Rehoboth!

REHOBOTH!

A man’s location in life can very well determine how successful he will be.

This is demonstrated in the life of Issac, the son of Abraham.

Issac, whose name means “Laughter”, was born very late in the life of Abraham and Sarah. His father was 100 years old, and his mother was 90 years old when he was born. He was born into wealth and affluence, as God had blessed his father with lots of land and livestock. Issac was a bit laid back as a person, as he did not really have to struggle for what his own father struggled to acquire. When he was 40 years old, he did not have to look for a wife for himself, as his father had arranged and sent his servant, Eliezer of Damascus to get a wife for Issac from his own kinsmen. God granted Eliezer success, as Rebekah agreed to follow him back to the land of the Canaanites. Issac was just taking a leisurely walk in the fields and was meditating when he saw a caravan of camels approaching. Lo and behold, he was told that they had just brought his new wife to him!

One of the earliest challenges that Issac faced in life was the birth of his sons. In Genesis 25:21-26:

“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her,“Two nations are in your womb, two peoples from within you will be separated; people will be stronger than the other, the older will serve the younger.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so, they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so, he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.” NIV

So far, so good!

Life was about to get interesting for Issac. His laid-back approach to life was about to face several challenges.

After the death of his father, Abraham, there was famine in the land. Issac was tempted to move to Egypt because they were not affected by the famine. However, God appeared to Issac and told him not to go to Egypt, but to stay in Gerar, the land of the Philistines. God demonstrated his faithfulness to the covenant he had with Abraham, his friend. He reminded Issac of this covenant and assured him that even though Abraham was gone, he was still committed to keeping the covenant he made with him. In Genesis 26:1-6:

“Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 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. 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, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything, I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” So, Isaac stayed in Gerar.”NIV

Whilst living in Gerar, Issac was afraid that the men of Gerar may kill him and take his wife Rebekah because she was a beautiful woman. So, he lied that she was his sister and not his wife. History has a nasty way of repeating itself, because several years earlier, Abraham had told the same lie concerning his wife Sarah for the same reason!

Whilst in Gerar, God blessed Issac. That year, he had a bumper harvest! In Genesis 26:12-13:

“Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.”NIV

When the Philistines saw how God had blessed Issac, they became very jealous of him! Suddenly, they began to stop all the wells that his father Abraham had dug when he was living in Gerar. They filled the wells with sand, thereby making them useless. Issac was deprived of water which he needed for his animals.

In Genesis 26:15:

‘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. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”NIV