The Struggles of Faith (Genesis Pt. 45)
Text: Genesis 26:18-35
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
Now if you remember last time, we looked at Isaac and how God told him to not go to Egypt, even though there was a famine in the land. And so Isaac obeyed God, but then he got into sin. God worked it out, and then confirmed the covenant with him, and then God blessed him with a huge herd of livestock and possessions. And we closed last week by talking about how even when God blesses you, there are going to be problems in the world. Often times when God blesses you, worldly people are going to be envious of you… and sometimes even Christian people are going to be envious of you.
Well what we’re seeing here in our text is Isaac has been blessed, and all of a sudden his neighbors are jealous and envious of his blessings.
If you look at verses 18 – 22 you’ll see Isaac has some trouble with his neighbors. But at the same time, God is blessing him. And in this we are going to see Isaac actually model good Christian behavior for us in all of this. Yeah; last time he modeled how to be a bone head, but this week, in the second half of this chapter, he’s going to show us the proper way to deal with worldly people. Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” And that’s what Isaac does. He tries to keep the peace, and he waits for God to make things right.
So… God blesses him, and all of a sudden the Philistines come and fill in all of his wells. Now first off, they’ve broken the covenant that they had made with Abraham and our text, in verse 18 begins by saying that Isaac re-dug the wells and called them by the same names that Abraham had called them.
So what that’s showing us is that Isaac, respected his father. He didn’t go renaming the wells, or anything like that. He kept the same names. So he respected Abraham, but even maybe even more importantly; it’s telling us that even though the Philistines seem to have forgotten their obligations to the covenant that they made with Abraham, Isaac hasn’t forgotten them. And so by his calling the wells by their original names, he’s subtly reminding them that they made a deal with Abraham and they need to keep it.
And then; in verses 19 – 21, Isaac digs some new wells, but we read that the herdsmen of Gerar show up and say, “Hey, that water is ours!” Now I don’t know about ya’ll but this is the kind of thing that gets my blood boiling. If you think about it… that water had been there, and at any point in time, these herdsmen could’ve gone and dug it up, but they didn’t. Then when Isaac actually puts forth the effort and the work, and digs the well, all of a sudden these guys show up and think they are entitled to it. This is the same mentality that is causing the riots in London, and a lot of the problems we have here in the U.S.
But you notice, Isaac is the better man here. He moves away. And when they do it again, he moves even further away. The herdsmen were the ones in the wrong, but Isaac understands that it isn’t worth fighting and killing people over, and so he moves away. Verse 22 tells us that he found a place where there was plenty of room and he could live in peace. And it’s interesting, because he credits the Lord with this. He could’ve easily said, “Man, I’m glad I decided to keep moving, because look at the place I’ve managed to find.” But instead he gives the glory and the credit to God.
So what we’re seeing here is Isaac continuing to grow in his faith. He’s trusting God in this instance, and he believes that God is somehow, someway, going to work this all out. And so Isaac doesn’t take up arms and fight these guys… he doesn’t claim his rights of the covenant that Abraham had made… he just seeks to be at peace, and seeks to be pleasing to God, and trusts that God is going to work things out. And this is the kind of thing that used to drive me crazy when I would see it in people… because I would confuse it for being passive. But this isn’t passivity here. IT’S FAITH! Isaac trusted that God was going to work things out.
And look what happens… in verses 23 – 25, we see God reiterate His promises to Isaac. So God knows what Isaac’s been going through, He knows… and right in the middle of all his struggles, God comes and encourages Isaac by telling him the covenant promises once again. And I’ll tell ya’… there are few things that are more comforting when you’re going through a trial, than God’s promises. Knowing God’s Word, and God’s promises to those who belong to Him, will get you through the tough times and the hard times in life. And so God reiterates, and reassures Isaac. He tells him, “Don’t be afraid.” There’s an old saying that goes, “The man who fears God, need fear nothing else.” And so God tells him not to be afraid, and that He is going to bless Isaac… and then you notice the last part of verse 24 – God is going to do this for Abraham’s sake.
That’s a picture of grace. God isn’t going to do all of this because of anything Isaac’s done. He’s doing it for Abraham’s sake. And I say that’s a picture of grace, because that’s exactly how it is with us as Christians. All that God gives us – forgiveness of sins, redemption, justification, salvation, sanctification, and eventually glorification… He gives us all those things and so much more… for CHRIST’S SAKE! All of those things are ours, because of what Jesus did! Not what we do, or don’t do. It’s because of Jesus.
You see; God doesn’t say, “Isaac, I’m doing this because you’re a good person…” No; not at all, God says He’s doing what He’s doing, and none of it is based on Isaac at all.
And look at Isaac’s response to this… verse 25 (Read).
He worships. Just about every time you see Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob build an altar, it’s done as a response to hearing from God; or encountering God. God tells them something, or blesses them in some way, and they build an altar. Now that’s the exact opposite of the pagan religions. Pagan’s would build an altar in an attempt to try and manipulate their gods into blessing them or giving them some kind of favor. But God’s people are to worship in spirit and in truth. They are to worship out of awe and a grateful heart.
I’ll tell you what, it makes me want to throw up every time I hear one of those TV preachers say that you give your tithes and offerings in order to get something from God. That’s pure paganism. Giving is worship. Let me tell you why a Christian gives. He gives because he is thankful that God has made him a steward over what he has, and giving is an act of faith saying, “God I know that you’ve given me these things, and I know that you can take care of me, even though I don’t have the full 100%.” We give as a means of thanks and worship, and praise, for what we’ve already been given… not so that we can manipulate God into giving us more.
You can’t manipulate God, and you’re a fool if you try to.
Alright; let’s go on… In verses 26 to the end of the chapter, we see Abimelech come back into the picture. Abimelech comes to Isaac and basically says, “Look, Isaac… we know that God has blessed you, so we want to be on your good side.” And this is something that we’ll see a couple of times in Genesis, as well as other places in Scripture.
Here you have an unbeliever, a pagan, but he recognizes God’s favor and blessings on Isaac. And not only that, but he realizes that by just being around Isaac, he is blessed as well. We’ll see that more prominently when we get to the story of Jacob and Laban. And what this is – is actually part of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Remember God told Abraham that He would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him. And we actually see that carry over into the New Testament… in 1st Corinthians 7 when we see the unbelieving husband or wife who is sanctified by their believing spouse. And we see it in history. That’s why western nations that started out with a Christian base and Christian principles were blessed by the Lord. It’s also why we see nations that move away from their Christian foundations and principles become less and less prosperous and blessed.
So Abimelech realizes this, and he comes to Isaac and says, “We see God is blessing you, and that God blesses those who are around you, so we want to get back in good with you.” And even though the Philistines had broken their covenant that they had made with Abraham, and had driven Isaac away; he’s gracious to them… and that’s something that happens when you see how gracious God has been to you… you’re more gracious to others. When you think of what God has forgiven you of, it’s easier to forgive others… when you see how much grace He has given you, it’s easier to give grace to others. And so Isaac and Abimelech make a deal, and God blesses Isaac. But I want you to notice the very last thing we read in this chapter. It’s about Esau and his family… and how they are becoming a burden to Isaac and his family.
The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
We see here something about the character of Esau… If you remember Abraham didn’t want Isaac marrying the people of the land… he had his servant go and pick a wife from his own people, not from the Philistines or the Hittites. But Esau, he just goes out and finds himself two Hittite women and marries them. And if you remember; God had told Abraham that He would judge the Hittites and that they would not possess the land. And what Scripture is implying here is that there’s actually a spiritual reality behind all of this stuff that’s taking place in the physical world. Esau’s doing all of this because of the condition of his soul… his heart isn’t right with God, and so you see how it’s playing out in his life.
And so what we’re seeing here is that even though God is blessing Isaac, and even though God is working to ensure that His promises are fulfilled… this war between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman is going to continue to rage on. Even though God blesses you, and even though God promises to take care of us, that doesn’t mean that life is going to be a walk in the park. Life is going to be hard. There will be some people who see that you’re blessed and want in on the action. They don’t want anything to do with God, or Jesus, they just want the blessings. They don’t want anything to do with church… they just want God to make it rain, or God to make them win the lottery, or… a free trip to Falls Creek… and on and on it goes. And then there’s others who are more blatantly against us. They will openly sin. And to be honest, I would rather deal with those kinds of people, because at least I know where they stand. The point is; God is in control regardless. Know and understand that there will be good and bad in life, and live for Him anyway.
LET’S PRAY
