In this chapter, I learned many things
that I had not previously realized or understood. First, it’s seems it was common for famines to occur in the land of Hebron where Abraham had lived. And when famines happened, it appears the people of the region typically went down to Egypt to gain their respite. But in Chapter 26, verses 2-4 the Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you - to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.” The scripture says, “Isaac went to Abimelek, the king of the Philistines in Gerar" - the same king that was told by God that Abraham had lied to him when he almost took Sarah to be his wife! Anyway, Isaac stayed in Gerar, and he did the same thing his father did - he lied to the men and told them Rebekah was his sister instead of his wife. I’m so surprised! Like father, like son! Had Abraham not told him the story of how he lied to Abimelek in the past. See Genesis Chapter 20 if you want to read more on this. Scripture says Isaac had been in Gerar a long time, when Abimelek, king of the Philistines, looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah. Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him and said, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” Genesis 26:9-11 That is three times the king of Philistine saved God’s chosen men and women from death! And the third time God allowed the people of Philistine to live - because they did have to endure his judgment for sinning against God. Two of these times the men chosen by God, Abraham and Isaac, lied to Abimelek about their wives because they were afraid the men would not be able to resist their beauty which would cause Abraham and Isaac to die. In both instances, God used these experiences for His own good. He showed himself to Abimelek, and warned him not to sin against him. And through those experiences, Abimelek turned over his goods, Abraham and Isaac were able to grow their crops and belongings a hundredfold. This is how the Lord's blessings began to unfold. The third time Abimelek saved Abraham and his people was when Philistine men tried to take over Abraham’s well. Abimelek declared that the well belonged to Abraham and no one in the land was to touch it, except the man of God himself. You can read more about this in Genesis 21, in the section called, "The treaty at Beersheba." Unfortunately, just as history always plays itself out, the Philistines came to envy Isaac and all that God had blessed him with. We will see this same thing happen in Egypt, "when the more the Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptians, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites." Exodus 1:1-2 The scripture says, “So all the wells that Isaac’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.” Genesis 26:15 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” Issac named the well Esek, because they disputed with him." Esek in Hebrew means Contention. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. Sitnah in Hebrew means Hatred. Isaac moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” Rehoboth in Hebrew means Open Spaces. From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.” Genesis 26:25 Meanwhile, Abimelek came to Isaac from Gerar, his personal adviser and the commander of his forces joined him. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’-- between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” Isaac agreed and made an oath with the Philistine King. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully. That day - Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.” Genesis 26:31-33 Beersheba means "Well of the Oath" - and some say it is the 7th well dug by Abraham. So as I sit here and ponder. I wonder if an oath will be made between Israel and the Philistine nation?
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