God’s Promise to Isaac
26:1 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.”
Isaac and Abimelech
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.”
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.”
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. (ESV)
Gen 26:3-5 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.”
God blessed Isaac, not because Isaac was worthy, but becasue God is worthy and it ‘s all part of His plan to show the world just how great He is! Check this out: God blesses Abraham the fearful liar and then his son Issac the fearful liar because He wants to bless them and us (‘… all nations on earth will be blessed…). Abraham wasn’t obedient enough to get in to heaven, he did have faith in God alone which God said was enough. That faith led to repentence which was shown in his willingness to give up Isaac when told by God to do so. All part of God’s perfect plan to save the world and glorify Himself. Incredible but true!
Thank You Lord for being a forgiving God and saving us from our sin through Your Son Jesus so that imperfect people can be with You forever!
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
10 Then Abimelech 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.”
Like Father Like Son! Here Issac did the exact same thing that Abraham did, he just didn’t pull it off so well. I posted on this verse when abraham did it, so I’m just going to sign off.
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
God’s faithfulness proved yet again! Everything that we receive, every blessing, provision, etc. comes from the grace and goodness of the Lord! We can’t lose sight of that. So we must PRAY PRAY PRAY and show our dependence on Him and ask in His will so we can receive.
24 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.”
As Old Man said, Isaac and Abraham fell short of God’s perfect standard of holiness. Both of these men blew it with their wives as they put them in jeopardy to save their own skin. However, God’s promise to Abraham that He would bless him and his descendants remained true despite that fact that they sinned. It is comforting to know that even the great heroes of the Bible like Abraham, Isaac, David, and Peter were not perfect. When I sin I must recognize that I have fallen short and repent and then gratefully enjoy my relationship with God. This should spur me on to sin less because God so lovingly forgives me, and not to sin more because God will forgive me.
5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
Again, God blesses the descendants of those who are faithful to him. Isaac was blessed with so much, not just because of his own obedience, but because of the obedience of his father, Abraham.
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
18 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.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.
21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
22 He 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.”
I am impressed with Isaac’s restrain during this difficult time. These wells were dug by Abraham; Isaac had every right to them. Isaac decides to move on rather than dispute over the life sustaining water. How many of us would have stood our ground and fought for our rights? When considering this passage Luke 6:27-33 also comes to mind. Isaac did not trust in the wells, he trusted in the Lord. I pray the next time we are tempted to take what is ours we would remember Isaac’s example, by letting go, moving on and trusting in God alone.
28 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
29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”
When the Philistines looked at Isaac, they saw a man who served the LORD, and who was blessed greatly by the LORD as a result. Are we the same way? Are we so bold about living a life that is 100% for God and telling everyone we know about Him that when people see our lives they can tell that God has blessed us? And do we truly give God the glory for our accomplishments and blessings? We need to make glorifying God our number 1 priority – and God will bless us as a result!
God makes soooooooooo many promises but always keeps them but notice how all the people who he makes them to are obedient and do not even question him when he asks them to do something. Abraham was obedient and so was Issac. God will keep his promises for us if we are obedient too!
4 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,
5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”
24 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.”
It seems as though, that those who are obedient and serve God are blessed for it! Isn’t this just another great example of why we should not only obey God’s commands, but pray for the obedience of all of God’s people? We are called to make disciples and pray for the kingdom God.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
It is so sad to see how Isaac got in the same situation as his dad and did not handle it any differently. They both lied that their wives were their sisters. And they both did not trust in God that he would protect them.
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
This verse stood out to me because we learned in verse 1 that there was a famine. As far as I know this famine was caused by a lack of rain. That means that the ground Issac planted his crops in was dry as a bone. While others were leaving for Egypt (verse 2) where the Nile river overflows and makes the soil good, Issac stayed and planted his field in the dry soils of Gerar. I would imagine Issace was ridiculed by others for trying to plant his crops in these conditions. However, he trusted God and obeyed despite the circumstances. Because of this trust in God, the LORD blessed him. It is the same with us. We all need to commit beforehand to obeying God no matter what. This would be like signing a blank check (or work order) to God in advance and letting him fill in the amount (or task). When we do this and follow through in obedience we can expect God’s blessing.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Like Murphy said, like father like son. Isaac repeats the same exact mistake his dad did. It’s just sad. He couldv’e learned from Abraham’s mistakes, but he doesn’t and just ends up repeating it. It almost gets everyone in a bunch of trouble too. This shows how lying can end up hurting everyone around you. When we feel like we need to lie, we have to remember God is there and He will provide a way out. He will provide a way out so we can stand up under it! We probably won’t be threatened to be killed like Isaac was here, and we have no excuse for lying.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
I can’t believe Isaac didn’t learn from his father’s mistakes! Again this a sin caused specifically by Isaac lacking faith in God’s plan. His lack of faith led to doubting if God would let him live to see his numerous inheritance. When we come to any sort of doubt of God’s promises we have to remember that God is the one who making the promise. He has never been unfaithful to his promise. NEVER. And he never will. We can fully trust that since God was faithful in the past he will be faithful in the promises he has in the future. Lets have faith greater than a mustard seed.
THANK YOU MECHELL FOR THOSE VERSES!!! They helped me sooooooo much and God was definitely using you to convict me of my sin! Man, I love the Lord!
And Jenae, great comment! His promises are always fulfilled but He only promises those who serve Him and love Him. And this chapter just shows how many blessings a righteous man gets, and not just on Earth! Like Pastor Mike said this weekend, sin is always used for good but that doesn’t give us the right to do it. Because the more righteous we are, the more treasures we have in Heaven!
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
And again, mankind falls into temptation. Why do we keep on sinning when we know that it brings God grief? The God of Heaven and Earth, and of everything in it! Someone that has shown us so much mercy, grace, and love! Lord, may we all cry out to You in our prayers and ask for Your help to take sin out of our lives, because we are unable to do it by ourselves! Knock hard guys, keep knocking!
Gen 26:3-5 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.”
This is really cool to see how God blesses those who follow his commands and obey! It is cool to see Isaac get bless because of Gods promise to Abraham!
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Like father (earthly), like son…Abraham was also afraid to tell men that Sarah was his wife, he lied that Sarah was his sister and Isaac does the same and tells other people a lie that Rebekah is his sister, than the truth that Rebekah is his wife.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
I found this interesting, because God blessed Isaac so much that king Abimelech said “move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
24 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.”
God must have such an unbelieveable presence, because everytime in the Bible when the God is present, the Glory of the Lord will make people afraid and fall facedown, it’s going to be so awesome when we see the Lord for the first time, unfortuantley, that could be like 70 years from now…Lord-willing. I am so excited for the day when I meet the Lord!
24 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.”
Both Abraham and Issac trusted and put their faith in God. For this they were rewarded and blessed by God. He promised them that their offsprings would become nations and fill the earth. Also where ever they went they were treatin well because God protected them and watched over them. People say that the Lord was with them and they did not try to harm them. God will always protect His children.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Okay seriously, I was so disappointed when i read this… like father like son. Isaac has just repeated the same old lie that his father told when he was asked about his wife. We need to be bearers of the truth. We need to tell the truth even when it may look bad or could possibly harm us in some way. If we don’t have a reputation of speaking the truth, people will begin to not believe and trust what we say. Furthermore we are called by God to speak the truth. I looked up some verses about telling the truth:
Proverbs 12:19 “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.”
Proverbs 16:13 “Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth.”
1 Corinthians 13:6 “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
2 Corinthians 13:8 “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.”
It is so imperative that we always speak the truth and shine as lights in this dark world!!
4 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,
5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”
I agree with Luke Decker and Shelby on these verses!! We are soooo blessed to have such a giving God, and when we obey his commands we are blessed!! We don’t even deserve to go to heaven, let alone, being blessed by the things God has graciously given us right now! This passage should encourage us to obey His commands more! I’m soooo very grateful for knowing such a loving and giving God, let us praise him whole-heartedly today!!
3 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.
This verse is a great reminder that God will fufill His promises, this another reason why God is soooo amazing.
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
The Lord has truly blessed us all. Here is a perfect example to what the Lord can do. Thank the Lord
. The ones who talk to God and give to God are the ones who receive from Him.
24That 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 numbers of your descendents for the sake of my servant Abraham.
the part of this verse,”Do not be afraid, for I am with you” is so encouraging to know that whereever we go, God is with us each step of the way. We don’t have to be afraid of anything here on earth except for God. but the fear of Him is good to have. from the beggining to forever God will be with us.
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
i think that it is so cool that the Lord rewards us when we seek and obey and love Him. even though the bulk of our rewards will be in heaven, God created us in His own image and knows what we like. though we should not have faith to reap the earthly rewards of this short life, it is always encouragin to see the Lord rewards the faithful, like Isaac. he is another great example of someone who feared and loved God
34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
When I read these verses, I wondered why Esau and his wives disappointed Isaac and Rebekah so much. My study Bible answered my question my noting that “Esau’s choice of wives from amon neighboring hittite women saddened his parents. His action had deliberately ignored the standard set by Abraham for Isaac.” Remember how Abraham sent away for Rebekah from his relatives? This is another example of how Esau had to have immediate pleasures. Just as he could not wait for soup so he sold his birthright, he could not wait for his father to send away for a wife for him so he picked two that were close. This was a big encouragement to me to be patient and wait on the Lord’s timing. It is not worth rushing things in life, such as relationships, especially when God has a plan worked out for your life.
“We saw clearly that the LORD was with you…”
It is awesome that Isaac had such a strong love for the Lord that others could see that he was one who walked with God. It makes me want to work so hard to be a Christian that lives every moment serving the Lord. Christians should be excited when we are seen as different from the mainstream crowd as we work our hardest to live for God and not give into the temptations around us. Hopefully we would be identified by non-Christians at school as people who worship the Lord.
As you can see here, Isaac is blessed with so much from the Lord because of Abraham. God blessed Abraham’s descendants. Abraham was willing to sacrifice anything for the Lord, even his own son! He kept his laws and decrees. Most people these days break a law or something in the commandments every day! More than once a day. Imagine what the Lord would bless us with today if we were more like Abraham!
Isaac faced many hardships throughout the course of his life. But he remained confident in the Lord because he understood that God is always with him. We should wake up every morning with this attitude that God will always take care of us. We need reliance on him as he leads us from temptation.
Jacob A, Nice verses !
24 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.”
I love How God always provides for Isaac. Everytime Isaac is shown hostility from his enemies the Lord answers back with even more blessings. This just reafirms His promise with Abraham, and shows that He is faithful. Let’s remeber God’s promises to us (John 12:25-26 for ex.) so that we can have a strong faith too!
It is so cool to see God’s plans and promises unfolding as we read. And how he rewards those that are faithful to Him.
I like the part in verses 17-22, Isaac sets a great example for us in being a servant and having a willing heart to give the wells he dug over to the other people.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Wow this is kind of a pattern huh? Isaac should have had faith that God would protect him and not lied to Abimelech.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
Wow, this verse is pretty powerful. God chose to bless Isaac and he evem became more powerful than the king in that land! It just goes to show that being favored in the Lord’s eyes is a good thing!
28 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
These people knew the power of the LORD and feared him. once they knew that He was with Isaac, they were afraid of him and tried to make peace with him instantly. We need to have the same reaction. If we do something that could offend God, we need to confess and repent immediately.
29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”
Ok I think it is awsome that the people who didn’t even know God saw that he had blessed Isaic. They were not like, “oh wow this man is very skilled and quite lucky” no they were like wow you are blessed by the Lord! We need to realize that all blessings come from the Lord, and we must give thanks!
24 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.”
We need not be afraid with Jesus Christ. he has protected us and always will.
28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the LORD was with you;
Our God is so great! When we truly have God in our lives other people notice. They see a pure joy that we have and we try to live our lives as our perfect example, Jesus Christ. God will always protect us and becasue of that we have a sense of peace…We have to creator of the universe as our saving shephard!
Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spititual fervor serving the Lord.
27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
28 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
It is always important to shine God’s light amongst other people. If others see what God has done for you they will want God to take over their lives also. Bearing fruit brings others to Christ.
3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.
…
6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Always doing as the LORD commands. Great!! (not much else to say [tired from studying])
Isaac just like his father Abraham saying “She is my sister”
(v6) So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
This is another great example of Godly obedience. Isaac obeyed Gods commands because he had a great fear for the LORD and knew that if he obeyed God, he would be rewarded. We need to have this mentality day by day. Wether its obeying God, our parents, or even obeying our teachers. Our authority figures on this world were put here for a reason. So that we can obey them. We need to be as Godly as Isaac and obey the LORD day by day, because it is God who gives us life and breath daily.
24 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.”
I like how the Lord said not to be afraid! That has happened all over the Bible, and man, imagine what the Lord’s presence is like! Definitely something that would cause us to fall facedown in front of Him!
This weekend and whenever you are worshiping the Lord, remember who He is and how we need to have clean hands and a pure heart before Him in His secret place!
This passage was great. It shows were God is there will also be an abundance of growth. Not being in Gods word can hinder us, the past week i have really been stepping it up and reading everyday and praying to God, and i have felt growth in my life just from that.
28 “We saw clearly that the LORD was with you”
I like this verse because, it should be evident that Jesus is the center of lout lives, and people will/should notice that there is something different.
PS: Pastor Bobby your sermon this week was AWSOMEEE!!
This is simply a lack of faith. God promises Isaac that he will be with him and that he will bless him. Then Isaac gives in to fear and lies about his wife. If he trusted God he would not fear like this. God promises us to be with us and bless us. Especially, if we do things like read the Bible (Psalm 1, James 1) or make disciples (Matthew 28). We need to trust what God says and make sure we are faithful to do what he tells us!
Verse 12
It is encouraging to see God fulfilling his promise of looking after Abraham’s offspring. Even though it is not nearly close to the rewards that will be recieved in heaven. Even though Abraham and Isaac had doubted the Lord they had great obedience.
This just stresses the point of obedience in our life. We need to obey God all the time no matter what even if we are faced with death. We need to be obedient to that point, the point of death. And through obedience we will show our love to God.
The same sin! Isaac and Abraham are both guilty of deception as they lie to the Philistines that their wives are actually their sisters. Isaac has seen throughout his life God’s protection, especially when Abraham was commanded to sacrifice him, yet here he is too concerned with his own safety to trust God. Isaac is confronted by the Philistines about Rebekkah, lies and tells them she is his sister. We are oftentimes just as guilty as Isaac. We see God’s amazing providence and protection in our lives, yet worry and refuse to trust God in specific situations. Proverbes 3:5-6 is a great verse to remember in these situations. Trust in the Lord with all your heart!
We should put our confidence in God’s promises and not be distracted by circumstances (like a famine)
Well I think it’s interesting that right after God gave Isaac this great promise of a blessing, he goes and lies showing a lack of faith in what God has told him. Isaac said he feared losing his life. It’s good reading this and using it as an example for me to trust what God has promised and to do everything that the Bible says in order to show that trust.
It is sad that Issac gives in to fear and instead of trusting God takes things into his own hands. So often we think our sin, especially something like lying, will justify us in certain situations. God wants us to be completely reliant on Him, never thinking we can come up with a better plan than His.
To me this passage shows how obedient Issac was to the lord just like his father Abraham. By being obedient to God he will be faithful and just, to not leave you and to bless you. This is a good reminder for our daily walk with God to be obedient to him each day. It’s like what Pastor Bobby said at winter revival PRAY-STAY-OBEY!
24 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
Right here God makes us a promise of not to be afraid because He is with us. This is a great verse right here because we should not be afraid of Finals this week and have faith and know God is with you and that. We need to do it for his glory