemy hates your well. So every day the enemy will look for ways to fill in your wells. The devil will do anything to stop the flow of God’s Spirit in your life.
6. You Must Make Up Your Mind To Open The Wells – Genesis 26:18: (Sometimes old and sometimes new.) You have to be more determined to open the wells than the devil is to fill them in. If you have a great desire for the water, you will have a great determination to dig. The devil throws a lot of stuff in the well, but you must empty your well of everything but God.
THE MEANING OF THE FOUR WELLS ISAAC DUG
The Meanings Of The Names Of These Four Wells is an encouragement to us to keep pressing on with God. We see every new well has a great meaning, a greater level with God.
1. Esek - Well Of Contention (Genesis 26:20): The first well that must be opened in our walk with God - the place where we contend with the enemy. It is the place of early struggles in our lives. It is the place where every day seems to be a battle, living for God seems to be a task, and sometimes discouragement seems to weigh us down. But the news is God doesn’t want us to stay at Esek anyway. In the midst of the battle, God moves us on, and we open a new well.
2. Sitnah - The Well Of Separation (Genesis 26:21): Sitnah is a great well that every Christian must open in life. It is called enmity between us and the world. The world hates us, so we dig the well of separation. It is a hard well to dig, it is a stepping out with God. Away from any comfort zone, it is a moving to another level. Things get left behind, there are struggles here, just like at Esek, but at this place we tell the Devil, we declare war on you at this well. You may have filled up our wells before, but you will never fill them up again.
3. Rehoboth - The Well Of Rooms (Genesis 26:22): The Lord has made room for us. The Lord has enlarged us, He will cause us to be fruitful here. This is a well of maturity, it is the well of those who have made it through many struggles, and now God has made room for them. "If you will make room for God in your life, God will make room for you." Rehoboth is the place where instead of the enemy moving you, you have moved the enemy. God has enlarged you; everywhere you go becomes Holy Ground. You can’t get to this place without Esek and without Sitnah. Many people never reach this place because they give up or burn out in the struggles of opening wells. Today, keep digging, keep believing God’s promises for your life. If you will press on, if you will live by faith, you will arrive at Rehoboth.
4. Shebah - The Well Of Seven-Fold Blessings (Genesis 26:33): My prayer is that we all drink from the well of Shebah. Isaac has come to the place in his life that is God’s goal for His children. We have made our share of mistakes, lost battles and moved on, until we have arrived at the place where God has settled us in the Spirit. We hear the news in Rehoboth (“we have room”), we hear the news in Shebah (“we hit water, and we are going to be blessed here”). In Genesis 26:23-33 we see the blessings of making it to Shebah. I encourage you, make it to the last well, because it is the best well. God has saved the best for last. If you don’t quit, if you don’t give up, your end will be better than your beginning. (I prophesy that Beersheba shall be your last stop.)
CONCLUSION: HERE ARE THE BLESSINGS GOD DISPENSES AT SHEBAH
1. Genesis 26:24 - Don’t fear, I am with you - the blessing of your last well is God’s presence in your life continually.
2. Genesis 26:24c - You are about to be multiplied. I am going to give you years of increase. You won’t walk in lack but in plenty.
3. Genesis 26:26-31 - Your enemy will be afraid of you. The devil won’t have you on the run, you will have the devil on the run.
4. Genesis 26:32 - Every time you dig you will find water. This is the place of God’s children. They don’t live hit and miss lives. They draw near to God, and God is there.
5. Genesis 26:33 - Your well becomes a city. You begin to walk in God’s favor, people are drawn to your well. This is the place that God reveals, what I did in the last generation, I will do in this generation.
INTERCESSORY PRAYER – AGAINST MY PROGRESS.
1. I rebuke and dismantle satanic alliances and arrest them by your spirit in Jesus’ Name.
2. Let every covert and clandestine efforts and endeavor against me fail in Jesus’ Name.
3. Lord, please disappoint the devices that they have crafted so that their hands cannot perform their enterprises.
4. Lord Jesus, take them in their own crafty and devious ways.
5. Let them meet with darkness in the day time and grope in the noonday as in the might in Jesus’ Name.
6. Lord, release divine viruses to invade every satanic database and command that they be consumed and destroyed.
7. Let all future diabolical communications and networking against me fail in Jesus’ Name.
8. Any attempt to connive against me shall only yield misunderstanding in Jesus’ Name.
9. Lord, send a spirit of confusion among my enemies in in Jesus’ Name.
10. My God, I pray that their tongues be divided in Jesus’ Name.
11. Lord, overrule and overthrow sabotage, subversions and setbacks against me in Jesus’ Name.
12. Let every attack of retaliation against me fail. I pray all these in Jesus’ Name.
PRAYER FOR ISRAEL: CUFI ISRAEL PLEDGE
1. I believe that the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient land of Israel, and that the modern State of Israel is the fulfillment of this historic right.
2. I maintain that there is no excuse for acts of terrorism against Israel and that Israel has the same right as every other nation to defend her citizens from such violent attacks.
3. I pledge to stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel and to speak out on their behalf whenever and wherever necessary until the attacks stop and they are finally living in peace and security with their neighbors.
