INTRODUCTION: As we approach the time for Vacation Bible School, I would like for us to take a look at some of the lessons our children will work through. Today I have chosen the story of the Isaac’s contention with the Philistines over wells. Our VBS material uses this story to teach the children something of what it means to endure the ill meanings of others and patiently move toward peace.
As we prepare to read this story from Genesis 26:12-34, I will give you a little background on the situation that led up to these tensions.
V1 2nd Famine
V2 The Lord tells Isaac not to go to Egypt but to wait out the famine in Gerar
V3 Promise of Blessing
"I Will perform the oath I swore to your father."
V8 Isaac gets caught in a lie (no indication he had been blessed yet) (strongly suggests God withheld blessing him until he came clean)
V12 that same year (where we start tonight’s sermon) the Lord blessed him a hundredfold
As you prepare to read along with me from verse 12 to verse 33, I want you to circle and underline some key points and phrases:
1.v 12 circle then Isaac sowed
2.v 14 dbl underline verb "envied"
3.v 15 dbl underline phrases "stopped up" and "filled with dirt"
4.v 18 dbl underline phrases "dug again" and "called"
5.v 20 circle Esek
6.v 21 circle Sitnah
7.v 22 circle Rehoboth and dbl underline "the Lord has made room"
8. v 32 circle "Sheba"
Are you loose? Is everyone warmed up? OK, here we go ... READ 12-33
Prayer
TEXTUAL IDEA: This story shows us that Isaac doesn’t get his blessing until he gets right. Isaac’s blessings result in his making enemies. Isaac’s trust in the Lord enable him to patiently endure the situation until the Lord gives him a peaceful solution.
SERMON IDEA: Four Wells, Four Ways to enduring strife along the road to peace.
DIVISION 1: Meeting Resistance
Explain: When you meet resistance in your Christian walk, return to a time / place you could positively identify as the center of God’s will and His presence.
Reasoning: Let’s follow Isaac’s steps as he faced resistance from the Philistine Herdsmen. We can learn much from his initial steps.
1.Reclaimed wells his father dug - v 17 & 18
a. showed ownership
b. last known location of God’s blessings
c. but he stayed within the confines of God’s last instructions (remain in Gerar)
2.Quarrel begins when his servants find water in Gerar
a. ownership disputed
b. named the well esek = strife
(1) still striving for peace
(2) contention with other herdsmen
3.v Isaac seeks a peaceful solution
DIVISION 2: Identify the Source of Strife
a. digs another well in the same place
b. doesn’t give up ground yet
c. doesn’t let it go, but doesn’t focus his energy on the people quarreling with him
d. he stays focus on the task of getting water
e. the strife doesn’t go away, and they argue over that one - This is point Isaac realizes the source of the conflict is not coming from where he is spiritually. By naming the well, Sitnah, Isaac is making a public affirmation that this conflict is one of Satan’s efforts not God’s. "And he moved away from there" good choice. Isaac is not only moving away from Satan, he is avoiding taking things into his own hands. Isaac is avoiding physical violence. (Isaac is the bigger of the two contenders here. He might have easily been tempted to throw his weight around and at least have secured the wells and the area until the local herdsmen could get reinforcements from elsewhere.) Remember, Abilemech knows God is blessing Isaac, but Isaac chooses to trust God rather than count on Abilemech’s fear of the Lord. He stays focused on the task the Lord has given him: getting blessed
Illustration on staying focused: My karate instructor was a Rescue Swimmer in the US Coast Guard. To teach the kids in our program to stay focused on the task when a lot was going on around them, he used the phrase "eyes in the boat". If you heard him say that in class that meant he sensed a student becoming distracted. If he said it a second time, anyone who felt the comment applied to them would automatically drop for pushups and then return to whatever they were doing better focused. If, on the second "eyes in the boat", no one made the necessary corrections, everybody ended up doing push ups. Many times he would refer to only one student but others would drop for push ups also, as they knew they too had lost focus.
DIVISION 3: Make Necessary Adjustments
Explain: v 22 Isaac moves
a. digs another well
b. call the well Rehoboth = distance or room
Reasoning:
(1)Let me describe what is happening here in Self Defense Terms. When someone takes a swing at you it is not always a good idea to stop their fist in mid flight. Jesus said "turn the other cheek". What I am about to show you is one way of doing that... this is the first punching attack in the form of martial arts I teach. That punch is traveling along a certain path. I should be aware of the differences in its path, the one I’m on, and where they intersect. As a Christian I have options here, I can stop that fist at all cost, and they are usually high. I can change its path to one that doesn’t effect me. I can change my path to one that takes me out of harms way. Or I can use a combination of these choices.
(2)Spiritually, If I have nothing else going on (possibly due to my own sin) the best choice is to stop that punch at all cost.
(3)Spiritually, If I am on a path from which I should not deviate, the best choice is to change its course with the least amount of energy.
(4)Spiritually, If I am on a path that is taking me in the general direction I need to go, but am testing the spirits to discern God’s specific will, I have the freedom to make slight changes in both my path and the the path of the punch.
(5)Every situation is different and requires a different choice. But I strongly recommend you focus on what God is doing. Do not focus all your energy on that punch unless it represents the sin in your life or someone else’s life that God wants you to deal with.
(6)The last point I want to make here refers back to the name "distance" or "room" Isaac gave this well. A fundamental concept we teach our students is to control the distance between you and your assailant. By controlling that distance you give yourself the best chance at avoiding negative energy. Isaac chose a distance that would allow him to focus on God and not the herdsmen. If you are continually dealing with the same junk, it may be that you have to distance yourself from the source, from that sin. If you are close to the Throne Room, that distance is already established for you. God doesn’t let that stuff in His presence.
c. He expected the Lord’s blessing
d. He honored the Lord in word and deed (built an altar)
e. They start digging another well
f. His enemies make peace with him because he is blest. Now that is not how man does things. If a man starts out jealous of what you have and God blesses you more, it is not in his sinful nature to be happy about it. He’s going to hate you even more. What we see here is God at work in the heart of Abimelech, working repentance and reconciliation. If someone has something against you because of your relationship with Jesus it is important that learn from Isaac and do nothing that would interfere with God working repentance in their life. If you are an Abimelech, that is you are a source of contention in another Christians life, look at the reconciliation vv 26 - 31 describe:
(1) Go to that person with all the cards on the table: Abimelech took a friend and his commander with him. No hidden agendas
(2) Keep the focus on what God is doing. Confess and voice repentance only to the extent necessary
(3) Restore fellowship - the purpose to the feast and staying the night
DIVISION 4: Honor God
Recognize that through the pain and suffering of this world God provides a path to peace through a relationship with Him. When Isaac named the last well Sheba (a word play using the words seven = perfect and oath = God’s promise) he was praising God for perfectly fulfilling his promise.
CONCLUSION: This is where I call you out. No more exposing the truths of the Scriptures, it is time for me to encourage you to act on what God has tasked you with today. So we are going back to the idea of the Rescue Swimmer. There are a few other points of interest about that concept that I hope motivate you to come forward during this invitation and settle up with the Lord:
When a rescue swimmer keeps his eyes in the boat:
(1.) He pays attention to what is important (people and the equip needed to save lives). Isaac paid attention to what was important to God.
(2) A Rescue Swimmer doesn’t react to unnecessary threats.
Isaac had experienced enough of the Lord’s care to know where the real threat came from.
When the skies are dark and cloudy, the wind is straining the cable holding you to the chopper, and the waves are tossing you around like a wet noodle you better have an effective faith. Just hoping this is what God wants usually want keep your eyes in the boat. That type of faith usually blinds you. But an effective faith empowers you to act consistently with your creators intent, and not react unnecessarily to the turbulence of this world. Develop a relationship with Jesus that empowers you to live.
(3) Last point: if a Rescue Swimmer ever leaves the boat, he is relying on his own power to stay afloat. All the time he is in the boat he is working to accomplish the mission. If he stops or pauses momentarily, he is held afloat by the vessel. On the hand, when he is not in the vessel, if he stops working, he drowns.
Make sure you are relying on Jesus
Make sure your boat isn’t leaking
