Like Father Like Son (Cont)

We are picking up where we left off last week in our study.

In a quick reprise of where we have been, we seen Isaac, the son of Abraham, operating in a familiar way. Isaac is displaying some of dad’s old tendencies.

We briefly talked about how our children will often pick up on our habits, our behaviors, our mannerisms, etc.

Remember, famine had hit the land. In the first situation we looked at, Isaac had followed in Abraham’s footsteps by lying about the identity of his wife.

We will not unpack this again this evening, but it was clear that the same overwhelming and controlling fear that Abraham experienced had been passed down to his son.

But Genesis 26 does not end there… we see Isaac do something else that should immediately remind us of his father.

Isaac Builds an Altar...

The story in Genesis 26 continues by giving details of what takes place with Isaac throughout the famine.

Isaac becomes wealthy and powerful… in a time when food and supplies were scarce. GOD CAN MOVE IN INCREDIBLE WAYS.

Aren't you glad that God is not limited to our surrounding circumstances, but instead He can do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine?

The world can be literally crashing around us and so long as we have God, we live in His blessing.

This is not to say that every season will be sunshine and roses… but NO MATTER THE SEASON, God will get us through.

Isaac obtains so much wealth that he is sent away.

Genesis 26:16 NIV

16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

The locals are becoming a bit uneasy with the situation so he is forced elsewhere. In his journey, he does something a bit strange to determine where to stop and call home.

Isaac digs wells.

Anytime a well is contested, he moved on. If thee was anyone who said, “this water is ours” Isaac did not stay.

We finally see him land in a place where it seems there is no dispute over the well.

Genesis 26:22–25 NIV

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.” 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 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.” 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

When Isaac found the place they were supposed to be… what did he do? He built an altar. He gave honor to God. He called on His name.

We saw Abraham do this… now we see Isaac do this. Isaac… was an altar builder just like his dad.

In life, we aim to build a lot of things.

Our careers, our family, our finances, our future, our legacy, etc. We work hard at being successful in these areas with hopes to have something to pass on to our kids.

The greatest thing we could teach our kids is to be altar builders.

The altar looks different today than it used to. In the OT, the altar was the place of sacrifice… the place where our sins are atoned for.

Today, that price has been paid. Jesus laid down His life for our sins. So what significance does the altar have for us? It is the place we lay our lives down for Jesus.

It is STILL a place of sacrifice. It is STILL a place of offering. It is STILL a place of worship. God is worthy of it all.

For Isaac, he built the altar after something significant took place.

He had arrived in the new territory but something else happened… God spoke to him.

Genesis 26:24 NIV

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.”

This leads me to talk about another characteristic of the altar, it is a place of submission and obedience.

At this point, Isaac didn’t build a shrine unto himself or through a big “welcome home” party. He had great wealth, God had just confirmed he was where he needed to be so why not live it up a little?

Because it wasn’t so much about Isaac as it was about the promise of God. This was God’s plan. The wealth was God’s provision. Isaac’s continued favor in the famine was God’s favor. Isaac himself… was a product of God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah!

The construction of the altar signified Isaac’s understanding that God is in control.

Which is why I feel it so strongly that we need to get back to the altar!

This is God’s plan… this is God’s mission… this is God’s church. The moment we think we can do this without giving ourselves fully to God is the moment pride, arrogance, personal understanding and strength take over.

The altar keeps us humble! The altar keeps us in step with God.

And as we see in the next few verses, it was clear God was with Isaac.

Abimelech comes back on the scene and wants a treaty. Why does he want this treaty?

Genesis 26:28–29 NIV

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 harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

It was clear not only to Isaac, but to the world around him, that he was blessed by God.

Remember, this was a time of famine… but not even famine can shut down the blessings of God!

So we see Isaac do something that his father had done before him. Isaac built an altar and we see God’s blessing on the situation… And then we get to the last verse...

Esau Walk’s His Own Path

Genesis 26:34–35 NIV

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.

Genesis 26 gives us a quick glimpse into the life of Esau… and really these two verses kind of feel out of place. Why would it be necessary to reveal this information at this point?

Go back to when Jacob and Esau were born. What word did God speak over them? The older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob).

God spoke this word over the boys before they were born. He knew how things would play out...

This is the second time we see Esau show no regard toward the promise God had given this family.

First, he gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew. He cared more about his immediate need than he did the promise God had given them.

Instead of giving himself for the Lord, he gave up the promise to satisfy his preference.

Second, By doing what was recorded here, Esau showed a complete lack of respect for the righteous standards of his parents by marrying two women who did not follow God.

He went against God’s plan for marriage by taking on two wives.

He displayed little interest in the covenantal blessing God had given them.

All of it… caused Isaac and Rebekah much grief.

I believe we are given this revelation to give clarity to why the firstborn would serve the younger. Esau was walking away from God.

Although Jacob pressured Esau into giving up his birthright and although we will see another situation take place where Jacob deceives Isaac to receive His father’s blessing, God knew Esau would not show proper concern to the promise God had given them.

Isaac was following the footsteps of his father, but Esau was following his own path.

Closing

Genesis 26 is an unusual chapter but it serves an important purpose.

We have a legacy to pass down. We have a generation to teach. We have a responsibility to lead them and to instruct them in the ways of the Lord.

If we believe in the promises of God for our lives, then we must teach the next generation to also trust in His promises.

The expression of trust… comes through a life a personal sacrifice and obedience.

We see what that led to in Isaac’s life. He lived in the blessing of the Lord.

Then we begin to see the negative effect of not surrendering to God in Esau.

He will later miss out on what should have been his… not because his younger brother gave him stew or because his father is deceived in the next chapter… but because he was making the choice to do things his way… instead of God’s way.

Esau was driven by impulse instead of driven by promise. He was in it for number one… and no one else.

There are a lot of things that can cause us grief in this world.

But I find it really interesting that the chapter closes out by saying Esau caused his parents a lot of grief.

This is not a statement of disgust or disrespect. We are given a quick look at what was going on in the hearts of Isaac and Rebekah.

God had blessed them tremendously.

God’s promise continued through them.

Although there was a famine, they had been taken care of.

And yet their hearts grieved because Esau was going his own way.

The greatest blessing we have in life is our children… and the greatest thing we can do is lead our children to the altar.

Again, it is a place of surrendering all to Jesus. It is a place of laying ourselves down and aligning our lives with His will and Word.

Ultimately, you cannot choose what path a child will go… but at least you can lead them to the path that leads them to Jesus.

This generation is facing issues far greater than hunger pains and relationships. That is all it took for Esau to give up on God’s way.

Are we leading in a way that will guide our kids to trust in the promises of God?