Genesis 26

(Gen 26:1-35): When the first famine struck Canaan, Abraham went down into Egypt (Gen 12:10). It hit again in the days of Isaac. Rather than going to Egypt like his father, Isaac stayed in Canaan land and went to Gerar where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, resided. It was at Beersheba where his father made a covenant with Abimelech, a treaty of kindness (Gen 21:23). But since the death of Abraham, relations were strained (cf. Gen 26:15), and the weather wasn’t any better.

So Isaac had to be thinking about an alternative, Egypt! He probably didn’t want to move down there, but it didn’t look like it was going to work out in Gerar living among the Philistines. But where I don’t read of divine intervention in Abraham’s story, I do here – Do not go down to Egypt (Gen 26:2).

God had to give Isaac something to sustain him through the tough times in Canaan. God directed his attention to the covenant He made with his father, and how he would benefit from this agreement.

“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 nation of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Gen 26:3-5).

The end result of this conversation – So Isaac dwelt in Gerar (Gen 26:6). 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 (Gen 26:12-13).

I will be with you and bless you didn’t mean Isaac was perfect or that he would be free from life’s challenges. Dwelling in the place where God wants us to be doesn’t mean everything is hunky-dory. But for Isaac specifically, if he dwelt in the land he would be blessed, and dwelt he did (cf. Gen 26:8, a long time), and blessed he was. This doesn’t mean God liked everything that Isaac did or that Isaac was immune from problems brought on by him or from the world at large.

The King of the Philistines and the people were insulted by his deception, Gen 26:10-11 (like father, like son, Gen 20:9). The world didn’t envy Isaac’s faith, only his possessions (Gen 26:14). They plugged up his father’s wells as an act of contempt (Gen 26:15). He was asked to leave, even after spending a long time with them, because they viewed him as a threat (Gen 26:16). Isaac was angry over this matter (Gen 26:27). Even when Isaac moved to the valley of Gerar he experienced strife and contention by the herdsmen of Gerar over two wells he had dug (Gen 26:19-21). Isaac learned that the world was more concerned about being offended by the people of God than offending them.

Abimelech, king of the Philistines, had a selected memory like he did when his servants seized Abraham's well (Gen 21:25-26) and was doing the same with Isaac – We have done nothing to you but good. Is that why he allowed his subjects to fill in the wells that Abraham dug? Wasn’t he the king? If he commanded his people not to mess with Isaac’s wife, he could easily have instructed them to leave the wells of Abraham alone or to leave Isaac alone? But now the herdsmen of Gerar were contending with Isaac over the Esek and Sitnah wells. So instead of leveraging his muscle (cf. Gen 26:14), Isaac moved on to another place. God told him to dwell in the land, but nobody wanted him around now and gave him a hassle.

Isaac finally found a place where there was room to grow at the well of Rehoboth with no static from the Philistines (Gen 26:22). Then he moved to Beersheba and the LORD appeared unto Isaac that very night and comforted him and reminded him of His covenant (Gen 26:24). It had to be very frustrating for Isaac up to this point, but in times like these, a Word from God is needed!

The beauty of this was that Isaac was encouraged, and he constructed an altar to the LORD and pitched his tent there in Bathsheba. He was right where God wanted him to locate and gave Isaac another sign that things are heading in the right direction, his servants reported to him – We have found water (Gen 26:32)! How sweet it is!

Things are finally going well; then I read that the parenting department isn’t. The firstborn Esau married two wives of the Hittites, Beeri, and Basemath. And they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 26:35, ESV). 

Father, my imperfections trouble me like a leaky roof; life is filled with problems and frustrations; the flesh, the world, and the devil are stumbling stones in the pathway of obedience to the things of God. Then You appear with a sure Word of promise when I think all is lost; I find refuge, restoration, refreshment, and resilience in Your Word. Enlarge my border and may Your hand be upon me, O LORD. May Your messengers declare to me, We have found water. <><