Verse 1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
The first mention of a famine was in Genesis chapter 12 when Abraham journeyed down to Egypt to live. The reader will see famine as a reoccurring event in the history of the children of Israel that resulted in them moving to Egypt. Because of the Nile river, famines were not as severe in Egypt as they were in the rest of the land around the Mediterranean and Red seas. Here Isaac did not go to Egypt, but to Gerar and to a familiar person, Abimelech, king of the Philistines. Refer back to Genesis chapter 20 to see the relationship between this king and Abraham.
Verses 2-5 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
God warned Isaac not to go to Egypt, but to stay in Gerar, and He repeated the promises He had given to his father many years before. Notice that the nations of the Earth were to be blessed because of Abraham’s obedience. Isaac was expected to do the same thing his father did: listen to God and be obedient.
Application: The LORD will always lead and guide His people, just as He guided Isaac to not move to Egypt. However, His people need to listen to His voice. In today’s noise and distractions, His voice can be missed. Turn off the smart phone, the TV, the computer or the radio and sit awhile with the LORD so you can hear Him. He will not shout at you over the distractions you choose to allow in your everyday life. Think about it.
Verses 6-7 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Like father, like son. Isaac did not rely on the LORD for divine protection, but chose the half truth route that his father had taken. Yes, Rebekah was a relative, but she was not his sister.
Application: Children learn best by observing the adults around them. Isaac was a product of his father’s behavior and actions. Remember, believer, that your children are watching and learning from you every moment of every day. Remember, believer, that your children are watching and learning from every person you allow them to be with every moment they are away from you. Think about the child sitter, the day care staff, the public or private school setting, or the media allowed in your home.
Verses 8-9 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Whatever Isaac and Rebekah were doing alerted Abimelech to the fact that they were not brother and sister. Abimelech had been down this path of deception with Isaac’s father, Abraham, and so he knew from experience that the truth had not been told.
Application: The believer can get involved with a lie that can grow over time and that can be lived for a long time without being revealed. But just like the situation with Isaac and Rebekah, the lie or the sin will not remain hidden forever. Someone will find out. Honesty all the time truly is the best policy.
Verses 10-11 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Abimelech was again worried about someone taking a married man’s wife and having intimate relations with her. He had already experienced the God of Abraham when there was this same issue regarding Isaac’s mother, Sarah. He did not want to offend the LORD and receive punishment at the hand of God.
Verses 12-16 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. 15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
History repeats itself in that, like his father, Issac was blessed by the LORD and prospered, resulting in him being asked to leave the area.
Verses 17-18 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
Notice that Isaac was retracing the steps of his father and revisiting the places Abraham had lived in and in which he had established wells.
Verses 19-20 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
A well of ground water was a blessing in the arid land where Isaac was grazing his herds. But a well that was fed by a spring was coveted as the water was fresher and often could be sent through dirt irrigation ditches to water livestock and crops. The name “Esek” means “contention”. Water rights were a serious source of contention in Isaac’s day and can still be so in many parts of the world today.
Verses 21-22 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
Like Abrahan, Isaac did not argue or fight with the men of Gerar, but dug another well which also caused contention. So he named the well “Sitnah” which means “strife”.
A third well was dug and Isaac was able to keep it, so he called it “Rehoboth” which means “wide places”. Here is the number three again which is the number of perfection. This third well was perfect for the needs of Isaac and his cattle and did not require a battle with the locals.
Verses 23-25 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
Isaac moved from Gerar back to Beer-sheba where Hagar and Ishmael wandered and met God and where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech and planted a grove, calling on the name of the LORD. Here Isaac met God again and the promises of God were repeated.
Application: When God appeared to Isaac, He identified Himself as the God of Abraham. He did not say, “I was Abraham’s God.” He used His title of “I am”, which is in the present tense, to show Isaac and all believers that Abraham was not dead and gone, but alive spiritually so that God was still his God. Today, God is the God of the living and also the God of all the saints who have died physically in the past. He never changes.
Verses 26-27 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
Once again, history repeated itself. Refer back to Genesis chapter 21.
Verses 28-29 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.
Abimelech wanted the same covenant with Isaac that he had had with Isaac’s father, Abraham.
Verses 30-33 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.
Isaac was a man of peace, and he knew that the LORD would protect and prosper him. So a king and a captain of the guard was not a problem for him, and he felt comfortable entering into a covenant with them.
Verse 34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
The narrative switches back to Isaac’s son, Esau. Note that Esau did not go to his relatives back in Syria to find a wife like his father Isaac had done, but married into the Hittite nation. In Genesis 15:18-21, God lists the nations whose land was to be given to Abram and his descendants, and the Hittites were one of the people groups that would be displaced by the children of Israel. And here, one of Abraham’s grandsons had married two Hittite women. Not only did Esau care very little about his birthright, but he did not care about how his actions would upset his parents. These daughters-in-law were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Further more, the descendants of Esau became a source of grief down through the centuries as the Edomites.