(Genesis 26:1-17) Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
6 So Isaac lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” 8 It came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.” 17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
God repeats the covenant with Isaac, reminding him that these promises would be accomplished through his descendants, only because his descendants would eventually include the Lord (Jesus) coming in flesh to pay for all sins. In this way all nations would be blessed. And only through believing in the Lord, could Abraham be obedient to God. This is the only way that anyone can be seen as blameless in the eyes of God and become His child.
Now, God's grace is there because once we are a child of God, we will still make mistakes. And we see Isaac doing exactly like his father did! Even though he trusted the Lord, he didn't trust the Lord in protecting them in this circumstance. It's so very easy to forget that our heavenly Father is right here to help us! In all things! So which father are we going to focus on for our example to follow?
What we do and say as parents will impact our children, so it is very important to be a godly example, while teaching them to stay focused on God. Isaac had learned to trust in the Lord, like his father, but he probably learned some of his bad habitual behavior as well. And hearing the stories of his parents would not a bad thing - if - the story is told in such a way that one can learn from it. But if we talk about our struggles and spin it so that it sounds fun and cool... we will eventually be seen as hypocrites. Others could begin to wonder, if they are wrong there, then, maybe they are "wrong" everywhere.
Abraham had claimed that his lie was really half true. We don't know if he had ever corrected his thinking in this. But we do see Isaac following his dad's example. Only his lie wasn't even half-true. Being "half-true" does not make a lie okay. Lying in order to obtain a favorable result is also not okay. All lying is wrong. We can see how as we let one "little thing" slip by, these "little things" become bigger. And there are most often consequences.
While Isaac maybe thought he was protecting his wife, as he was trying to protect himself, he was in fact putting Rebekah into more danger. Anyone could have taken her, and then Isaac would have lost his wife! Interestingly, even though the king did not know God personally, he knew that it was wrong to touch another man's wife! And even though nothing happened, Isaac's actions angered the king and an entire nation. These people would become another formidable enemy of Israel.
All actions have reactions. When we do things God's way, even if something terrible happens, at least we "are in the right". What I have experienced over the years is that when I do things my way, things don't go well, but every time I do things God's way, in His will... things go well. Now, what does that mean exactly?
We usually associate things "going well" to mean financial success. Sometimes - SOMETIMES - God allows a person to become wealthy. But do study the verses closely. People get jealous and you will become a target in their eyes. So even when things are going "really well" - keep doing God's will. And then if and when things look like they are not going "well" - keep doing God's will - and see how God will work things out for good!
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