Genesis 26:12 - Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.
This verse talks about a person called Isaac. Isaac sowed in a land and he was blessed with a hundredfold harvest
What makes this blessing special?
An agriculturist would definitely agree with me that getting a hundredfold harvest is not that easy. Even with good soil, perfect sunlight and rain, getting a 90% yield is considered a good harvest.
However, what kind of land did Isaac sow in?
Genesis 26:2 – Isaac sowed in the land of Gerar. Gerar was a very dry land. The soil of that land was such that even when all the climatic conditions are favorable, Gerar would yield only 60% of crops.
Genesis 26:1 – Isaac sowed in Gerar, not during favorable condition, but during the time of famine.
And he was miraculously blessed with a hundredfold harvest.
During famine, when everyone around him were literally dying due to lack of food, Isaac reaped a 100-fold harvest. This made him so prosperous that others in the land envied him (Genesis 26:13,14).
Who was this Isaac? Why should he receive such a special blessing?
Isaac was the son of Abraham (father of faith), born to him when he was 100 years of old. He was the son of promise.
From the Bible, let us meditate on some special characters of Isaac that helped him be a blessed man.
1. Man of obedience
When there was a famine in the land, like anyone else, Isaac had his own plans to escape the famine. He decided to go down to Egypt.
In fact, Isaac’s father Abraham did the very same thing during famine (Genesis 12:10).
He probably would have decided to flee to Egypt thinking, “My father fled to Egypt during the times of famine. Let me follow his footsteps.”
It was common for people those days to go to Egypt during famine because during all famines, Egypt always had excess crops. How come? Egypt is also a very arid land seldom receiving enough rainfall for a good harvest. But the land of Egypt is blessed with the Nile river. This river has its headquarters located deep in the mountains of Africa. So, drought in Egypt does not affect the Nile since its source of flow is in Africa.
Isaac draws out this plan to escape the famine. However, the Lord forbade him
Genesis 26:2 - Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.”
The Lord promised to bless Isaac but he had his part to do. Isaac had to obey God and cancel his plan of going down to Egypt but remain in the land of famine. Now, Isaac had to put his faith in the providence of God and sow in the land. This required faith. Food was scarce. The grains could have become food for his family. But Isaac sowed them as seeds in the soil that was dry and barren. There was every possibility for those seeds to dry up because of poor soil and no rains. He could have been mocked by the people around him for his foolishness. But still, Isaac sowed.
He did his part putting his faith in God to do His part. And indeed, God blessed him with a great and abundant harvest.
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
If he had gone to Egypt, he would have barely made a living with his family as a refugee. But obedience led to a great blessing.
Illustration – There was a boy who went trekking on the mountain. He reached a great height when he realized that it was getting dark and he had to reach the bottom soon. He began climbing down. It was getting darker and darker, so dark that he could barely see. He was somehow managing to get down the mountain supporting with his hands and feet. Suddenly, his feet slipped. He fell and caught hold of the branch of the tree. He was holding the branch tight enough since that was his only support. He began shouting, “Is there anybody to help me out.” No reply! He kept yelling and yelling. Finally, he heard a soft still voice. “Yes, I am there to help you.” Greatly excited, he shouted, “Thank you, May I know who you are?” Quick came the reply, “I am God. I will help you, but you will have to remove your hands off the branch. Not willing to do so, the boy kept hanging all through the night and finally died. The next morning, the villagers saw the dead boy and found out that the branch on which he was hanging was just two feet above the ground.
Had he listened to the voice of God, his life would have been saved.
Isaac had practiced this obedience when he was still young.
Abraham offered Isaac on Mt. Moriah.
How old do you think was Isaac?
Genesis 21:1 – Isaac was born
Genesis 21:8 – child grew and was weaned.
Genesis 21:34 – Abraham stayed in the land of Philistines many days
Genesis 22:1 – After these things, God tested Abraham
Genesis 22:6 - So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.
This means that Isaac was big enough to walk up the mountain carrying wood on his head.
Many Bible scholars say that Isaac must have been a teenager.
Forget his age, a person who could walk up the mountain carrying wood on his head was old enough to resist his 100+ years old father from sacrificing him.
However, he was obedient to his father. Probably, he trusted his father’s words – God will provide for Himself the lamb for burnt offering.
Application:
In the same way, God expects obedience from us. He is willing to bless us but on the condition that we obey Him.
Bible is filled with promises and blessings to live a happy life. But most of these promises are conditional.
Deuteronomy 28:1 - “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
Malachi 3:10 - Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Psalm 91 provides a list of promises.
However, those promises are for those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.
2. Seeker of peace
Another notable character of Isaac was that he was a man who always sought to be at peace with everybody.
Isaac was blessed by God. His prosperity got the attention of his Philistine neighbours and they become envious. Their attitude towards him changed. They felt threatened by his blessings.
Genesis 26:15 - Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.
They stopped the wells that were dug by Isaac’s father Abraham and so rightly belonged to Isaac.
Genesis 26:16 – King Abimelech sent him away. Isaac did not contend with him but departed.
Not all will be happy when we are blessed. When David was blessed, Saul’s face turned. When Joseph dreamt of being blessed, his brothers envied him.
Genesis 26:19 – Isaac moved from there and Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water. Even there, jealous people began to quarrel with him.
Genesis 26:20 - But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.
The well was dug by Isaac’s servants and rightly belonged to Isaac. But still, the men of Gerar quarrelled with him. You may also have faced situations where people quarrel with you for no reason.
Here again, Isaac did not retaliate. He left the well and went to another place.
Isaac had all rights to fight back. He had the manpower to resist the Philistines. Still he decided not to fight back. What a man of peace!
He began digging another well. But the Philistines quarrelled over that as well.
Genesis 26:21 - Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that one also. So, he called its name Sitnah.
Isaac moved from there as well and dug another well. What a man of peace!
Genesis 26:22a - And he moved from there and dug another well
The Philistines did not quarrel over it. They were probably ashamed of their bad doings.
Genesis 26:22b - …. they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
Next, came a strange turn of events. People who were jealous of him and hated him without cause now came to make peace treaty with him.
Genesis 26:26-29
Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’”
That is what we read in
Proverbs 16:7 - When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Even today God expects us to be at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18 - If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
It is easy to be at peace with those who are in friendly relationships with us. But what do we learn from the life of Isaac? We need to be at peace even with those who are jealous of us, hate us and quarrel with us for no reason.
Psalms 34:14 - Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
3. Man of prayer
Genesis 24:63 - And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.
Isaac went to meditate during the evening hours. (I believe it was his custom to do so).
What was the circumstance that time? Abraham’s servant was bringing a bride for Isaac from his father’s relatives. We are not sure if Isaac had seen Rebekah before since Isaac was brought up in the land of Canaan. Imagine the anxiety and excitement he would have had! Even that time, Isaac went to meditate in the field.
Even in Genesis 26, I believe that Isaac would have prayed to God over the decision of moving to Egypt. That was why, God intervened and guided him in the correct path.
Genesis 25:21 - Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
When Isaac’s wife Rebekah couldn’t give birth to children, because she was barren, Isaac prayed for her. The Lord answered his prayers and blessed him with twins (first twins mentioned in the Bible).
Conclusion:
Do you want to reap a hundred-fold harvest?
-Be obedient to God irrespective of the circumstances
-Always seek peace and pursue it
-Take everything to God in prayer
