----- Break Out -----
I. Introduction
The wonder of the Lord never ceases to amaze His people. Whether it be providing finances to a chosen servant to move their house, healing an incurable disease, or providing water to a chosen nation wandering in the desert, He is ready to bless those that serve Him.
But, there is another side to that coin, and that is, the wonder of the Lord seldom amazes some of His people. It is sad to note that the daily wonders, work, and way of God are going unnoticed by non-Christians but, what’s worse, it’s going unnoticed by many Christians as well. The daily provision of bread (sustenance) is being eaten without even a casual prayer of thanks, while, much worse, the daily provision of wisdom and guidance is bypassed without even an irreverent nod of the head to the Provider of such.
The majority of the world’s population has a religion. Do you know to what god they bow down?
(Psalm 135:15-18) The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 17 they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
The key in that passage of scripture is verse 18, “Those who make them will be like them.” Generation after generation of bowing down to silver and gold has made man like them. Century after century of worshipping materials and money has turned man into a monster, his very own idol.
Man has become like the idol. No mouth, eyes, ears, or breath. Man has no mouth with which to speak of the wonders of the true God. Man has no eyes with which to spiritually discern the will of God for their lives and no ears to hear God when He speaks. And, worst of all, man has no breath, or spirit. The spirit of man does not communicate with the Spirit of God, therefore, there is no direction, there is no guidance from God.
Those who make idols will ultimately take on the likeness of the idol, hence man is to the point of worshipping themselves. Watch men and women as they walk down the streets and what do you see? Watch them closely and you’ll see them looking into at the dim reflection of themselves in car mirrors, the windows of cars, store windows, and even a shiny lamppost. Watch them on the subway or the bus, and they’re looking across the subway car into the window at their reflection. It’s tragically funny to watch. I can understand a casual glance to straighten your shirt or blouse, but to go from window to window checking to see if your hair is the same as it was 15 seconds before can only mean one thing, we worship OURSELVES.
Man’s primary purpose on this earth is to glorify God. Through faith we glorify Him, and we in turn receive hope that someday we will be there in heaven with Him.
Without hope there is no reason to live. Since there is no hope in a lost and dying world, man will attempt to cling to anything that he or she believes will give them that reason for living.
On the other hand, for the believer, faith is essentially the basis of thought of all that is God, forms God in us, delivers God to others through us, and without which there is no God. God, Himself has planted His faith within each one of us. And, through this innate faith, we are and we subsist spiritually.
Through God In Us, Faith is made alive
Through God In Us, Faith Heals
Through God In Us, Faith Loves
Through God In Us, Faith Saves
Through God In Us, Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity and Jesus is the elements of this faith.
It is not difficult to have faith in God and to follow God. Even the most simple and casual yielding to God’s daily provision of wisdom, guidance, and desire will produce tremendous spiritual benefits that are life changing. But, there is that catch, you have to yield, you have to surrender yourself to Him.
Though it is not difficult to put simple faith in God, there are those that remain at a distance and question God and God’s actions based entirely upon Biblical history. Many people will read the Old Testament and become upset because in the Old Testament there are people that apparently receive blessings when they don’t seem to deserve it. Whether or not we think they deserve it isn’t the case, we have to remember what is says in Romans, chapter 9:14-16:
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Is that, then, the whole of the matter? Is one person’s life work at a worthy Christian endeavor equal in worth to one who becomes a Christian on his deathbed? Why are there Christians that go through insufferable hardships and some that seemingly go through life without lifting a finger to do anything?
Read Matt. 20:1-16
That is the whole of the matter. God will have mercy on whom He will decide to have mercy and it is not up to me to debate the matter. What we should be doing is breaking out! We must break out of the pattern or mold, or, quite simply, a rut that we may be in, because our thinking is selfish and sin nature–motivated and is hindering our relationship with God. If one selfish thought goes through our heads while we are doing a ministry or attending a ministry for God, then that negates any reward, or any blessing from God. If we entertain selfish thoughts such as, “You know, I can teach better than him,” or, “Why did they choose her? Why didn’t they choose me?” we are not only hindering our relationship with God, but we are also grieving the Spirit, and there will be no blessing!
In our verses that we have before us today, there is going to be blessings without any visible work. There is going to be growth without any good deeds. Just remember, God will have mercy on whom He wants to have mercy.
God’s Reassurance to Man 1-6
God’s Rebuke of Man 7-11
God’s Regard of Man 12-15
Man’s Reproach to Man 16-21
Man’s Reverence Of God 22-25
Man’s Respect of God 26-33
Man’s Rejection of God 34-35
II. The Message
God’s Reassurance to Man
26:1 Now there was a famine in the land--besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time--and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Similar to the famine of Abraham’s day, there was another during Isaac’s time. Isaac must have entertained thoughts on going to Egypt to seek supplies since the Lord steps in and specifically tells him not to go. But, that’s not saying that Isaac was wrong for thinking about going to Egypt. He’s only considering going to Egypt. And, probably while thinking about it, he goes and visits the same king that his father talked with in earlier chapters of Geness.
Though the events and the scripture is very important here, especially to Isaac when he was experiencing this famine, for us, today, when we look closely at these verses, we can see our own lives played out in these first six verses of Genesis 26.
-------personal note
Read with Genesis 26 (1-6) first then compare to "Our lives"-------------
There was a famine/A hardship in our lives
Isaac went to Abimelech/We consult advisors
The LORD appeared to Isaac/the LORD reveals in His Word
Stay in this Land/The LORD tells us His will for us
I will bless you/I will grant you the desires of your heart.
I have said over and over again that God’s business is the reconciliation of man to Himself. But, we are not left out in the cold once He brings us into His fold. He is there to sanctify us, the continual molding of our lives to make us more and more Christ-like each and every day. He is there to provide the right choices to keep us safe from all alarms. And, like God does with Isaac in these six verses, He is there to provide reassurance, when we are questioning either God, or, our own capabilities to get the job done.
God will not abandon us, then go on to the next person and get them saved, then move on to the next person and get them saved. It doesn’t work that way. Once we have been reconciled (saved) to God, He begins the work of sanctification, or, the training, molding, and setting apart for the work that He has for us.
Yet, if we do not follow His will and way…
God’s Rebuke of Man
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful." 8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, ’She is my sister’?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her." 10 Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." 11 So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
Just like his father, Isaac lied about his wife. It was a selfish lie and he was only concerned about himself. You can probably guess what went through the mind of Abimelech when he found out that Rebekah was actually Isaac’s wife.
Abimelech is very stern and short with Isaac, as he should be. In verse 10 he says, “What is this you have done to us?” This probably is an indication or sign that Abimelech is worried about a rebuke of him or the Philistines in general because of Isaac’s trick. Abimelech learned from the previous (lie) time with Abraham, that one does not want God Jehovah against you or you’ll end up with nothing but a crack opening up in the ground and you being swallowed whole by the earth.
No matter how far you stretch it, Isaac still sinned because he basically omitted the real truth, that Rebekah was his wife.
God’s Regard of Man
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
Isaac listened to God and stayed right where God wanted him. But it doesn’t say God blessed him because of that. Because of his previous actions, some people over the years may say that the blessing was excessive or unwarranted because of his previous lie to Abimelech. Well, all we can say is God will still be God no matter what I think, and He will bless whom He wants to bless. The first will be last and the last will be first, He will be generous with His mercy to whom He wants to be generous, because it belongs to Him! He is the potter, we are the clay.
Isaac reaped a hundredfold, not because of anything he did. It was because the LORD BLESSED him. This should be a lesson to us. Actions and deeds for God are great, and words that exalt God are fine, but it’s the LORD that gives the increase to anything and everything. All we are to do is glorify Him. Similar to those workers that we read about earlier in Matthew that were hired to go and work in the vineyards. Doesn’t matter what I think, I should only desire to glorify Him in word, thought, and deeds. The only selfish thought that ever should allow into my mind is what it says in the Bible about the relationship between God and Abraham. The bible says that we can be regarded as God’s friend based upon one straightforward action or emotion [depending on who you ask] that has been planted in every one of us:: simple faith
(James 2:23) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend.
Man’s Reproach to Man
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
Other than himself, one of the biggest problems that man faces is man. The Bible is very clear concerning the wickedness and deceitfulness that exists within every man:
(Jeremiah 17:9) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
Abimelech was afraid for himself and his people because of the past actions of the men that he had associated himself with, not the past actions of Isaac or Abraham. He was afraid that Isaac, and his band, that was slowly turning into a small nation, would overpower the Philistines and take their land and possessions by force.
Man has always been afraid of man. Man has always been cautious and careful of someone he doesn’t know. Even Christians have a hard time getting to know new members that are Christians!!
Man is also very protective of his property. Even though there was probably enough water for every household and every animal, the Philistines would not allow Isaac and his band to claim any of the wells that they initially built.
Man is selfish. There is a fable or story of what is know as a dog in the manger What is that?
A dog in a manger is a person who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from something for which he or she has no personal use. As an example: "We asked our neighbor for the paint he had left over, but, like a dog in the manger, he threw it out rather than give it to us." The phrase comes from one of Aesop’s fables, about a dog lying in a manger full of hay. When an ox tries to eat some hay, the dog bites him, despite the fact that the hay is of no use to the dog.
In these passages of scriptures we see the very same thing. The Philistines, too lazy to dig any water for themselves, or perhaps they were even unsuccessful at finding water, selfishly claimed the wells of fresh water that were dug by the servants of Isaac.
Man is constantly afraid of losing something,. Even if he has no material possessions to lose, well, he still has his ego, his pride and his sanity left to lose. So, there is always something to lose. The problem is, most often when we personally lose something due to our own ignorance or forgetfulness, it’s not a big deal. But, when we lose a material possession to another person, or they break something of ours, well, my goodness, don’t we get all upset about that!! (even though we may not have used the thing for years.)
From my own thought about the matter of Abimelech, he may have thought that:
1. His people would go after the God that was blessing Isaac.
2. Isaac might attack his people or take their women.
3. Isaac and his livestock would take all the grass, water, etc.
Man, in his sinful state, will sit and make up excuses, or think about the worst, or invent scenarios that will never take place, but, will still invent the guns, bombs, and defensive measures to insure that they don’t,.
As evidenced by Abimelech, we are a paranoid people. Always afraid, always reluctant to trust the other foreigner.
Man’s biggest enemy is man and will continue to be until we get our priorities straight, it doesn’t matter.
Man’s Reverence Of God
22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land." 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
The inferred reverence of God, not to mention the actions and leadership of Isaac are amazing!! There have been wars that were fought and sacrificed thousands of lives for less than what was at stake here.
Our scripture passage here simply says, He moved on from there. It doesn’t’ say, with weeping and gnashing of teeth, Isaac declared the Philistines an anathema, an abomination and cried out for God to strike them dead.
No the verses simply say, He moved on from there.
Isaac sets a very good example of priorities, patience and perseverance!! Priorities, because he has put God first in his life and knows that God will lead him to a place he can call his own. A place flowing with water, where he and his family will flourish. Patience, because he demonstrates a patient attitude when confronted time after time by the Philistines and their selfish claims on the water his servants had found. And, finally, perseverance! He persevered, he endured the false claims and the heckling by the Philistines. Knowing these claims were false, he humbly accepted them and moved on.
The whole situation is similar to watching two or three children in the nursery and watching their possessive natures for the toys that they try to claim as theirs. Yet, here, in our verses, Isaac doesn’t let it bother him and, he is rewarded for that humble stand.
Isaac’s reverence of God and his putting God first in every situation, led to the appearance of God. In verses 24 and 25:
24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
First of all, the LORD reassures Isaac that He is indeed the same GOD that appeared to his father. Then, God tells Isaac, for I am with you. Can you imagine how that made him feel? All of Isaac’s previous actions were based upon “HIS FATHER’S GOD.” From now on all of Isaac’s actions are going to be based upon HIS GOD!
What about you? Are you following the GOD that’s talked about in the Bible,? You know, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God? Or, is your relationship with God a little bit more personal than that? Are you following YOUR GOD, the God that will be with you, and bless you, and increase you? If not, maybe the key that is lacking in your life is reverence for the one and only true God and Creator..
Man’s Respect of God
26 Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. 27 Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?" 28 They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, ’There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’--between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD." 30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. 32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We’ve found water!" 33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.
Even with all his faults, Abimelech demonstrates a belief in God. I would like to think that he, like possibly Nebuchadnezzar, invited God to be Lord of his life. I hold this position because of what he says in our scripture passages, We saw clearly that the LORD was with you. I believe that this statement, along with the dream that he had back in Genesis 21, concerning Abraham and Sarah, is a demonstration of the faith he had in God.. Additionally, I think he came to a knowledge of God through the dream and put his faith in the Lord because of the physical testimony of Abraham and Isaac.
Again, Abimelech said, We saw clearly. Can your neighbors see your faith, your respect of God, that will ultimately lead them to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Abraham and Isaac were witnessing to their neighbors simply through their actions, their respect of God, and it profited Abimelech and probably many of his people.
Man’s Rejection of God
34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Finally, in these scripture verses we see a rejection of God by Isaac’s son, Esau. Though a man may live an upright life before God and man, his children have to come to God themselves. They must make the decision to accept or reject.
As followers of God, we can only provide the physical testimony of our relationship with God, and how God has bless our lives and families tremendously. We can only provide the words and the love that He expresses through us to win them over, and maybe, just maybe, when that time comes for them to make that decision, they’ll make the right choice.
III. Summary
In summary, many years ago the worth of a man or woman was measured in the amount of work, whether physical or mental, that they were capable of doing. Today, the worth of a person is measured simply in monetary terms. How much are you worth? This is a reference to how much you have in the bank, and how well you are able to live, and how much money you can make. The people of the world has truly begun worshipping the people of the world, themselves. Not until we break out of this mold will man be able to make a difference in his life.
