"Greetings Everyone in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
Today's Blog Title: "Isaac and Abimelech"
Today's Scripture Reading: Genesis 26:1-35
Today's Key Verse: Genesis 26:7 "And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said she is my sister; for he was afraid to say "She is my wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold."
With the completion of Chapter 25 yesterday, we are now half way through the book of Genesis. Now we start the second half of Genesis with Chapter 26, where we now see king Abimelech, the Philistine king once again. We will remember, that Abraham has dealings with him in Chapters 20 and 21. This time his dealings are with Isaac.
Chapter 26 opens with the fact that there was a famine in the land, and Isaac goes to king Abimelech the Philistine king. In verse 2, we now see for the first time, the Lord appearing to Isaac and prohibiting Isaac from going to Egypt, as His father Abraham had done. The Lord tells Isaac, that He would bless him, as the Lord had fulfilled His promise to Abraham, He would now establish His everlasting covenant with Isaac.
We now see that Isaac, like his father tells the men that Rebekah was his sister, because of her beauty, and Isaac was afraid, that they would kill him if he said that she was his wife. Since Rebekah was a close relative, but not his sister, Isaac was more deceitful then was his father Abraham. King Abimelech while looking out his window, sees Isaac showing Rebekah affection. The king then shows a sense of moral outrage. Isaac explains to the king, that he had told them that she was his sister, because he was afraid that he "would die on her account."
King Abimelech, then becomes the protector of Isaac and Rebekah, by telling his people that, "He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death." The Lord was blessing Isaac so much, that he became the envy of his neighbors. Back in Chapter 21:21-34 there was a covenant with Abraham and king Abimelech, concerning the rights to the wells, but now there were acts of sabotage on the wells, by filling them up with dirt.
King Abimelech then tells Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are mightier than we." Here we see that God has blessed Isaac, as He had promised, and that the Philistine king was afraid that Isaac's people were becoming mightier than his people, so he tells Isaac to leave the area. Isaac then digs more wells, and gives them the same names that his father had given them. Issac servants dig two wells, and the herdsman of Gerar said that they both belonged to them, so his servants dig a third well, and this time there was no fighting over it and Isaac named the well, "Rehoboth" (spaciousness).
Isaac then moves out Gerar, as the famine has ended and water becomes more available. He then returns to Beersheba, the land of his youth. In verse 24, God appears to Isaac and tells him, I Am the God of your father Abraham. God was faithful and He promised the son, what He had already promised Abraham. Isaac then followed the practice of his father, he made an altar, and called on the name of the Lord.
We see now that king Abimelech, came to stop the fighting between his people and Isaac's, because he saw that God was blessing Isaac. We see that Phichol, the commander of the army (also mentioned in 21:22) and Ahuzzath an associate of the king, come with the king to witness the agreement. "The Lord is with you", was God's design. He wanted to bless Abraham's family, because Abraham and his family followed Him. Then God's great blessings on His people, would attract others to Him. The covenant formally bound both parties. The covenant here was between two equals.
The meal expressed the new relationship between the two peoples and Isaac sent them away in peace, as they ought to, between two contracting parties. In the closing verses of Chapter 26, Esau marries two Hittite women, who believed in many different gods. His parents wanted him to marry a woman who worshiped the living God, and verse 35 says, "And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah."
Closing Question and Comment: "In times of trouble do you trust God with all aspects of your life?" In this Chapter, we saw for the first time God appearing on record to Isaac. We saw that like his father Abraham, he pretended that Rebekah was his sister, because also like his father he was fearful of his death, if they thought that Rebekah was his wife. King Abimelech tells Isaac to leave the area, since his people were more mightier than his, but then we see him back petal, because he sees God blessing Isaac, and wants to make peace with him. Isn't it wonderful that God always keeps His promises to those who belong to Him. Just like today, as in Isaac's day, if we trust and obey God, He will provide for us, and keep us unto Himself.
In His time, In His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me everyday, As You're teaching me Your way,
That You do just what You say in Your time
In Your time, In Your time, You make all things beautiful in Your time
Lord, my life to You I bring, May each song I have to sing
Be to You a lovely thing in Your time.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go In Peace, Serve the Lord and Love God More Today.
Yours In Christ,
Cindi
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