Isaac was much like his father
Abraham had faith; Isaac followed suit. They both “did as they were told” by GOD, by the Father. And it is clear from circumstances that Isaac took his lessons from Abraham as his life unfolded….
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 26:1-6
“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.
“Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, 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. 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; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.”
Obedient
For this week we’ll look at Isaac’s character. Why? Because GOD kept the promise He made to Abraham, to his offspring. How much did character play a part?
We see the LORD saying ‘stay put’ in Gerar. If you follow me, I’ll give you all this land, just as I promised your father. So, Isaac ‘stayed put’.
Genesis 26:7-11
“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.”
“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.
“Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ “
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.”
“So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.””
Copycat
Isaac lied to the Philistine king; to protect himself from perceived harm, he lied about the true identity of his wife. Just as Abraham hid his wife’s identity in case he’d be killed for his wife, so too Isaac did Isaac lie… although in the case of Abraham, Sarah was, in a round-about way, his sister, whereas Rebekah was Isaac’s cousin.
Was this lie a prudent thing or deceptive? It was before the Law of Moses so there was no principle established, and yet the king was livid and understood the harsh consequences he would have suffered had he violated this other man’s wife.
Prosperous and Uncontentious
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.” (Genesis 26:12-14)
Great prosperity came to Isaac then, just as it had to his father.
But as Abraham and Lot had to separate, in a similar vein, Isaac gives way to the Philistines. Abraham allowed Lot to decide which land he wanted, and Isaac just keeps moving on, building well after well, and avoids confrontation.
Isaac builds well upon well, to keep his flocks and herds watered, and this avoids conflict with the Philistines:
“Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” Then he went up from there to Beersheba.” (Genesis 26:15-23)
In refusing to bicker and fight for himself, he actually exhibits great faith. To me, it is annoying he is so passive, and yet the Creator of the Universe rewards him…
And Isaac receives his own promise
“And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” (Genesis 26:24)
And worships GOD
“So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.” (Genesis 26:25)
Isaac is so like his father, in circumstance and in outcome. He’s ‘a chip off the old block’ in many ways.
Why does this matter as part of GOD’s Story?
The LORD looks on us with His eyes and with His wisdom. Faithfulness may appear differently, though different people. Eventually, we’ll look at Jacob to see quite a different character; and yet, the LORD is GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob….
In Isaiah 55:8 He says,
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.”
And we see an echo or ‘shadow’ in this relationship: father to son, as we see Jesus unfolded as like unto His heavenly Father.
Jesus is the ultimate son: and He shows Himself passive as Isaac when he surrenders Himself to the cross.