The 23rd Psalm:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Genesis 26:1
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days
of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
At times God withholds rain in judgement
of sin.
Sometimes famine comes simply because of
weather patterns corrupted since the curse of sin back in the garden.
We’re not told the reason for this famine,
or the one in Abraham’s day.
But, in both cases, it triggered movement.
Which is what trouble does.
Abe went south. Isaac went north.
Which way do you go when things go south?
In fear of famine Abe fled south, to Egypt
(Gen. 12). Dropped plumb out the bottom of the Promise Land, out of God’s plan.
Then, the fear escalated, as fear does, it
spreads like wildfire.
Abe traded his wife, Sarah, for safety.
God stepped in and bailed them out.
They returned to the Promise Land, but not
without baggage. Hagar. All sin has baggage. Which resulted in Ishmael, and the
bloody trail of a family feud from that day to this.
Isaac went north to Abimelech king
of the Philistines, in Gerar.
However, some say he went south, toward
Egypt, like father like son. So, how do we know he went north?
We simply need to know where he started.
The best commentary on the Bible is the
Bible.
The closing words of the 7th
scroll, tell us, Isaac dwelt at, Beer Lahai Roi, Gen. 25:11. Also
previously stated in Genesis 24:62.
By looking at a map Beer Lahai Roi is
about 30-40 miles south of Gerar. Near today’s Gaza Strip.
Gerar was one of the largest cities in
southern Canaan, covering 40 acres. It was the area Goliath was from. It became
home to Israel’s ancient enemies, the Philistines, and current enemies, the
Palestinians.
Isaac went north, to Gerar. To, king
Abimelech.
Now, if you’re going to trespass on
someone’s land, you should let them know. It’s common courtesy, it’s wise, it’s
so you don’t get shot. Isaac checks in with the landlord, king Abim, to let him
know he’s coming in, and would like to stay awhile.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to
Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land…
Big thing to notice here. Isaac already
went north; he was already in this land the Lord tells
him to dwell in.
Don’t you love confirmation?
Oh good. I did the right thing. I’m in the
right place.
Follow Him well, and you will hear Him
encouraging, and comforting, like a Good Shepherd leading His sheep by the
still waters, along the paths of righteousness.
Proverbs
3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct your paths.
Way better to walk with the Lord leading,
than to run to and fro always needing to be bailed out of this or that.
Well, if Isaac headed north, (not south toward Egypt) why’d God tell
him not to go to Egypt?
Maybe Isaac was having second thoughts.
Perhaps the whole time he was headed north, he was thinking, I should’ve
headed south. Dad headed south in time of famine. He went to Egypt. What was I
thinking. Why’d I come here…
No matter what Isaac was thinking, the
Lord encourages him by removing any doubt. Don’t go to Egypt. Dwell here in
this land. Welcome home.
And then the Lord proceeds to pour a
welcome wagon full of blessing…
…and I will be with you
and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands,
and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will
make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your
descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed;
The Lord’s telling Isaac:
I’m passing along the blessing I promised
to your dad.
Now, Isaac, listen, just to be clear, this
blessing isn’t passed on to you because of your own goodness and
Godliness, it’s…
5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My
commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
None of us are an island we built on our
own from scratch.
We must remember the Godly
foundation of those who’ve gone before.
We celebrate Memorial Day, to remember
those who fought and died for our nation.
We take communion to remember
what the Lord has done to save us.
On the other hand, removing landmarks,
changing names, tearing down historical statues, silencing the Voice of God,
rewriting commandments, statutes, laws, chips away the foundation of a
nation…until eventually, it collapses in upon itself.
Psalm
11:3, If the foundations are destroyed, what
can the righteous do?
6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
Gerar: lodging place. Maybe the birthplace
of Isaac. (Several years earlier, God had closed the womb of all Abimelech's household because he had abducted Sarah. However, after he released her, God told Abraham to pray for the wombs of Abimelech's household to be opened. Shortly after Abraham obeyed and prayed, Sarah got a craving for pickles. Genesis 20:17-21:2).
There’s no place better, than smack dab in
the middle, of God’s will.
There’s no place with more peace,
protection or provision.
Of course, the world sees it, and wants to
seize it.
If you don’t remember, your Protector, and
Provider, you’ll fall into fear.
Which is, what happens next.
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.”
There must’ve been an, unethical code
of ethics, back in the day, because Abe did the same thing, twice. To
pharaoh in Egypt and to Abim, here in Gerar.
It sounded something like this:
Wow, she’s hot.
Too bad she’s married.
Yeah, but not for long.
Whaddya mean?
Haven’t you heard? Her poor, dear,
husband, is about to have a fatal accident. No worries; I’ll be there to comfort
the grieving widow.
8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time,
that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and
there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife.
Remember, twice, Sarah was taken into
a harem, after Abe said, “She’s, my sister.”
However, with Isaac and Rebekah, it never
got that far.
His words might’ve said one thing, but his
affections said another.
“She’s my sister.”
Yeah, right, no brother and sister act
like that.
I'd like to know what window Abim looked through. From his own elevated palace? Or, was he a peeping Abim through Isaac and Rebekah's bedroom window?
9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is
your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of
her.’ ”
I couldn’t tell you Abim, it was a matter
of survival. You know, because of, the unethical code of ethics,
among you thieving, heathen, pagan people.
Prejudice is stupid. We ought naught
prejudge, anyone. We ought to, give the benefit of the doubt.
Be honest, up front.
Believe the best.
Trust that in the end, Truth, will prevail.
10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of
the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought
guilt on us.”
We’re not stupid.
We don’t have a death wish.
We remember what happened when your dad did
the same thing.
Back in Genesis 20, God the Father, showed up like the Godfather; it went something like
this:
Abimelech abducted Sarah.
God told Abimelech in a dream, “You are a
dead man, because you’ve taken a man’s wife.”
Abim said, “Wait, I didn’t know she was
married; they said they were siblings. Plus, I haven’t touched her.”
God said, “I know, you didn’t know. That’s
why I kept you from sinning against Me. Now, let her go, or know for sure, you
and all that are yours will surely die.”
Abimelech freaked out, told all his
servants, all about it. Then, immediately returned Sarah with a generous
settlement package of sheep and oxen, and servants, and 1,000 pieces of silver
(worth over $6m today).
Something none of them would soon forget.
So, when Abraham’s son shows up sporting
a pretty woman, calling her, sis. They’re not buying it.
But, just in case, to be doubly sure…
11 So Abimelech charged
all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be
put to death.”
Abimelech basically says the same thing to
them, that God said to him, back in Abraham’s episode. Touch this man, or
his wife, and you’re a dead man.
The lesson here is that Rebekah was never
taken.
The catastrophe avoided before it ever
happened.
If we’re following well, we’re still on
God’s trail, yes, we’ll stumble, of course we’ll fall, but we’re still on His path
of righteousness. His rod and staff comfort and correct.
They never went to Egypt.
There never was a Hagar.
Rebekah never got abducted into any harem.
It’s way better to walk with the Lord
leading, than to run to and fro always needing, to be bailed out of this or
that.
Remember we said in the last chapter, as
we buried Abraham:
All the days, even of the best and greatest saints, are not remarkable days; some slide on silently; such were these last days of Abraham.
Abraham lived 35 years after the marriage of Isaac, yet, all that’s recorded is in just a few verses.
No more extraordinary visits from God and angels, no more mountain top trials, or travels, or battles.
A gentle, quiet, preprayered life, turns extraordinary visits from God, into ordinary living with God; abiding in Him, breathing in breathing out, step by step, day by day, where trials and travels and battles, are won, before they ever come.
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a
hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.
Isaac sowed in that land, in that
year. Not someday, somewhere, but here, and now.
Two things to always remember:
1. God
is everywhere present.
2. God
is more than enough.
That means, with God, you can bloom where
you’re planted.
God is with you. More than enough for you.
Right here. Right now. Right where you are.
Isaac sowed in that land, in that
year.
13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he
became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of
herds and a great number of servants.
Sow into what God’s given you, follow Him well and watch Him bring you a bountiful harvest above and beyond all you could ever ask or think; and surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life.
Amen.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, above all else, we want to
follow You well, so we, and all those You’ve given us, will hear You say, well
done, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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