GOD WILL STAY FAITHFUL EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT!
Gen 26
I. LAST WEEK WE SAW THAT THE Christian LIFE IS LIKE A MARATHON.
A. The writer of Hebrews exhorted us to lay aside the weights….. Run with endurance the race that is set before keeping our focus on Jesus.
1. Do we run the race perfectly?
2. Do we ever stumble and fall …?
3.Of course we do!
B. Well what happens then?
1.When we are unfaithful does God still remain faithful or does He treat us like we treat Him?
2.Does He ever get tired of our stumbling and just give up on us?
3. Abandon us?
C. Of course not! praise the Lord He remains faithful even when we are unfaithful!
D. Today we are going to see this truth displayed in the life of Isaac, one the Old Testament patriarchs
E. Turn in your Bibles to Gen. 26
1. I want to make sure we have the same understanding of three words
*faithfulness— full of faith
*unfaithfulness— not full of faith all the time, times when our faith falters, is weak
*faithless— without any faith
2. What we are going to see is Isaac was unfaithful but he was not faithless
*he had faith in God
*but sometimes His faith was weak, falters
3. But, despite his unfaithfulness God always remained faithful!
F. You will remember Isaac was the promised son of Abraham by Sarah
1. His birth was miraculous because Sarah was 90 and Ab was 100.
2. Also God promised Abraham that it would be through Isaac that the cov. would continue.
3. It was Isaac that God told Abraham to sacrifice on the altar at Mt. Moriah.
*relate story briefly
4. Isaac married Rebekah and they had twin sons, Jacob and Esau
*they were teenagers in our passage today
G. When you read the Old Testament narratives you want to ask yourself what is the main truth the writer is revealing about God through His working in the lives of the characters in the narrative.
1. The mistake that we often make in Old Testament narratives is concentrating too much on the characters and missing God who is always at work, sometimes behind the scenes.
2. the Old Testament is a record of the workings of God in the lives of people and the nation of Israel
3. When we read our passage today from this perspective we immediate see it is God’s faithfulness despite man’s unfaithfulness that is clearly being presented not just a story of a man who lies about his wife and is mistreated by some people.
4. We are going to see alternating sections of God’s faithfulness and man’s unfaithfulness
µµII. GOD FAITHFULLY RENEWS THE COVENANT WITH ISSAC (1-5)
Our narrative starts with God’s faithfulness to Isaac
1. There is a famine in the land
*Isaac’s natural decision would be to down to Egypt like Abraham had done during the famine in his time
2. But God stops him and tells him to stay in Gerar in the land of Abimelech King of the Philistines
µB. God appears to Isaac and renews His covenant with him. 3-5
C. God promises to:
1.Be with Isaac (Promise of His Presence) 3
2.Bless him by giving him the land (Promise of Provision) 3
µ3.Continue the covenant ( Promise of Perpetuity) 3
4. Multiply his descendants (Promise of Posterity) 4
5. Bless other nations through his descendants (Promise of
D. Notice the basis of these promises: Abraham’s obedience
1. This is very important
2. God makes it clear to Isaac that these promises are not based on Isaac’s faithfulness but on Abraham’s faithful obedience!
3. His blessing are dependent on the faithfulness of the covenant head—Abraham
4. Remember this because I will refer to it …
D. What makes these promises even more significance is that Isaac had heard them before, some 50 years earlier Gen. 22:16ff
1.At that time he was tied to an altar
2.Having just had his life spared by God
3.Image all the emotions these words bring back to him of that day on Mt. Moriah
4.Now God is giving him the same promises He gave his Dad after Abraham gave the ultimate act of obedience.
µIII.ISAAC’S UNFAITHFULNESS TO GOD (6-7)
µIsaac lies about Rebekah being his wife
1.He says she is his sister
2.He lies out of fear for his life
B. Custom was for the men of the land to kill the husband to get his wife.
µ1.Isaac is afraid if the men know she is his wife they will kill …
µC. What do you see wrong with this picture?
1. God had just promised to take care of him, give him the land, multiply his descendants…
2. He could not die then
3. His faith falters, he lies and puts his wife in harms way
*she could be violated!
µµIV.GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO ISSAC (8-14)
µThrough His providence
1.God providentially worked so Abimelech happened to be looking out ….
2. It was obvious to the king Rebekah was not his sister
µB. Through His working on the heart of Abimelech
1.The king is moved by God to protect Isaac (11)
µC. God faithfully prospers Isaac (12-14)
1. Isaac reaped a 100 times more ..
*this is miraculous in the land of famine
2. God blesses him and he grows very wealthy
3. Remember God’s promise of provision?
µD. This is not a reward for his unfaithfulness
1.This is a result of God’s faithfulness despite Isaac’s unfaithfulness
µ2.This is a reward for Abraham’s faithfulness and obedience!
µV.ABIMELECH’S UNFAITHFULNESS TO ISAAC (15-17)
Because of Isaac’s prosperity Abimelech gets envious
µ1. He stopped up the wells Abraham’s servants had dug.
*Remember how valuable water is
*We take it for granted– we move somewhere we do not even think about the water issue
2. This was a act of war
µB. Abimelech commands Isaac to leave his land 16
µC. Abimelech is being unfaithful to the covenant his father made with Abraham some 90 years earlier
Gen 21:27
1.A covenant that they would not stop up each other’s wells
µµµVI.GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO ISAAC (18-24) µA.Wells were a sign of divine favor
B. Isaac would dig the wells and the herdsmen of Gerar would seize them
1. Esek = strife Sitnah = opposition
C. The Lord makes room for Isaac 22
1. Rehoboth = room
D. God renews His promises to Isaac 24
1. Promise of His Presence
2. Promise of Provision
3. Promise of Posterity
E. Notice again the basis of these promises is Abraham’s faithfulness not Isaac’s unfaithfulness
VII. ISAAC’S FAITFULNESS (25)
Isaac builds an altar and worships God
Isaac is not faithless-
1.Here we see him being faithful
2.He is invoking the name of God
VIII.GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO ISAAC (26-33) µµµ
When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Prov 16:7
God so blesses Isaac even his enemies want to be at peace with him
1.Abimelech clearly sees God has been with Isaac and has blessed him 28-29
2.They want to make peace with him
3.They want to make a covenant so he will do them no harm
B. Isaac agrees and makes the covenant of peace
C. As a sign of God’s approval on that very day his servants found water (sign of divine blessing)
1. Named it Sibah = oath
2. Beersheba = well of oath
D. God continues to be faithful despite our faltering faith
VII.GOD IS FAITHFUL TO US DESPITE OUR UNFAITHFULNESS Matt 14:22-33
Disciples are in a storm on the Sea ...
Peter starts walking on the water toward Jesus
1.He is doing fine as long as he looks ...
2.He sees the wind and becomes frightened and begins to sink
3.Jesus reaches out and saves him
C. Jesus says “You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
1.Jesus does not say Peter is faithless only he has a little faith
2.Peter’s faith faltered, he was not full of faith at that moment—unfaithful
D. Does Jesus abandon him?
1.Of course not!
2.Jesus is faithful and rescues Peter despite Peter’s unfaithfulness
E. Our God is the same today!
1.He is unchanging
2.He is eternally the same
3.He will remain faithful to you even when your faith falters, weakens, when you stumble in the race
F. You ask “But Why?”
1.Why will God stay faithful to me even tho..
2.I do not deserve it, I keep stumbling
G. Why did God continue to be faithful to Isaac despite his continual unfaithfulness?
1.Because of Abraham’s the covenant head’s faithfulness
2.Who is our covenant head? Jesus
3.Jesus make the new covenant with God for his own
*Jesus was perfectly faithful
*Jesus was perfectly obedience
*Jesus ratified the new covenant with His blood
4. God will remain faithful to us because of Jesus even when our faith falters, when we stumble
*I am talking to Christians not to those who are faithless—have no faith
2 Cor. 1:20
For 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.
5.The promises of God which are made through Christ,
*relate to the pardon of sin to the penitent;
*the sanctification of his people:
*support in temptation and trial;
*guidance in perplexity;
*peace in death,
*and eternal glory beyond the grave.
6.All of these are made through Jesus, and none of these shall fail even though our faith is not perfect
VIII.TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS I WANT YOU TO KNOW GOD WILL ALSO BE FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD TO YOU
1.If you die apart from Him an everlasting hell awaits you
2.If you will turn away from you sins and turn to him in faith He will save you
*Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
