The Ever Present God

INTRODUCTION:

I’ve got three children ages 10, 6 and 3. Each of them are in a stage of life where their individual personalities are really starting to shine through in different ways.

It’s amazing how each of them are all so different. At the same time, each of them have attributes that reflect their mother. And even attributes that reflect their dad.

There are things that I do that reflect my father and things my father does that reflect his Father.

Whether they like it or not, Children are a reflection of their parents.

They end up looking like their parents, talking like their parents, thinking like their parents and addressing problems like their parents.

Genetically, socially, emotionally and spiritually we are creatures of emulation and imitation.

You don’t have to be a parent to notice this theme. Everybody in this room at one point had a parent and if you know them then you’ll know the ways in which you share their traits.

We are following in their footsteps whether we like it or not.

We’re looking at a passage of Scripture this morning that establishes that principle really well.

The book of Genesis is shifting it’s focus away from Abraham to his promised son Isaac.

And what took 10 chapters to explain in the life of Abraham Moses is now going to summarize in 1 chapter with the life of Isaac.

The entire chapter is like Deja vu if you’ve been on this journey with us for a while.

Whether it be a season of testing, temptation, trials or triumph we’re going to see Isaac confront situations are are eerily similar to his dad.

In some cases he responds better than his Father did. In some cases he responds the same. In every case, he’s walking in the footsteps of his Father’s faith.

Set the Table

Our preaching text is Genesis 26 but it feels like we’re jumping back in time.

Genesis 26 is backing up before the birth of Jacob and Esau and describing the life of Isaac and Rebecca as they established themselves in the land of Canaan.

In that, we’re going to see that Isaac is a reflection of his father Abraham, a chip off the old block who faces similar problems in a similar way.

One of the main take aways from this chapter isn’t just that children become a reflection of their parents.

It’s that parents are leaving footsteps for their children. We should leave footsteps that bless the next-generation.

Life-giving footsteps that model faith and obedience instead of folly and rebellion.

Abraham, like most of us, left a mixed bag for his son Isaac. And Genesis 26 gives us an inside look at how that impacted Isaac’s response to the challenges confronting him.

Read the Text

Genesis 26:1–6 CSB

1 There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about; 3 stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, 5 because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

FOOTSTEPS OF FAITH

Like I said, if you’ve been with us since Genesis 12 you’ll hear echos of several things that we’ve already heard before.

The “famine in the land” is a throwback to Genesis 12:10 where a famine drove Abraham out of the Negev into the arms of Pharoah in Egypt.

It seems like Isaac was tempted to go to Egypt (like Abraham) but instead he follows the Lord’s instruction to settle in Gerar (GRAPHIC) located between Gaza and Beersheba.

King Abimelech in Gerar is the same place Abraham went to in Genesis 20. Isaac like Abraham lives as an alien and sojourner in that land.

God makes certain promises to Isaac that echo his promises to Abraham.

“I will bless you.” (Gen 12:1-3)

“I will give you these lands” (Gen 12:7; 13:15; 15:18)

“I will give you many descendants.” (Gen 22:16-18)

“Your offspring will bless all the nations.” (Gen 18:18)

“I will confirm my oath/covenant that a swore to your father.” (Gen 22:16)

Notice also that the reason God commits himself to these things is because of Abraham’s obedience. (Gen 26:5)

These are tremendous promises that the Lord is making to Isaac.

The greatest promise of them all is listed first in verse 3 which is the promise of God’s presence. (Gen 26:3)

The greatest blessing of God is attached to his presence.

The promise of land, offspring and influence are only worth having if God is there with you.

If you had all of God’s gifts but were denied his presence then the gifts wouldn’t be a blessing but a curse.

The thing we crave most in life isn’t the blessing of God’s gifts but the gift of God’s presence.

It’s the one thing we lost in the Garden of Eden, the thing we long for when Christ comes again and the thing we enjoy in part as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the best thing you can do in leaving footsteps of faith that the next generation can follow is to leave footsteps that establish the value of God’s presence.

This is what Abraham did for Isaac and this is what every good parent leaves for their child.

Life isn’t just about making money and reaching goals. Life is about knowing and enjoying the glory of God’s presence.

If you can leave them a legacy of faith that points in that direction, then no matter what else they face, they will overcome.

What does this look like, practically speaking? I think that’s what Genesis 26 is trying to establish.

This highlight reel of the life of Isaac really points back to the blessing of God’s presence that was first seen with Abraham and is now seen again in the life of his son.

Promised in our Famines

In all of these ways it’s as if Moses is saying, “Fathers teach your children the importance of God’s presence.”

It’s the greatest possible gift you can give the next generation..

In these first six verses we see that the presence of God is our promise in the famines so trust in his Word.

When the famine struck Abraham I’m sure he was tempted to doubt the goodness and presence of God. If God was present I wouldn’t be hurting.

But the reality is God present in our suffering. He’s not far off. He’s not distant. He’s near to the broken hearted and he binds up their wounds.

Isaac, like Abraham, was learning to trust in God’s Word because the promise of God was the only thing of which he could be certain.

He didn’t know what would happen if he stayed in Gerar. He was putting in life in God’s hands. He had to surrender control of his destiny.

Faith is about having confidence in what you can’t see because of your assurance in what you can see.

Isaac could not have known what would happen if he stayed in Gerar but he did know that the God who promised to be with him took care his of Father Abraham and had taken good care of him up to his moment.

Some of you today may be in a famine. You don’t know how you’re going to make it through what you’re going through. And the Lord is asking you to trust him. Don’t bail out because of fear.

It may be painful. It may be dangerous. It might be costly. But God is faithful to the end. He will reward your faith with a demonstration of his faithfulness.

Often God intentionally takes us through the famine so that he can prove his presence is sufficient to sustain us to the end. Even when everything else is stripped away.

Sometimes it’s not until Jesus is all you have that you can really discover he’s all you’ll ever need.

Works > Words

And how will you know you have faith in the famine? The same way Abraham knew. Acts of obedience.

True faith requires our works not our words.

We prove our faith not by what we say but what we do.

Just like Abraham’s obedience invited the reward of God’s presence so also will your obedience be an invitation to the same.

Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.

Will it be hard? Yes. Will there be challenges? Absolutely. Will you face doubts and fears. No doubt you will. But keep walking by faith.

Protection in our Failures

And when you fail, remember this. God isn’t just present in the famines of life. He’s also present in your failures as well.

We’re going to see a similar dynamic play out in verses 7-11.

Genesis 26:7–11 CSB

7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman.” 8 When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.” 10 Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

God’s presence is our protection in our failures so rest in his grace.

If the famine in the Negev didn’t feel like Deja Vu then this CERTAINLY does.

The whole “wife is my sister” bit was one of the defining compromises of Abraham not once but twice in Genesis 12-22.

Just like Abraham, the motivating force behind Isaac’s lie was fear for his life. He was afraid if he was honest about Rebecca they would kill him and take her.

He married a beautiful woman (just like his daddy) and he knew the odds of having her for a wife in a place like Gerar.

So he lied. But the thing about lies is they require you to have a REALLY GOOD memory. Big lies like that require ongoing commitment. You can’t slip up. And that’s exactly what Isaac did.

The CSB says the king saw Isaac “caressing his wife” but the literal Hebrew word means “laughing with.” (ESV, KJV=sporting)

It’s within the range of the English word “flirting” but in this case it’s a euphemism for “you know what.”

And YOU DON’T DO THAT with your sister! Even a pagan king knows that. So he calls Isaac out on his lie.

Just like Abraham, God is using a pagan king to rebuke a chosen son. (Likely a different king as Abimilech is a title more than a proper name)

This is a reminder that our sins are never private and will eventually be brought to light.

Amazingly, instead of kicking Isaac and Rebecca out of the community he issues an edict that guarantees their protection.

Repentance > Regret

Your kids don’t just need to know God is present in their pain. They also need to know that God can save them from their sin!

How do we rest in the grace of God? How do we experience freedom and deliverance? By giving up the lie and repenting of our sin.

God’s grace requires our repentance not just regret.

Fear can lead you to do some really unwise things. Love of this world is the root of all kinds of evil.

It’s actually pretty easy to regret the foolish decisions that we’ve made. It’s even therapeutic. Misery loves company. But there’s no freedom there.

The way to break the power of that sin is confession and repentance.

It may be this morning that some of you have had your sins brought to light. Maybe in ways you didn’t even expect. Perhaps today is an opportunity to be honest before the Lord.

Condemnation Not Consequences

It may not undo the consequences of your sin. But God’s grace will remove the condemnation of your sin.

There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This is one of the greatest gifts you can give to the next generation. Show them what it looks like to be a person who rests in the grace of God to cover your sin.

None of are perfect people but we do serve a perfect God who invites us to rest in his grace when we experience failure.

Give them a picture of a man who trusts the Lord even seasons of famine and repents before the Lord in seasons of failure.

Provision in the Fight

But that’s not all. The footsteps of faith continue in Genesis 26:12-22.

God’s presence is our promise in the famine.

God’s presence is our protection in failure.

In this next paragraph we see God’s presence is our PROVISION in the fight.

Genesis 26:12–16 CSB

12 Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy. 14 He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him. 15 Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

God is providing for Isaac beyond his expectation. Grace upon grace. Whatever God touches he multiplies.

Notice that at least some of the reason why Isaac enjoyed this wealth was because of the work of his father. It’s a small point but an important one.

Wells symbolize God’s provision in the OT. One of the primary ways that God provides for his people is through the work of those who’ve gone before us.

The other thing to recognize about success is that it invites the haters.

Haters and critics are attracted to success. If you don’t want to deal with haters then never pursue greatness. If you do, just know haters come with the package.

The Philistines became envious of Isaac and stopped up all of his Father’s wells.

Isaac Response

What is Isaac’s response? Genesis 26:17-18

Genesis 26:17–18 CSB

17 So Isaac left there, camped in the Gerar Valley, and lived there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them.

Just like the famine is a throwback to Genesis 12:10 and the wife/sister fiasco a throwback to the same.

This argument over land and water is a throwback to Genesis 13. Abram was fighting with Lot. Now Isaac is fighting with Philistines.

Like his Father, Isaac resists the urge to fight and instead depends on the Lord to provide.

God’s presence is our provision in the fighting, so wait on His supply.

How tempting is it to lean on the flesh when fighting against an enemy?

Let me “lose my Christianity” for a minute while I take this guy behind the barn.

That is not the way of Jesus. That is not a sign of faith. Faith chooses to lets God fight the battle and wait on his supply.

Efforts > Expectations

When I say wait I don’t mean be passive. Isaac is not passive. He goes back and digs up every well that they had closed.

Then, in verses 19-22, Isaac digs a few wells of his own!

Genesis 26:19–22 CSB

19 Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of spring water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek because they argued with him. 21 Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “For now the Lord has made space for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

Waiting on God’s supply is not the same thing as wasting your time. You need to be intentional and proactive even as you let God fight your battles.

Waiting requires our efforts not just an expectation.

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to work according to his good pleasure.

I think that’s why these new wells are mentioned in the way that they are.

Esek (which means contention/argument)

Sitnah (strife/snare)

Rehoboth (wide open space)

When you’re relying on God’s provision you’re going to experience some opposition!

Don’t waste the wait. Trust the Lord. Get in the game. Clear out the old wells, contend for the new!

If we don’t contend against forces that resist the truth about God in our culture will there be any wells from which the next gen can drink?

We need to work while wait. Clearing out old wells, contending for the new.

Proof Of God’s Favor

Finally we see the final footsteps in Genesis 26:23-33.

God presence is our

promise in famines (trust in his Word)

protection in failures (rest in His grace)

provision in fighting (wait on His supply)

Finally we’re going to see that the presence of God is the proof of his favor to everyone else around us. Genesis 26:23-33

Genesis 26:23–33 CSB

23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba, 24 and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.” 25 So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. Isaac’s servants also dug a well there. 26 Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.” 28 They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: 29 You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.” 30 So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. 31 They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. 32 On that same day Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!” 33 He called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba today.

The Hebrew name Sheba is a play on the Hebrew word for seven. Beer means oath. So the idea is that of a seven-fold oath.

This is another throwback to the life of Abraham where he made a similar oath with the prior king of Gerar (Abimelech). They sealed the deal with seven ewe lambs and made a covenant between them.

So in some ways it’s just one more example of Isaac walking in the footsteps of his Father Abraham, the promised son carrying the promised seed according to God’s plan.

What’s interesting to me is that this King actually comes to visit Isaac in Beersheba because he can no longer deny the blessing of God on Isaac’s life.

The idea is essentially, “It’s clear that God is on YOUR side and since that’s true I no longer want to be your enemy.”

In keeping with God’s original promise to Abraham that those who bless you I will bless and those who curse you I will curse.

The big idea is that God’s presence in the life of his people give everyone else around them proof that not only does he exist but he rewards those who seek him.

God’s presence is our proof of his favor so declare his glory.

Isaac is learning what his Father Abraham had learned which is that we’re not just blessed to receive a blessing. We’re blessed to BE a blessing.

So when people ask you why it is that you’re blessed with this or that or the other, our response as the people of God is “God gets all the glory.”

It’s all about him. It’s always ever been about him.

That’s why Isaac built the altar. God is in this place. That’s what makes this place special.

It’s not because there’s a well. The well comes after the altar.

Platform Not Just Privilege

This place is special because God is here.

We are special not because of us but because God is with us.

This is so important because some people think about the blessings of God as a private privilege. Almost like they they’re exclusively reserved because you’re so worthy.

Nonsense. That’s not the message of Genesis.

God choose Abraham so that he might bless the nations through his offspring.

God doesn’t just want to fill the lives of certain people with his presence. He desires that all might come to a saving knowledge of Christ and experience his presence.

But the only way that’s going to happen is if those who have received the blessing of God’s presence declare to everyone else the availability of that gift.

God’s blessings are a PLATFORM and not just a private privilege.

And for believers today that’s the blessing of God’s presence is given to us through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that gift was given to us so that we might declare his excellencies to anyone with ears to hear.

ALL of God’s gifts in your life have been given to you so that you might use them to point people to Jesus.

CONCLUSION

So whether you are young or old, parent or not - you’re leaving some footsteps for other people to follow.

What kind of reflection are your footsteps creating for the next generation?

We cannot be perfect people but we do serve a perfect God.

A God who promises to be with us always even to the end of the age.

But God’s presence isn’t something that we earn through striving and effort. It’s never something we deserve.

God’s presence is always a gift of his grace. It’s freely received by faith in the promise.

Abraham’s promise was never only about land in Cannan and a promised child.

It was about the ultimate promised land of heaven and the ultimate promised Son in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s presence can be experience today but only through faith in Jesus Christ.

He is our Emmanuel - God with us.

He is our promise in the famines of life.

He is our protection in the failures of life.

He is our provision in the fights of life.

He is our proof of the favor of God.

None of these things are received by effort. All of these gifts are received by grace.

Jesus went through the famine by himself so we’d never have to walk alone.

Jesus paid the penalty for our failure so that we could be forgiven instead of condemned.

Jesus destroyed our enemy, the accuser and will one day triumph over all opposition.

And Jesus has not just saved us so that we’ll be free but so that we might declare the glory of his salvation to the nations.

These are the footsteps of faith we can leave the next generation. Footsteps that will leave a blessing and not a curse.

Footsteps that don’t prove we are perfect people but that we serve a perfect and ever-present God.