Foundation. When we last heard of Isaac was in Genesis 22: 1-19, when the Lord called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and then spared the boy, rewarding Abraham for his faith. Isaac’s story picks up again chapter 24 when it is time for him to take a wife. Abraham has sent his trusted servant Eliezer to Haran to find a suitable wife for Isaac. Abraham’s primary concern at this point is the rampant idolatry of the people living around his family and wants to keep that kind of element out of his household. Eliezer eventually comes upon Rebekah, who is the absolute perfect candidate and takes her back to Abraham’s home.
When we reach chapter 25, Abraham has passed on and Isaac is now in charge of the people, and thus inherits God’s promise of the forth coming mighty nation. But the nation in question isn’t one that Isaac will live to see. Isaac’s task is to hold the fledgling nation together. Just like his father before him, Isaac won’t live to see the mighty nation that will come from his efforts, but Isaac isn’t frustrated by this. In fact Isaac spends his time building a foundation for the future nation. In Genesis 26 Isaac follows Abraham’s pattern and moves the family out of the Promised Land when famine hits. But rather than heading to Egypt, he moves the family towards the coastal land of the Philistines. God appears to Isaac and affirms the promise that he will continue to bless Isaac even in the land of the Philistines.
“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. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” (Genesis 26: 2-5)
God’s blessings to Isaac’s family are so abundant that the local king actually asks Isaac to leave because of his prosperity. However before Isaac departs, the king asks that a peace treaty be made between Isaac and himself. Chapter 26 details these accounts, but in short, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines in Gerar, became worried that Isaac and his blessed family would come to quickly rival his kingdom. This is somewhat reminiscent of Lot and Abraham; when both of their flocks had become so prosperous that the herders began to conflict with each other, it was decided that the two should separate. Two mighty powers cannot coexist for long without conflict and Abimelech understood this. He had already wanted to keep Isaac safe from harm, and it came to the point where the best way to do that was to send him and his family away. Isaac even calls Abimelech’s messengers out on this when they come to him later seeking a peach treaty “Why have you come to me since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”(Genesis 26: 27). When they explained the situation, Isaac accepted their peace treaty and made a feast for them, because nothing says “lets be friends” like a gigantic meal.
But, going back, there was a second purpose for their being sent away from Abimelech’s land. If we go back to verse 17-25, we come to understand that Isaac’s prosperity was getting stifled in their previous land, they needed room to grow. Of course it was only after they were sent away that Isaac made this connection, stating in verse 22 “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
Isaac is further blessed with twin sons, Esau and Jacob. We’ll get more into the boys next week, because that is really a story in of itself.
Isaac serves as a fantastic example of patience, even in times of hardship. When famine had hit, they were moved to the land of the Philistines, away from the Promised Land. This had to hit Isaac as a step back, but he persevered and the Lord blessed him. When they were sent away from their new home, again this had to feel like a set back. They were prospering, and suddenly had to pack up and move, but the end result was so much greater than the prosperity they were experiencing.
Often we find ourselves besieged by set backs. We may find ourselves in an unfavorable job, unable to find a better one. Sometimes we find ourselves moving from a larger home into something smaller, more meager, and we find ourselves asking God “Why? Why have you taken this thing from me?” Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships that we think we are happy in, and wonder why it all fell apart.
What we learn from walking with Isaac is that often we find ourselves with set backs because something better is coming down the road. The relationship may have fallen apart because it was ultimately a destructive one. We may have to move our families from larger homes into smaller ones to reconnect with our loved ones, to appreciate what it means to be a family. We may not be getting the better jobs we keep applying for because God needs us right where we are. Isaac’s example is one of laying things in God’s hands, of patiently waiting for God to work in our lives, and in the mean time being appreciative of what we have. What we learn is to not dwell on what you used to have or what you could have, but rather what the Lord has given you here and now and give thanks.
Let us close in prayer;
Father in heaven, you have blessed us in ways we can’t begin to understand. Guide our hearts not to be envious of what others have, guide our minds to not dwell on what has been or what might be, and help us to realize the blessings we have in the hear and now. Help us to turn those blessings into actions that give the glory to you. We thank you Lord, not for giving us what we want, but for providing for us what we need. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
I want to thank everyone for joining us again this week. I know this week’s lesson feels somewhat short, but that’s one of the benefits of Isaac, he gets right to the heart of the matter. Next week we’ll be looking at his son’s Esau and Jacob.
Have a blessed week and walk with light,
Michael Bauch
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