Genesis 26:1-33
Wells of Salvation
June 9, 2019
Lynchburg, Virginia
EXHORDIUM
Isaac leaves the land in which he was dwelling in the face of a great famine. The crops had failed in the midst of a dearth of rain and there was not enough food to preserve them. In the land of his wandering, he finds water, the source of life.
But he is hard pressed by the enemies of God. They claim his water without doing the work to dig the well. Isaac moves on trying to find peace and rest only to find more trouble.
God intervenes on his behalf, and uses the occasion of the lust of the Philistines to plunder them and bring great riches and wealth to Isaac.
In this land, God provides a well of springing water. Isaac sows and the blessing of God provides a one hundred fold increase.
These stories of God’s provision of water should remind us of what water symbolizes.
John says, “I baptize you with water but one is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John 1:29-34 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which ||taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.[1]
EXEGESIS
26 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Moses points out that this is a different famine than the one in Abraham’s day. The reason seems clear, that this story is so similar to the previous story of Abraham, that he doesn’t want to be confused and conflate them.
It is important for us to note the recapitulation. It appears to be almost the exact same story and with the same results.
Abraham was in Gerar the year before Isaac was born. At this point, Isaac is over 60 years old. The king when Abraham was in Gerar was Abimelech. Abimelech means my father is king, so it is likely that it is a title. This may be the son or grandson of the Abimelech that Abraham dealt with.
But Isaac’s father is king, and Abraham’s Father is King.
2 And the Lordappeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
God appears to Isaac and reinstitutes the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac. Later on, we see Him do the same thing with Jacob. This is why He is known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Isaac was contemplating going down to Egypt for safety. But God tells him to stay in the land that his people will one day inherit. Isaac is now promised land and descendants.
God reiterates that Abraham obeyed His voice, kept his charge, commandments, statutes and laws. This is an important saying for several reasons.
1. Obedience produces blessings. It is all God’s grace and mercy. God called Abram and made him a nation. This was not based upon some goodness in Abram but rather by God’s sovereign decree. Subsequently, however, the blessing is contingent. It is based upon obedience. Abram answered the call and left his homeland to seek a different country, whose maker is God.
2. Kept God’s charge- Go and I will bless thee. Bottom line here is that Abraham believed God and it was accounted him as righteousness.
3. Kept God’s commandments, statutes and laws- These three are closely related. God’s spoken word was His command. Abraham heard the voice of God and obeyed. His statutes would consist of specific requirements, particularly circumcise your male children as a sign of the covenant.
4. Kept God’s law- What law is God talking about? The law did not come until many years after the promise to Abraham. Moses received the law of God, The Ten Commandments and all the particular working out of the law after they had escaped Egypt. Abraham’s day was 400 years prior to this. Nonetheless, God says that Abraham kept the law of God.
a. Moses is the author of Genesis. He knows from whence the laws of God arose. God specifically gave the Ten Words on the mountain and wrote them on a stone. However, all the particular workings of the law were likely already in practice. The Sabbath rest was already inaugurated but no doubt, all ten of the laws were already known by Abraham and His people. The giving of the law at Sinai made official the law that was already God’s command and concern, even in the day of Abraham. Moses was working with oral tradition and transcribing putting ink and paper to it to make it official and permanent.
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men of the place asked himof his wife; and he said, She ismy sister: for he feared to say, She ismy wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she wasfair to look upon.
Isaac uses the same ruse as Abraham did with Sarah. Sarah was Abraham’s half sister but Rebekah is not Isaac’s sister. Abraham meant to deceive and his half-truth was a lie. Isaac tells a lie here to protect himself and his wife. God did not condemn Abraham but rather cursed the Abimelech. The exact same thing happens here. God blesses Isaac and curses Abimelech.
We can see the sort of wicked men that Isaac is living among. He is a great man and yet still fears for his life as men were likely to kill him to take his beautiful wife.
Gen 20:6 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.[2]
8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac wassporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she isthy wife: and how saidst thou, She ismy sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
10 And Abimelech said, What isthis thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
We see here the reason that Isaac feared to say Rebekah was his wife. Clearly, fornication was not prohibited among the Philistines. However, adultery was. One could take an unmarried woman and lie with her but a married woman was off limits.
Of course, this brings to mind the issue of protecting Rebekah. If a man might seek to have relations with her if she was not married, then why did Isaac not claim her as wife. The reasons seem to be two fold.
1. That a man would kill for such a beautiful woman and these Philistines might even kill a great lord, like Isaac, and take not only his wife but also his estate.
2. He trusted Rebekah explicitly and shielded her from being taken. He had no doubt of her fidelity. Thus, he did not fear that another man might seduce her. Isaac, no doubt, made sure Rebekah was protected from being assaulted against her will.
3. God protected Sarah in this situation and Isaac rightly expects the same outcome.
11 And Abimelech charged all hispeople, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and theLordblessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
The result of this encounter with Abimelech is that Isaac is greatly blessed. He gains the king’s protection so that if any man were to challenge Isaac in order to take Rebekah, then he should be put to death.
Isaac is blessed to the maximum. The Spirit will bless 30, 60 and 100 fold. Isaac is blessed 100 fold. He waxes great, even very great with flocks, herds and many servants. The Philistines envy the blessing of Isaac.
15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
Whereas they were a threat to him, he is now a threat to them and they desire that he go away from them.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water isours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lordhath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.
Isaac reclaims the lost wells from the days of Abraham and calls them again by the names his father gave them. Isaac is now the blessed one, like his father. This is God’s declaration that Isaac is the son of promise. In the land of promise is a well of sprining water. This is an abundant well that brings life.
The enemies of God want to steal Isaac’s blessing but they cannot. It is given by God and cannot be revoked. No matter what they do, Isaac is still blessed.
23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And the Lordappeared unto him the same night, and said, I amthe God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I amwith thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
Fear Not- If God is with us, who can be against us? Do not fear.
Abraham’s sake- Isaac is blessed for the sake of Abraham. It is not so much something intrinsic in Abraham but rather, that God had promised Abraham and God always keeps His promises. Particularly, the blessing mentioned here is multiplied seed. That was the promise to Abraham and God has not forgotten.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
Wherever Isaac digs, he finds the well springs of life.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
The Philistines come hat in hand. They drove Isaac away but he keeps growing stronger. They are reduced to making a treaty with him to eliminate their own danger. The captain of the army comes with the Abimelech but not for the purpose of making war. He is asking for a lasting peace.
28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lordwas with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, evenbetwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou artnow the blessed of the Lord. 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
The Lord will make even your enemies to be at peace with you. It was clear to Abimelech and his army that the Lord was prospering Isaac. Thus, they are interested in making sure that Isaac does not rise up against them and wipe them out.
Abimelech asserts that his people have not touched Isaac’s people or harmed them. This is not expressly true. We have seen in the previous verses how the Philistines contended for the springing wells. They did so dishonestly. Isaac took the provocation and moved on. Perhaps the Philistines were still too powerful for Isaac. But it soon becomes clear that the Hebrews have grown stronger than the Philistines. Furthermore, the Philistines recognize that Isaac has the divine approval and they are fearful of fighting Isaac’s God.
EXHORTATION
32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city isBeer-sheba unto this day.[3]
There is a Famine
Of the Word of God. The word of man is always in fashion. But the word of man does not give life. Only the Spirit can do that. Where will go for the words of life?
Give Me This Water!
John 4:2-14 4When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with hisjourney, sat thus on the well: andit was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.[4]
Gen. 26:9 And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.[5]
The Lord has always sought a faithful bride. It is difficult searching. He loves the bride but she is unfaithful and drifts away with her many suitors. And yet, He continually brings her to the waters of life. He is ever faithful, even when she is faithless. Abraham and Isaac were unwilling to die, lest the promise given them of offspring to a thousand generations, as great as the stars in sky or the sand on the seashore, should perish. They must live that the promise might live.
But God in His wisdom, meant for the bridegroom to die to bring the wells of salvation. From Jesus are the waters of life but they would not spring to life unless He were to die and rise again from the dead. He must die, like the seed from a dying flower, that must fall to the earth to provide one hundred fold fruitfulness.
You are gathered here as the bride of the dead and risen bridegroom. He died that you might live. He rose to be with you always. He sent His Spirit as an everlasting springing well of salvation. Believe on Him.
[1]The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jn 1:29–34.
[2]The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 20:6.
[3]The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 26.
[4]The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jn 4.
[5]The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 26:9.
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