God’s Covenant with Isaac

Text: Genesis 26:1-35

I. God Appears to Isaac (vv.1-11)

1. As we’ve noticed already in Genesis, there are numerous points of mirror-like similarity btw the lives of Abraham and of Isaac. This is even alluded to here in v.1—Isaac faces a famine in the Promised Land just as Abraham did back in Ge 12:10.
   1. And in vv.2-6 Isaac, like Abraham, faces the temptation to flee the famine in the Promised Land and run to Egypt for security. But…
      1. The Lord/Yahweh appears to Isaac, as he did Abraham in Gen. 12, and initiates a gracious covenant with Isaac, just has he did with Abraham.
   2. Yet here we are reminded there are also purposeful points of dissimilarity in Abraham and Isaac’s stories: tho Abraham had trusted God and followed him to the Promised Land, Abraham had also fled to Egypt leaving the Promised Land in the previous famine.
      1. God specifically instructs Isaac not to do this, and Isaac trusts God and remains in Gerar in the Promised Land, rather than fleeing to Egypt.
      2. Will Isaac succeed where his father failed out of fear? Will he trust God in the famine, rather than seeking his own solution? It appears so, at this point.
   3. Here is a critical reminder, especially as we see so many parallels between Abraham & Isaac’s life, that no one is ‘fated’ or ‘destined’ to follow in the footsteps of their parents.
2. In vv.7-11 we find Isaac using the same old ruse that was his dad’s standby: Isaac tells the inhabitants of Gerar that Rebekah is his sister, rather than his wife, b/c she is so pretty he is afraid they might want to kill him in order to get to her.
   1. It is likely that the ‘Abimelech’ mentioned here is not the same as in Abraham’s story, because ‘Abimelech’ is probably a title rather than a name.
      1. Regardless, we are specifically told in v.8 that Isaac persisted in this lie ‘for a long time’. Only after Abimelech providentially sees Isaac & Rebekah flirting w/ each other is the truth finally uncovered.
      2.  Again, as with Abraham, God intervenes to save the Promised Seed, in spite of Isaac’s fearfulness and deception.
   2. However, a sobering principle for parenting is put on display in this episode: while it is true, as we’ve already observed, that no one is fated to follow in the footsteps of their parents—listen to me carefully, parents!—it is extremely difficult for any child to transcend the example of their parents.

II. Isaac Prospers and Is Patient (vv.12-22)

1. In vv.12-14, Isaac is plainly and abundantly blessed, as his father before him. Everything he touches—from farming, to shepherding, to transacting business—prospers (in a time of famine!), until he is literally wealthier than the king himself!
   1. So, perhaps not surprisingly, vv.14-16 recount how the surrounding Philistines become envious of Isaac, and Abimelech even fearfully/preemptively sends him away with the admission ‘you are mightier than any of us’!
2.  What follows, in vv.17-22, is a tale of remarkable patience/perseverance on Isaac’s part. In the midst of his prosperity, he nonetheless finds himself pestered/ persecuted constantly by the native people of the land.
   1. First, he moves away from his headquarters in Gerar in order to pacify Abimelech; then he re-digs a well from his father’s day, but the locals argue the water from it belongs to them! So he digs a new well, in a new locale, but the locals then claim that as theirs as well.
      1. Finally, Isaac moves to a new area and digs a new well there; only then is he able to settle down, without conflict, and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
      2. The names of each well reflect his experience with them, and form an outline of his encounters: ‘contention’; then ‘enmity’; and then finally ‘broad space’. Isaac, like Abraham, is not trying to take the Promised Land by conquest, but trusting God to make room for him in good time. This is the patience of faith!
   2. And we are reminded here that even when God’s blessing did explicitly involve material prosperity (which is not true in the NT, b/c God gives us greater promises concerning invisible/eternal things!), even then it was not a prosperity free of pain or persecution. How much more so now!

III. Isaac Is at Peace With (Most of) His Enemies (vv.23-35)

1. vv.23-25 record how the Lord, as Isaac sojourns faithfully/expectantly in the Promised Land, reconfirms his promises to Isaac.
   1. In response, as Abraham had so often done, Isaac builds an altar & praises the Lord who has established such great things for him. And there his servants also dig a well, clearly in anticipation that God will continue with him as promised.
2. On the heels of this event, we read in vv.26-33 that the same Abimelech who had pressed Isaac to leave comes to initiate a peaceful pact w/ him. And even as Isaac ratifies this treaty with Abimelech, Isaac’s servants come to tell him they have water from the new well. A picture of prosperity and peace, as God had promised!
3. However, the chapter closes in vv.34-35 with the ominous reminder that not all is at peace in Isaac’s life. Esau has married pagan, Hittite wives and they have become a constant source of bitter vexation for both Isaac & Rebekah.
   1. An odd ending for a chapter that chiefly recounts how God makes a covenant with Isaac, re-confirms it to him, and then begins to fulfill its blessings in Isaac’s lifetime.
      1. The reality is/the fact is that, even though Isaac has responded in faith to God’s covenant promises, Isaac’s life has not been perfect.
   2. The fact is, although Isaac believed God and generally followed God throughout his life, Isaac was an imperfect parent who failed in major ways. It should be no surprise that Esau did not turn out well, or that Jacob grew up to be a scheming, deceitful cheat. Liars beget liars, selfish people beget selfish children!
      1. What is amazing is that God brought the Promised Seed through Isaac’s offspring anyway! This is because—while the godly home is one of God’s primary means of grace in life—in the end, of course, godly children are never a product of human effort, right choices, or even family devotions. Godly children are always the direct result of God’s

Conclusion

The only hope for Isaac’s children, for your children, or for you is the only hope of all the nations: the Promised Savior who would come and obey perfectly where his grandparent Isaac even failed; who would transcend the example of his parents, grandparents, and every other human around him in order to perfectly trust God, perfectly obey God, and then die on the cross for those who never could.

1. Your hope, my hope, and our children’s hope must be in Jesus Christ’s obedience for us, and on his sin-bearing death in our place. (1 Pet. 1:18-21)
2. God sent his Son Jesus in order to die for the sins you and your children will never overcome in your own resolve, and then raised Jesus from the dead so that your faith and hope would be—not in yourself, not in your parenting, not in your children—but in God!