Written by: Ruth Gilson – Girls’ Brigade

Genesis 26 v 12-13
Isaac planted seed in that land, and that year he gathered a great harvest. The LORD blessed him very much, and he became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man. 

Notes
Isaac was the miracle son of Abraham, born following God’s promise to a barren couple that He was going to directly continue His work in this world through their descendants. Their story makes powerful reading and sets the context about who Isaac is (see Genesis chapters 15, 20 and 21).

Isaac was a key character, a man who was to know God’s hand on his life and who experienced the joy and responsibility of following God’s voice. In today’s reading he is living in a place that is in the midst of famine.

Earlier in chapter 26, God had specifically told Isaac to remain there despite the conditions – so he did! This commitment is evidenced in Isaac’s actions – he planted seeds. This was a long-haul task and required quite a bit of work, as well as an ability to look ahead to what would be. Seeds take time to grow but at the same time are a real investment in the future. 

Committing to God’s instruction, and demonstrating his trust in God’s ability to look after him, brought huge blessing to Isaac’s life – at a time that outwardly was a struggle. Two things strike me about his experience of God:

1. Isaac himself played a part in this blessing. He put effort in - he farmed the land. Of course, the Lord has the power and love that will meet us miraculously - there are many times when the stories of God’s people show how He did this. However, following God often requires us to put ourselves actively into gear. Isaac saw famine. The need was for food. He planted crop seed, an answer to the need.

2. It was God who caused Isaac’s work to be blessed. The seed was divinely nurtured to harvest strength despite the famine!

Genesis 26 v 14-16
He had so many slaves and flocks and herds that the Philistines envied him. So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with earth. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country because you have become much more powerful than we are.”

Notes
Isaac, a man chosen by God to be a key part of His work in this world, was living in a foreign place. Whilst there, he was blessed by God. The previous verses in Genesis show how God provided for him during a famine. His farming developed successfully, and this brought with it the need for people to work on his land. Isaac was becoming someone noticeable. His crops had grown in a famine. He was becoming wealthy. How quickly and easily this sort of situation brings out negative reactions in others!

The envious people around Isaac were so gripped by resentfulness that they hit out and became destructive. But what a thing they chose to do … no doubt driven by the desire to slow Isaac’s farming and herding success down they tried to cut off the water supply. These same people had originally dug the wells out in years gone by, yet jealous feelings within them were so gripping that they could actually destroy their own hard work. 

It seems a real display of cutting off your nose to spite your face … no doubt these wells were their source of water too!

They had missed the point. The water was there and played a part in Isaac’s success, but surely he wasn’t the only one who had tried to grow crops and breed animals during the famine. The fact is that it wasn’t the water that blessed Isaac – it was God. The people could not grasp this and hit out in an angry and blind response that would in the end make things worse for everyone.

Jealousy can so easily blind us. Where are you in this? Is there a Christian whose walk with God and experience of blessing is bugging you – if so, don’t be blind!

Genesis 26 v 17-19
So Isaac left that place and camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there. Long before this time Abraham had dug many wells, but after he died, the Philistines filled them with earth. So Isaac dug those wells again and gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley, from which a spring of water flowed.

Notes
The setting for this scene is: a land suffering famine; a people who are jealous of the agricultural success of one man, Isaac; and Isaac’s response to being thrown out of an area by the king. Isaac was a man following God in his life. The son of Abraham – to whom God promised that He would bless the nations through his family and descendants – Isaac had been living in a foreign land and developing a very successful farm. God promised to bless Isaac, and had been doing that. Jealousy of his success resulted in him having to move on, and here we find him in a place where his father once lived.

Wells were a main source of water in the area, and Isaac set about re-digging ones established by his father yet destroyed by the people owning the country. His response to being unpopular because of his success, and having to leave his farm, seems to be a positive one. He didn’t sit back in self-pity; he got going. 

On a practical level, water is, of course, critical for survival, and Isaac saw this as a priority, putting energy into seeking it out. 

Think about what water can do for us: sustain life, clean, refresh … this list is long. In the Bible, water is often referred to as a symbol of God’s Spirit. Jesus refers to himself as the “living water”. 

The benefits associated with physical water are a helpful picture of how God’s Spirit can meet us in our walk with Him.

Isaac went to great lengths to dig for water – he needed the things it provided. 

We need the Spirit of God, and we need Jesus, as a source of cleansing and refreshing (read John 4 v 7-15).

Genesis 26 v 20-22
But the herdsmen of Gerar argued with them and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him. Then his servants dug another well. When the people also argued about it, Isaac named that well Fight. He moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one, so he named it Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be successful in this land.”

Notes
How do you handle opposition? Do you give up easily, get into arguments, sulk or get possessive? These are not easy questions to answer honestly about ourselves – I know!

This passage reveals a truth. God uses who we are as much as what we do in His work.
Isaac was someone through whom God had chosen to bless the nations. He promised Isaac’s father (Abraham) that He was going to bless and use Isaac throughout his life (see Genesis chapters 15, 20 and 21). 

Isaac wasn’t doing spectacular miracles for God, or things often classed as “spiritual”. He was re-digging wells in famine ridden places, and the local people were giving him grief. They were jealous that he was a successful man.

Isaac persevered – after all, God had told him to be in this place (see Genesis 26 v 2).

Twice Isaac got a hugely needed source of water up and running in order to meet need. The result? The locals drove Isaac away. Was this the result of their desperate need in famine, tinged maybe with jealousy of Isaac? 

His response? No hassle – he dug another well, and another!

Isaac trusted in the Lord that more water was available. This was famine land, yet he didn’t get possessive about the wells being his by right of hard work! He didn’t grab at the water he had found, continued to dig again and believed that God would provide.

God had promised to bless the nations through Isaac. Providing the people with water was part of this.

The people were blessed because of Isaac’s character and faith. A different man may not have carried on digging! 

WHO Isaac was really mattered. His attitude was right with God despite personal pressure, and the people were blessed. How’s your character in God?

Genesis 26 v 23-25
From there Isaac went to Beersheba. The LORD appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my servant Abraham.” So Isaac built an altar and worshipped the LORD there. He also made a camp there, and his servants dug a well.

Notes
Everyone needs confirmation and encouragement. Isaac had been on the move for a while. He had been in several places, as a foreigner, building wells. An itinerant aid worker?

In these verses we see that he arrived in another place, but before he continued his role at that time, he rested and God spoke to him. The message from God was one Isaac had heard before. He renewed His promises to Isaac and his descendants. Noticeably, the Lord referred to this promise having originally being made to Isaac’s father (Abraham). God is faithful to His word. He does not forget His promises. 

I wonder why the Lord met Isaac in this way at this time? Looking back in this chapter of Genesis (26), we know that Isaac had a pressurised time. He had been thrown out of a successful farm, faced opposition as he built much needed wells in this arid country, and generally he had been on the move. 

On a practical level, we all know how we respond to work, study, family or personal pressure. Tiredness creeps in; lack of focus or drive for our tasks begins to affect us. We can easily lose sight of God’s calling and love.

God spoke into Isaac’s life with specific words: “I am God. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. I will bless you.” These words penetrated Isaac’s life and they caused him to draw close to God in thanks and worship.

You and I are not Isaac! However, we are people that God loves and cares for in the same way he did Isaac. He knows our specific needs.

Think around the four phrases God speaks in this reading and invite God Himself to meet you as He met Isaac.

Genesis 26 v 26-29
Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. He brought with him Ahuzzath, who advised him, and Phicol, the commander of his army. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to see me? You were my enemy and forced me to leave your country.”
They answered, “Now we know that the LORD is with you. Let us swear an oath to each other. Let us make an agreement with you that since we did not hurt you, you will not hurt us. We were good to you and sent you away in peace. Now the LORD has blessed you.”

Notes
Isaac had been living in Philistine country for some time. It was not his country, but God had told him to live there and he had successfully farmed the land during a famine before Abimelech, the king, had thrown him off the land. From there, Isaac continued to serve God and the people, excavating the land and building wells to provide water in arid places. All the time, Abimelech’s people had been against him, shown jealousy toward him and acted in hostility. Now, however, the king and his advisers sought Isaac out to agree friendship for the future. 

God had promised to bless Isaac; throughout this chapter of Genesis there is evidence that he did this, and that the people around him noticed that blessing. Until then, they had responded negatively toward Isaac’s relationship with God and had expressed this openly. Isaac, however, had continued to follow God’s prompting in his life, and his actions and personality had revealed God’s presence with him.

Abimelech KNEW that God was with Isaac. Whether he was politically motivated or genuinely seeking friendship with Isaac is of debate here, but one thing is for certain – the presence of God with Isaac, revealed through the man’s success, personality and action, deeply affected the king and his advisers. They were drawn to Isaac. 

In the New Testament, Paul (in 2 Corinthians 2 v 15-16) talks about the presence of Jesus in this world being like a perfume that is really noticeable. Some people may find this “perfume” unpleasant; some will be comforted by it. Whatever the response, the fact is that Jesus is noticeable and causes people to respond!

Following God in our lives makes us carriers of His presence. I wonder if people notice God through my way of life … what about you?

Genesis 26 v 30-35
So Isaac prepared food for them, and they all ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left in peace.
That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, “We found water in that well.” So Isaac named it Shibah and that city is called Beersheba even now.
When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women—Judith daughter of Beeri and Basemath daughter of Elon. These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

Notes
Food and drink form a central part of relationships. Dinner with friends, a milkshake at Mc D’s or a drink at the pub are often social points in our lives, and it is there that we talk! Problems, opinions and laughter are shared in these times. 

Isaac was approached by a group of people, including the country’s king, to agree to a friendship between them in place of recent hostilities. Isaac had been living as a foreigner in the Philistine country in response to God’s instruction. It had not been easy, but God had promised to bless him – and had done so!

The king came seeking peace and friendship. Reading through Genesis 26, it seems that Isaac had many reasons to reject this offer. But he didn’t.

Culturally, a meal was the traditional way of sealing an agreement or oath, so the “friends” did this, then parted in peace. Later, when Isaac’s servants successfully dug a well, he named it “Shibah”, which can be translated as “oath”. The verses then go onto to talk of Isaac’s son Esau (read Genesis chapter 27).

Isaac was willing to re-establish friendship with “enemies”. He offered forgiveness instead of hostility, and the group spent time together – over food! - reminding me of the forgiveness Jesus offered at the “last supper” (Luke 22 v 7-22). Even Judas, who betrayed him, was offered friendship with Jesus. The supper was a picture of Jesus’ sharing of himself through his forthcoming death. Without his willingness to die, forgiveness and reconciliation with God would not be available to us. 

Do you take communion as part of your Christian worship? It is a key “meal” where opportunity for forgiveness, peace, reconciliation and a fresh start exist – with God and with people around us (read 1 Corinthians 11 v 23-32).


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes