Genesis
26 – Isaac and Abimelech
King
Abimelech is experiencing the same thing with Isaac and Rebekah that he did
with Abraham and Sarah. Both Abraham and
Isaac told the king that his wife was his sister. It is sad when the new
generation imitates the sins of the old generation. God did not intervene with
Isaac and Rebekah like he did with Sarah by making King Abimelech’s household
sick. In this case the King witnessed Isaac showing affection to Rebekah. After confronting Isaac, he charged his
people not to touch Rebekah. Isaac and
Rebekah stayed on and prospered so much that the King sent them away. Isaac
moved from the town of Gerar to the valley of Gerar. While there, he dug several wells that caused
disputes between the Philistine herdsmen and his own. Each time Isaac moved on
until he ended up in Beersheba where he built an altar and worshiped the
Lord. King Abimelech had kept a watchful
eye on Isaac and realized that God had blessed Isaac abundantly. Wanting to be a part of that blessing, he
came to Isaac and sought forgiveness for running them out of town. Isaac quickly forgave him and threw him a
feast.
Isaac
and the King made peace, but it was not so in Isaac’s household. Isaac’s son Esau had taken two women to be
his wife, and both were Hittites. Being
an Israelite, it was a sin for him to marry outside of God’s chosen
people. This caused contention between
Isaac, Rebekah, and their daughters-in-law.
The Bible does not go on o discuss what the contentions were other than
they were not Israelites. The rest can
only be speculation.
In
Romans 12:18 it says, “If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all men.” This means
there are some people who love to keep us in confusion and stir up trouble, but
it is up to us to be a peace maker and not a peace breaker.
In
all cases where Isaac had dug a well and caused strife, he kept the peace by
moving on and allowing the other side to have the wells. Finally, he found a well that he could keep
and maintain. In contrast to his father Abraham who dared to declare war, Isaac
was a quiet, meditative man who tried to avoid trouble. He boldly faced his neighbors with their bad
conduct – and he won!
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