Genesis 26

Genesis 26:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”


• As we get into the story of Jacob, the author has already shown similarities to Abraham. In Chapter 26, we will continue these similarities. It leads to the question, why the comparison of Isaac to Abraham?
• Has God spoken to Isaac yet?
• No, but he has spoken to Rebekah
• I'm not exactly sure on the timing of these events because of the Jewish organization of themes
• Abimelech means Royal Father. It is a term that could be any King. But Phicol the commander of the Army (verse 26) seems less likely (although not impossible since Phicol means strong)
• Verse 15 seems to suggest that Abraham's sojourn was a long time ago
• This is God's first recorded conversation with Isaac
• There is one part that intrigues Scholars, verse 5
• What is unique about verse 5?
• Genesis 15:4–6 (ESV) —
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
• The emphasis here is different. God emphasizes, not his faith, but his obedience, why?
• Faith credited him with righteousness
• Obedience credited him with success
• The covenant is unconditional, but our obedience determines what part of the promise we will experience
• Obedience is required to be a part of it
• There is also an implied fear that Isaac will go out of the land, in this case to Egypt
• God directly intervenes
• APPLICATION:


Genesis 26:6–11 (ESV) — 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’ ” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”


• Well, at least Isaac is a nice husband (he laughs with his wife)
• Like Abraham, Isaac lies. Although Abraham would have said he didn't give all the facts
• Similarity: Failure. Fear of the Philistines
• Difference: Abraham ultimately recovers and challenges Abimelech
• If it is the same Abimelech, he is a non-believer who acts morally (which does not save a person)
• In fact, Abimelech shows more righteousness than Isaac


Genesis 26:12–22 (ESV) — 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 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 contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”


• Again, we have another similarity to Abraham, what is it?
• Isaac grows rich
• We have tension between the Philistines and the Hebrews
• Result: Abimelech orders Isaac away from them
• Abimelech's statement reaffirms God's physical blessing on his life (this is also a common OT theme, physical blessings)
• Isaac leaves Gerar and lives in the very places that his Father had lived, but all the wells are filled. I am not sure why the wells are filled
• This passage does reveal something of Isaac's character that is a little different from Abraham
• Isaac moves and digs new wells until there is peace
• Isaac does not appear to be the type of man that would take his servants and attack 5 kings to rescue his nephew
• APPLICATION: There is nothing unmanly about being a peace-maker. Jesus applauded the peace-maker


Genesis 26:23–35 (ESV) —
23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.


• God appears a second time to Isaac. One question might be "Why?"
• One possibility is that he did not leave the land during the famine
• Another possibility is that life was not easy. There was a lot of conflict at Gerar. This visit would have been a reassurance to Isaac
• Also, just as before, Abimelech, his Army commander, and an advisor make a parity covenant of mutual non-aggression
• Isaac is no Abraham, but Isaac has gone through many similar situations as Abraham
• And God has spoken to him twice
• He is sandwiched between two giants, Abraham and Israel (with Joseph still to follow)
• NOTE: Another case where the city is named by a later event but the common name is used in the story -- Beersheba. Actually Gen 21:31 had an oath there prior, but only the well was call Beersheba. Now the town is called BeerSheba
• Quick Corollary
• Abraham was the more aggressive -- he took more chances
• Isaac was the peace maker
• Jacob (Israel) was the schemer
• Joseph was the grand strategist
• Finally, Isaac and Rebecca suffered from both their children
• Esau made poor decisions and probably did not walk with God while young
• Jacob's decision led him to be absent for over 20 years from his family
• APPLICATION: Isaac was the everyday family who lived life and struggled through life at times. Knowing God is no guarantee of a life of ease