Isaac’s Return
Genesis 26:24-33
Do you remember when your kids were little and they would mimic things that you did? I can remember my sons doing this in their early years. Whether it was mowing the lawn, washing the car, jogging, lifting weights, or many other things, they tended to copy my actions or even the things I’d say (and sometimes with embarrassing results). Your kids watched you, copied what you did or said, and learned much of what it means to be a man or woman by your example.
Well, our SS lesson today takes a look at a small portion of Isaac’s life, and it’s easy to see that his life mirrors his father, Abraham’s life. Much of what we have recorded of Abraham’s life, is copied in Isaac’s life. This 26th chapter of Genesis is the only chapter where Isaac is the main character, and his life is covered by highlighting the trials he had to face. Both prior to this chapter and after, Isaac is presented only as a secondary character in the life stories of others.
Our chapter today, Genesis 26, begins with a famine in the land. This is not the famine we read of during Abraham’s time, though we see Isaac doing much the same thing that his father did to an Egyptian Pharaoh, and then again to another Abimelech in the same land of the Philistines. Isaac, probably weakened by the famine and fearful that he’d lose all his inherited wealth, decided to move to Egypt, just like his father did years earlier. However, God told him not to go to Egypt, but to stay in the land He had promised him. Isaac’s half-hearted obedience, not going to Egypt, but not returning to the promised land, led to his confrontation with Abimelech, the leader of Gerar. He lied about his wife, Rebekah, just like his father lied about Sarah, but when Abimelech caught him goofing off with his wife in the garden, just like he confronted Abraham, he confronted Jacob also.
Now Jacob’s Abimelech probably wasn’t the same Abimelech his father Abraham dealt with. Back in those days, it wasn’t uncommon for the son to take the name of his father, like Abimelech I and Abimelech II, and so on. But it’s also possible that Abimelech was just a title like king, emperor, pharoah, we just don’t know. But Isaac eventually became so great and wealthy in the land of the Philistines that they became jealous and filled in the wells he and his father had dug with dirt. And of course, having no access to water would cause great hardship to his livestock and any crops he planted. It eventually got bad enough that Abimelech, himself came to him and asked him to leave the country out of fear for his strength. The people were treating him wrong, and Abimelech probably felt that Isaac might retaliate.
But Isaac isn’t Abraham. He wasn’t the kind of person who began wars, so he responded to Abimelech’s recommendation by moving away, sort of. He moved out of Gerar, but he camped in the valley of Gerar, probably just a few miles away. He then redug the wells his father Abraham had dug, but the local herdsmen claimed it was their water. He then dug another well which the local herdsmen also fought over. Isaac could easily have fought over these wells. They belonged to his father, so he had every right to them, but rather than fighting, he acted in meekness and moved a little further on. At this new place he again dug a well and no one contested it. So, he called it Rehoboth, which means plenty of space or room, because the Lord had made room for him.
You know, God uses the trials and trouble we go through to drive us to Him. He wants us to go back to the hope of the promised land. When we turn from God; when we allow our hope in the promised land of heaven to wain or grow dim, God disciplines us. He allows trouble and trials to afflict us and push us back to himself. And I think that is why Isaac made his move from Rehoboth to Beersheba. Because Beersheba would have reminded him of happier times and fond memories.
It was in Beersheba that his father, Abraham, maybe something like 100 years earlier, made a covenant or a treaty with his Philistine neighbors much like what Isaac will do with the same Philistine neighbors in our text today. It’s also where Abraham built an altar and worshipped God like Isaac will also do in our text today. Abraham moved his whole ranching operation to Beersheba after offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah.
Now, Isaac won’t be offering any human sacrifices, but he does move his operation to Beersheba. However, I do find something interesting in later chapters about Isaac and his relationship with God. You see, there are many places where we read of the God of Abraham, God of Jacob, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but in chapter 31, twice Jacob, his son, mentions the God of his father Isaac as “the fear of Isaac” in 31:42 and “the fear of his father Isaac” in 31:53. The fear of Isaac. Now that’s interesting because the fear of the Lord usually means the respect, the admiration, to be in awe of the Lord. And I’m sure Isaac held all those feelings for God, but I think when we consider his history, being offered up as a sacrifice by his father to God, maybe “fear” means much more to him than we think.
Maybe he had a very real fear of God. He experienced having his hands tied. He experienced being lifted and laid out on that pile of wood. He saw that knife rise up and get ready for the downward plunge. He also experienced that great fear of pain and death disappear immediately when the Lord stopped his father’s hand. For someone who’s gone through all of that, the phrase, the fear of the Lord would hold a much deeper meaning, don’t you think?
So, Isaac is back in Beersheba. He has faced nothing but strife, contention, opposition, and hostility. But now the memories of good times, the joys of life, the close fellowship with God, they all drew him back to this place. He had been following God only half-heartedly. He had been living on the border of the promised land, so to speak, one foot in and one foot out. But now was the time to jump in. Time to quit trusting in the world, he needed a fresh start, a new look at the face of God. Only the Lord God of his father could erase his fears and protect him from his enemies. Only the fear of Isaac could fulfill the promises made to his father which are now transferred to himself.
Gen 26:24-33 The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham." [25] So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well. [26] Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. [27] Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?" [28] They said, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, [29] that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'" [30] Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. [31] In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. [32] Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." [33] So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
After Isaac returned to the land he never should have left, the Lord appeared to him after much uncertainty in his life. He identified Himself as the God of his father Abraham and then told him, “Do not fear.” As I’ve already mentioned, Isaac had plenty of reasons to fear the God of Abraham, but that phrase, “Do not fear” is said often in the Scriptures whenever heaven comes into contact with earth. Whether heaven appears as an angelic being or a vision of the Almighty, fear is a natural, initial reaction in mortal men.
Fear is a bitter experience to suffer through, and far too many of us have been gripped by it for far too long. But friends, God is the answer to fear. When His presence comes among us and we remember His promises, we can conquer fear through faith, faith in the God who loved us so much that He sent us His only Son to us and for us. Up to this point, Isaac has been pretty half-hearted in his faith, but that’s about to change for him and for those of us who are willing to follow his example by…
1. Embracing God’s Promises
Gen 26:23-24 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. [24] The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."
Now, I don’t know if Isaac had lost sight of the promises that God had made to his father Abraham, but it is possible that over time and through all the pushing and shoving and contentions he’d experienced from his neighbors, those promises might have grown a little dim in his sight. But what we do know is that God appeared to him and reaffirmed His promises to Abraham and reassured Isaac that those promises were now his. The God of Abraham was the fear of Isaac, and He would bless Isaac and multiply his offspring. Just as He had promised to Abraham, He now promised to Abraham’s son, Isaac.
Isaac followed in his father’s footsteps, for good and for bad it would appear, but God’s promises extend beyond individual merit because they are rooted in His divine purpose. God’s promises are unchanging and reliable, and for us as Christians we find that in Christ, 2Co 1:20 …as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. All God's OT and NT promises of peace, joy, love, goodness, forgiveness, salvation, sanctification, fellowship, hope, glorification, and heaven are made possible to us in Christ and we give our “amen” to this fact to the glory of God!
The promises to Abraham were given to Isaac, and he again embraced them, just as we should embrace God’s promises to us and…
2. Respond with Worship
Gen 26:25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there…
Just like his father Abraham, after meeting with God in this place, Isaac built an altar and worshipped. It’s the only altar that we know of that Isaac built. Which makes this response even more pivotal because it illustrates obedient faith and grateful acknowledgement of God’s presence and promises. The language behind this carries the idea that he continued to worship God there. In other words, the altar he built was the place where he would go day by day to worship and experience his closest relationship with God.
Now, I know that we don’t build literal altars today where we offer up animal sacrifices, but we should have some place special where we can meet with God, read His word, pray, and offer up songs of praise from our heart. To many people, the local church is such a place, but for the most part the local church is where we go once or twice a week to worship together as a corporate body. But as individuals, our worship should be continual, daily. Each and every one of us should have someplace where we can go daily. Do you have such a place? Do you take advantage of it daily?
What we see in Isaac’s life is many years of a half-hearted commitment, but that began to change once he fully obeyed God and returned to the land. It was in this place, he again embraced the promises of God and responded to God’s presence in his life with worship. But worship without action is the same as faith without works. One needs the other. Responding to God with worship is good, but we also need to…
3. Act in Faith
Gen 26:25 …and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
Gen 26:32-33 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." [33] So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
In faith, Isaac dug wells which is symbolic of trusting in God’s provision. Where surface water is in short supply, wells have to be dug. The last well he dug that wasn’t contested was called Rehoboth, but then he moved on to Beersheba, so he had to start digging again. Each well represents a claim to the promises of God and is an act of worship and obedience because a well symbolizes permanence, that you are going to stay in this place.
The well paves the way for fruitfulness. Wherever you go, water is life. It is one of the essential elements needed for life. Any planet that doesn’t have water, simply cannot and could never support life, and the same is true down here on planet earth. This is why we dig or today we drill for water. It is necessary for our survival wherever we live. Our plants, crops, animals, and we ourselves have got to have it, and once we find water, and especially in dry and arid places, we tend to stick around. That water source is like an anchor; it keeps us where we are.
So, Isaac’s search for water and digging wells was an act of faith that God would provide in this place. And when those wells were dug even with contention all around, it was also an act of faith that God would also protect. In faith Isaac knew that God would not only provide for his needs, but would also protect and provide opportunity for Isaac to…
4. Seek Peace
Gen 26:28-31 They said, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, [29] that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'" [30] Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. [31] In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace.
God had just met Isaac’s need and eased his fear, but his neighbors still stood against him. Peace needed to be made between Isaac and his neighbors, and behind the scenes we can see that God has been moving and arousing fear in the hearts of Abimelech, his advisors, and his military. They began to fear that if Isaac decided to make a military move against them, they might not be able to handle it. They had been watching how that his God had grown and prospered him. His house was strong, and so they felt that a peace treaty, a non-aggression pact was needed. Abimelech and his military commander, Phicol, had made a similar agreement with Abraham many years earlier, and now it was time to reach a similar agreement with Isaac.
Now remember, Abimelech was probably the son of the previous Abimelech, or maybe that was a title given to whoever the current ruler was. It would also appear that Phicol may also have been a title. But whether it was or wasn’t, neither of them wanted to be harmed by Isaac, just as he had not been harmed by them. So, they came to Beersheba and Isaac in peace, seeking peace.
And Isaac was more than happy to live in peace with them. He forgot the past and welcomed and received Abimelech, Ahuzzah, and Phicol, and celebrated the occasion with a ceremonial feast, and then the next morning the two parties swore their oaths of peace and then Abimelech and his counselors left for home.
That very day, God blessed Isaac with the news that his men had struck water, and the idea behind this is that it was a gusher. Abraham had given this place the name Beersheba. Beer means well, and sheba means oath. So, in both Abraham’s time and in Isaac’s time, water has been found, and oaths of peace had been made in this place.
After Isaac’s return to the land and the renewal of his commitment to God, God has demonstrated His faithfulness to His covenantal promises with physical blessing and provision for Isaac’s needs. Our God is faithful, folks. What He has promised will come to pass and His blessings will bear fruit in all who love and trust Him. Though we may stumble along the way like Isaac, we need to remember that the trials and troubles we experience are designed to bring us back into the land, into relationship with Himself.
I would recommend that you go forth this week and dig deep, dig your well, into the promises God has for you. Trust Him enough to act on His word. Endeavor to live in peace and let His light shine through you in all that you do. Remember, God is with you just as He was with Abraham and Isaac. He is your Shepherd, Guide, and Provider. Embrace His promises and rest in His unchanging faithfulness.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unwavering faithfulness. Help us to learn like Isaac did, to trust in Your promises and to live in peace with others. Guide us to act in faith and to worship You in all circumstances. May our lives reflect Your goodness, and may we ever abide in Your presence.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
