Genesis 26:1-35
26:1 Like his father, Abraham, experienced there came a famine in the region where Isaac and his family resided. Think also of this famine in a figurative sense: tribulation and deprivation threatened to upset the life Isaac was used to. What did Isaac do? He was pro-active, he tried to work with local leader about the impending crisis.
26:2 Although Isaac was productive in taking immediate action to try to control his situation, he did not react the way his father would have (and did). Abraham always sought God first. Abraham understood that his efforts were most likely to succeed if the first entity he sought counsel from was God. Yet God was with Isaac, as He is with us, even when our faith isn't as strong or immediate as it could be. He took control: He led Isaac away from famine, away from the plans Isaac was drawing up because He knew of a better way.
These opening verses are wise counsel for us. For if what we seek is relief and opportunity, the first person we need to turn to in moments of doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, or sadness is our God. The plans He is able to make for us and lead us through are so much more sophisticated than anything we could plan. Allow Him to take control, His scope is broader and His decision making skills are wiser.
These opening verses are wise counsel for us. For if what we seek is relief and opportunity, the first person we need to turn to in moments of doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, or sadness is our God. The plans He is able to make for us and lead us through are so much more sophisticated than anything we could plan. Allow Him to take control, His scope is broader and His decision making skills are wiser.
26:3-4 God makes the same promise He made to Abraham and to all of us, His children: follow me and I will be with you and bless you. When we follow Him, He becomes able to protect us. When we voluntarily seek refuge under His wing we enter a sphere of love and protection.
26:5 God make a promise to Abraham who He professed as a prophet and He intended to keep it. He promised Abraham generations of posterity and for that to continue, He needed to remain with his children (Isaac and Ishmael, etc) and then their children...etc, leading up to you and your posterity! For those who will accept Him, there is an abundance of blessings to receive.
How did Abraham gain access to these blessings? God reminds us: he followed God, His voice, His charge, His commandments, His statutes and His laws. What is all of that? Together the comprise God's philosophy of life, they are detailed explanations of how to live a compassionate life.
26:5 God make a promise to Abraham who He professed as a prophet and He intended to keep it. He promised Abraham generations of posterity and for that to continue, He needed to remain with his children (Isaac and Ishmael, etc) and then their children...etc, leading up to you and your posterity! For those who will accept Him, there is an abundance of blessings to receive.
How did Abraham gain access to these blessings? God reminds us: he followed God, His voice, His charge, His commandments, His statutes and His laws. What is all of that? Together the comprise God's philosophy of life, they are detailed explanations of how to live a compassionate life.
26:6 God's advice was for Isaac not to leave, as he had begun to plan to do. In a figurative sense, God asked Isaac not to stray from his faith. God placed this family in a space where their faith would be respected and allowed to flourish, un-tempted and un-corrupted by neighboring villages and their opposing ways of life.
26:7 Isaac uses the same formula as Abraham: he pretends that Rebekah is his sister rather than his wife. In the cultural context, beautiful women were sought after by royalty... men lost their lives in order for others to legally obtain their lives.
26:8 Isaac's duplicity is soon found out: Abimelech noticed Isaac's affection toward Rebekah.
26:9 As he did to Abraham, king Abimelech called Isaac out into truth from his lie. Isaac is then honest in telling him of his fears.
26:10 King Abimelech is not happy. He is aware that Isaac's family is closely connected with God and he does not want to infringe upon that... Isaac's lie might have caused him to do so. King Abimelech might not have wanted to ascribe to the faith and its responsibilities but neither did he want to upset a clearly powerful God.
26:11 And so, Isaac and Rebekah become protected by king Abimelech's order for everyone to leave them alone.
26:12-14 As God promised, instead of being destroyed by famine, Isaac began to prosper. Notice the first sentence: Isaac sowed the land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. God promised that if Isaac put in the faith and effort, he would accomplish and even thrive. God fulfilled that promise with Isaac and He will fulfill it for you.
Isaac did not sit down and relax. He wasn't lazy. He wasn't entitled. He worked. God showed him a place where his efforts would produce exceedingly and so Isaac put the effort in. God's blessings flood into us and our lives much the same way. The more generous we are, the more generosity we receive... from life and people and God. Our patience opens up space for more patience. Our kindness opens up space for more kindness.
We God discovers a vessel, a human, a soul, willing to work compassionately... He is going to completely fill that person will blessings and opportunity because through that person He is able to bless the world. As the instruments through which so many of His abilities come, together with Him we can change lives: our own, our family's, our community's, our nation. We can help put a force of love into the globe. But we have to be willing to put in the work.
Isaac did not sit down and relax. He wasn't lazy. He wasn't entitled. He worked. God showed him a place where his efforts would produce exceedingly and so Isaac put the effort in. God's blessings flood into us and our lives much the same way. The more generous we are, the more generosity we receive... from life and people and God. Our patience opens up space for more patience. Our kindness opens up space for more kindness.
We God discovers a vessel, a human, a soul, willing to work compassionately... He is going to completely fill that person will blessings and opportunity because through that person He is able to bless the world. As the instruments through which so many of His abilities come, together with Him we can change lives: our own, our family's, our community's, our nation. We can help put a force of love into the globe. But we have to be willing to put in the work.
26:15 King Abimelech and the people under his jurisdiction grew to be envious... and then spitefully jealous of Isaac's success. They were a self-sufficient, even successful society and here was this man exceeding their accomplishments. In order to try to thwart him, they dried up his wells (disabled him, they thought, from running his farm).
26:16 Eventually, he is asked to leave. As humans, we know of opposition. Of jealousy and spiteful acts. We know that we have to be better than that... but we also know that not everybody is and sometimes it affects our lives. People are not always as proud or appreciative of us as they should be... how does Isaac handle this?
26:17 Without dispute, he separates himself from the negativity. He rebuilt his farm in a more peaceful space. How could he do so with so little anxiety? God had promised to take care of him and God's promises are not limited. Where we must go, He goes. And He continues to bless us the entire way: from departure to journey to destination and repeat.
26:18 Opposition follows him. Again, they try to thwart him. They will fail. It would be easy for Isaac (or us) to perceive this inconvenience, this injustice as unnecessary derailment. But what it actually was, was an opportunity for Isaac to distance himself and his family from people who would continue to plague them. Throughout his life he (and we) journey to where we need to be... when we follow God. Maybe it's inconvenient... but it is not unnecessary. Any movement we make with our eyes on God is movement we need to make. Is movement that is good and better for us.
26:19 Isaac and his workers began to dig another well...
26:20... but they were forced to stop. Someone else laid claim to that space.
26:21 Isaac moves to another space and begins to dig another well... but again he meets dispute. On the surface, this would be frustrating. But we must remember that we do not want to be in a space that is not for us. And the space or person or job or opportunity that is for us will be offered to us without contention.
Isaac could have stayed and argued and fought and begged for this land but he understood that it was not for him. When something is for us, we do not have to desperately reach for it. When something is meant for us, it is placed right into our hands.
Isaac could have stayed and argued and fought and begged for this land but he understood that it was not for him. When something is for us, we do not have to desperately reach for it. When something is meant for us, it is placed right into our hands.
26:22 Isaac finally finds the space that was meant for him and his family. No arguments, no haggling. Isaac calls this land: Rehoboth, or "spaciousness." Perfect working because that is, in essence, what God gives to us: freedom and the space to thrive and learn and love. If we are in the right place, the best place for us to be, we will never be moved from it.
When we put in the effort and the faith God makes sure we have the essentials: the space to thrive in our endeavors, learn from our experiences and love the people in our lives.
When we put in the effort and the faith God makes sure we have the essentials: the space to thrive in our endeavors, learn from our experiences and love the people in our lives.
26:23-25 Isaac builds an altar from which to worship, express his gratitude for God. It's imperative that we all have some kind of outlet to express our love, communication and gratitude to God. Sometimes that space is our head... in both quiet and hectic environments. Sometimes it is 5 minutes or an hour or a day... or longer. Sometimes it is in fasting or giving... however we express our kinship with God, it's important to actually do it. We need moments of reflection for they prod our growth and expansion of perception.
Isaac was a mediator from the very beginning. Especially in our generation, we are always going. Always doing something or writing something or talking to someone... playing games or googling things. Whatever it is: we need moments away from it. We need moments with God. We need to hold him in our minds and souls as we hold our phones in our hands: in other words, we are to give him our undivided attention (and even awe). He uses those moments to pack us with wisdom and instruction so that when it is time to make a decision or take on a responsibility, we are prepared to do it the right way.
In those moments of prayer and meditation we organize our thoughts and the events of our lives. Are we upholding our values? Have we remained committed to our goals? Are our motivations selfless? In the chaos of life we get derailed. All of us. If we make moments of reflection frequent, we are less likely to deter from our path.
Isaac was a mediator from the very beginning. Especially in our generation, we are always going. Always doing something or writing something or talking to someone... playing games or googling things. Whatever it is: we need moments away from it. We need moments with God. We need to hold him in our minds and souls as we hold our phones in our hands: in other words, we are to give him our undivided attention (and even awe). He uses those moments to pack us with wisdom and instruction so that when it is time to make a decision or take on a responsibility, we are prepared to do it the right way.
In those moments of prayer and meditation we organize our thoughts and the events of our lives. Are we upholding our values? Have we remained committed to our goals? Are our motivations selfless? In the chaos of life we get derailed. All of us. If we make moments of reflection frequent, we are less likely to deter from our path.
26:26 Those who tried to ruin Isaac's life returned... but this time they wanted to be friends. It might sound familiar... when people who took us for granted realize they probably should have kept us close... because of our accomplishments.
26:27 These men return for selfish reasons and Isaac is straight-forward about that with them: why are you here when you hate me and asked me to leave? Be honest. Be straightforward. Give and demand truth.
26:27 These men return for selfish reasons and Isaac is straight-forward about that with them: why are you here when you hate me and asked me to leave? Be honest. Be straightforward. Give and demand truth.
26:28-29 Having been called out for their unkindness, they simply request to have a non-contentious relationship with Isaac.
26:30-31 Even though it would seem that they do not deserve it, Isaac is kind with them. God impresses upon us complete compassion. When we person comes to us peacefully, we are taught to return that peace. Vengeance and bitterness is toxic:
"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."
Mark TwainIf Isaac had been cruel to them... he would have been no better than they were to him. We must not emulate the behavior of our enemies... for it we do, we become them.
26:32-33 Kindness yields. Isaac's compassionate dealings with the men reaffirmed his commitment to the faith. His commitment to the faith allowed him access to the blessings of God. The new wells they dug began to run with water; soon they would be as sufficient and productive as they had once been. Isaac allowed God's compassion to flow through Him... and so God allowed His blessings to flow through Isaac's life. The same arrangement happens in your life: you put in the compassionate effort and it is returned to you.
Had Isaac opposed God and went against His philosophy... had he dried up his faith with anger and revenge, those wells would have remained dry too.
Had Isaac opposed God and went against His philosophy... had he dried up his faith with anger and revenge, those wells would have remained dry too.
26:34-35 Esau followed a different path. He began to take on several wives and none of them of the same faith. We are not required to marry people who share our specific faith, but it is important that we marry people who share our values. Esau did that but the problem was... his values were non-existent, or even corrupt. Abraham was strict about Isaac's wife being from a faithful background because we are very much who we surround ourselves with... for Isaac and Rebekah to see that trend ruined, it caused them grief.
