God’s Blessing Genesis 26:1-11
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome people online…
We like the comforts of this world
it is really cold outside…
we expect to be warm in our homes
we expect the church to be warm
we expect hot coffee
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.
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.”
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.
Prayer
Psalm 24:1 “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord… (v10) Who is He, this King of Glory? The Lord of Almighty, he is the King of Glory
Our Comfort in the Lord
Our Comfort in the Lord
Can you imagine any better feeling than know that the Lord, God himself has promised to do amazing things through you?
God tells Isaac to stay in the land of the Philistines and not go to Egypt during the famine
this is the land that I am giving you
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.
God established the covenant with Isaac that he made with Abraham
he promised to protect him… I am with you
what can come against you when the God who created all things is on your side.
what is the covenant
I will give you a huge family tree
I will give you a place to plant it
The entire world will be blessed
Why is God doing this
Abraham listened and obeyed
Abraham obeyed because of the faith that he had
“So Isaac settled in Gerar.”
so… I am not 100% sure what the point back to
so, because of
was it that God told him to
was it that the covenant was now given to him
was it because God said he would be with him
I do not think so, more on that in a minute
Does it matter why he did it
he was obedient and stayed in Gerar, that is what God said to do
there are many who obey the letter of the law without their heart being in it
they are obeying for the wrong reasons
we might call them legalistic
the NT called them pharisees
Are there places in your life that you are obedient, but your heart is not in it
During the Roman Empire, soldiers were often ordered to march long distances in terrible conditions. They followed their orders, but many did so begrudgingly, with their minds elsewhere. This obedience without engagement often led to inefficiencies on the battlefield.
Similarly, we can attend church or fulfill our duties without genuine commitment.
This shows up in the battles that we face in life
when we are facing down the next trial in life, going through the motions does not lead us to a place of trusting the Lord
it leads us to anxiety, disobedience and fear
Our Fear of the Lord
Our Fear of the Lord
Comfortable living often produces weak character.
The lukewarm Christian is comfortable, complacent, and does not realize his need.
Warren W. Wiersbe
I have read a few different books that speak of the believers around the world praying for American believers
that they would realize the spiritual battle all believers are in
that they would not have the riches of American believers so that they would continue to rely on God, not on the comforts of this world
After this promise of the Lord passing the covenant he made with Abraham to Isaac we get this odd story of Isaac and the Philistines
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.”
This is very similar to what Abraham did with his wife Sarah, twice
so much so, that some believe it is not supposed to be in here, that Abraham did this not Isaac.
Retell the story…
Isaac stays in the land where God told him
some men came and talked to him about Rebekah
they thought she was a nice looking lady
this cause Isaac to fear what the men might do to him if they wanted Rebekah
The king, Abimelech see Isaac and Rachel doing what husbands and wives do
funny thing… the word is translated in most translations as laughing
they were flirting, laughing, caressing
Isaac’s name means laughter
Abimelech speaks the truth to Isaac
your lie could have caused one of us to sleep with your wife
the bigger truth or way of saying it
your fear for your own life, put your wife’s life in jeopardy
The depth of our faith is revealed when hard times come
here, Isaac is obedient and believes God, he stays in the Land but when suddenly he thinks his life is on the line he puts his wife in harms way to save his own skin
today we see many who follow Jesus as long as it is easy
but a time is coming where it might not be easy to publicly follow Jesus
this is why it is so important to know only know what God says, but to go deep into a relationship with him
16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.
17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.
they fell away because of the
distress = tribulation
persecution = affliction because of what you believe
but it is not always because of what you believe
18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,
19 but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
it is not just the dangers, but anything that we love more than the Lord
or anything that fear losing more than we fear the Lord
Isaac feared losing his own life
Abraham and the fear of the Lord
remember when the Lord came to him in Genesis 15:1
“… Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.”
afraid = see something awesome and being terrified
God is telling him that the awesome thing he sees before him is the shield that will protect him.
for so many, we have not seen the glory of the Lord
we look at the scriptures looking for answers…
we think of the Holy Spirit as a guardian angel or the little angel that sits on our shoulder telling us the thing we need to do
We need to behold the glory of God
John 1:14 “14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed (BEHELD) his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Our Blessing from the Lord
Our Blessing from the Lord
What did the Lord do after Isaac lied, put his wife in danger, feared man more than God?
Our transactional brains tell us punishment is coming
withhold a blessing, remove the covenant
live out some sort of punishment
what we actually see is Isaac gets very rich
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.
Isaac was still blessed, enriched after is lack of faith
he sowed seed in the land… and reaped a big harvest
is God rewarding his lying and deceitfulness
God is not a quid pro quo god
are there blessings to following his ways, yes of course
Isaac was not made richer and richer because of him
he did not earn any of this
his birth was a miracle and he is not lived a perfect life
Our relationship is not a transaction
Why would God bless him in such a way
after these verses you see Isaac begin a fight with the Philistines
the beginning of something that will be a repeated theme in scripture
Goliath was a Philistine and we are still many generations from David
our lives are to be a testimony to the Lord
now, as Isaac is blessed in such a way the people know the Lord is with Isaac
it is a testimony of who God is and who we are to follow
it is not the god of the philistines
it is not Pharaoh in Egypt
it is not the president of the US or any other worldly person
He is the Lord Almighty
the one who created all things
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
the one who parted the sea, the Jordan and gave his people the promise land
the one who the prophets spoke about left his throne and was born of a virgin
the one who lived a perfect life and offered his righteousness up to us
so that you and I can stand perfectly righteous before him
so that at the end of all things you and I may live for all of eternity with him
When God blesses believers, he bestows a certain favour upon them that they do not deserve. When they bless him, it is an act of praise and adoration that he richly deserves. It is not an act of grace on their part to give benediction or blessing to the Almighty.
R. C. Sproul
