Genesis 26.7-11-The Lord Protects Rebekah from Being Injured by Isaac's Deception
Thursday May 18, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 26:7-11-The Lord Protects Rebekah from Being Injured by Isaac’s Deception
Lesson # 147
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 26:1.
On Tuesday evening we studied Genesis 26:1-6, which records that like his father Abraham, Isaac had his faith tested by the Lord by means of a famine in the land of Canaan.
In this same passage, we saw last evening that Isaac received from the Lord reconfirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
This evening, we will study Genesis 26:7-11, which gives us the record of the Lord protecting Rebekah from a potentially adulterous situation due to Isaac lying to the Philistines that she was his sister.
Isaac’s deception was motivated out of fear that the Philistines might kill him due to the great beauty of Rebekah, his wife.
This incident parallels the failure of his father Abraham, who on two occasions (See Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18) committed the same mistake.
The narrative of Isaac lying about his wife Rebekah and endangering her so closely parallels the failure of his father Abraham with his wife Sarah in Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20) and in Gerar (20:1-18) that the critics of the Bible claim the three encounters are variations of the same historical event.
Of course, this is not the case and simply demonstrates that the sin nature trends of the father are passed to the son.
Every one in the human race possesses an old sin nature as a result of the imputation of Adam’s original sin in the garden at the moment of physical birth, which makes them physically alive but spiritually dead and yet qualified for grace.
Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”
The fact that we all have a sin nature means that at any time we can enter into sin, thus like his Abraham, Isaac simply makes a bad decision, which is motivated by his sin nature trend to fear, worry and anxiety.
Genesis 26:1, “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.”
Genesis 26:2, “The LORD appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.’”
Genesis 26:3, “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.”
Genesis 26:4-5, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
Genesis 26:6, “So Isaac lived in Gerar.”
“Gerar” was in the land of Canaan, therefore, by moving there, Isaac is still in the geographical will of God for his life.
Genesis 26:7, “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 might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.’”
Notice that the men of the place are simply inquiring about Isaac’s wife Rebekah and are not being aggressive or threatening Isaac at all.
Rebekah is a beautiful woman and the men of the area would naturally ask about her for the purpose of determining if she was married or not.
Therefore, because the Philistines were simply asking about Rebekah and not threatening Isaac at all indicates that Isaac had no basis for fearing the Philistines that they would kill him and take Rebekah.
The fact that Isaac tells the Philistines that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife is an obvious lie and deception on his part.
Lying is a sin, which the Lord hates and prohibits believers from doing.
Proverbs 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD.”
Proverbs 6:16, “There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him.”
Proverbs 6:17, “Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.”
Proverbs 6:18, “A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil.”
Proverbs 6:19, “A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.”
Isaac lies to the Philistines about his wife because he lives in fear of the Philistines.
Therefore, his lie was motivated by his fear for his own life.
Satan is behind the scenes manipulating Isaac to enter into fear of being killed by Abimelech and the Philistines.
Like his father Abraham, Isaac’s sin nature trend is towards lying.
Satan uses the fear of death to manipulate the human race to not trust God and serve him.
Hebrews 2:14, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Hebrews 2:15, “and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Instead of entering into fear and saying that Rebekah was his sister, Isaac should have prayed to the Lord for protection.
Fear is a result of unbelief and unbelief is failure to trust that God will protect and provide for us.
Therefore, Isaac lied about his wife out of fear for the Philistines because he did not trust the Lord to protect him.
This is quite interesting because the Lord had just finished reassuring Isaac that He would be with him and bless him and reconfirmed to him the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is recorded in Genesis 26:2-5!
So we see quite clearly that Isaac is not resting in the promises of the Lord and is therefore, not operating in faith but rather unbelief.
Biblical faith is trusting in the promises of God regardless of the circumstances or consequences and resting in them.
True Biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
The principle of faith operates quite simply: (1) God speaks and we hear His Word. (2) We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be.
The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
Isaac is looking at the Philistines and thus entering into fear rather than concentrating on the Lord’s promise to protect him.
Principle: Unbelief is the failure to take into account and acknowledge the character and nature of God, His presence and His Word.
Unbelief operates in the sphere of the old Adamic sin nature and contradicts faith and leaves God out.
Unbelief blinded Isaac as to the presence of the Lord in his life, which he saw firsthand, causing him to see only the difficulties in the land of the Philistines.
Isaac’s unbelief had produced cowardice to the extent that he is willing to sacrifice his wife for his own personal safety.
The apostle Paul taught the Philippian believers to pray to the Father rather than entering into fear.
Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Prayers for protection from God fill the Bible.
Psalm 140:1-3, “Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men who devise evil things in their hearts; They continually stir up wars. They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.”
Psalm 140:4-5, “Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men who have purposed to trip up my feet. The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set snares for me. Selah.”
The Bible teaches that fear, worry and anxiety are a sin because it calls into question the perfect immutable character and integrity of God or in other words, His love for the believer (See Matthew 6:19-34).
The apostle Peter instructed believers to cast all anxiety upon the Lord in prayer.
1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
Trusting in God to keep His promises will protect the believer’s soul from stress, fear, worry and anxiety.
Isaac’s fear of being killed by the Philistines was a total lack of faith or in other words, a total lack of trust and confidence in God’s ability to protect him.
Psalm 56:11, “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Genesis 26:8, “It came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah.”
The fact that Isaac and Rebekah enjoyed a long and trouble-free existence in Gerar for a long time demonstrates that Isaac’s fear of the Philistines had no basis.
“Caressing” is the piel form of the verb tsachaq (qj^x*) (tsaw-khak), which is a euphemism for foreplay that precedes sexual intercourse and is a play on Isaac’s name, which means, “laughter, joy.”
Bruce K. Waltke, “The Hebrew word is a variant form of the verb ‘to laugh’ (sahaq). The same variant is translated ‘mocking’ in 21:9. This play on Isaac’s name may function to highlight the conflicts and triumphs of his life. Sarah ‘laughed’ (sahaq-tishaq) in unbelief at the announcement of Isaac’s birth (18:12-15) and then in joy at his birth (21:6). Ishmael ‘played in jest’ when Isaac was weaned (21:9) and now Isaac ‘plays in joy’ with his wife” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 369, Zondervan).
The fact that Abimelech “just happened” to be looking out his window where he saw Isaac being intimate with his wife demonstrates that the providence of God delivered Isaac and Rebekah.
The “providence” of God is the divine outworking of the divine decree, the object being the final manifestation of God’s glory and expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
The fact that Abimelech could look out his window and saw Isaac and Rebekah making love indicates that Isaac’s tent was pitched not too far from the royal palace.
Genesis 26:9, “Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, ‘Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?’ And Isaac said to him, ‘Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’”
Abimelech “called” Isaac in the sense that he “summoned” Isaac to his palace for the purpose of confronting him about his relationship to Rebekah.
Abimelech could see quite clearly through intimate relations between Isaac and Rebekah that Isaac had lied about her, which could have put Abimelech or his subjects in a potentially adulterous situation.
When Abimelech confronted Isaac as to his suspicions that Rebekah was not his wife, Isaac admits what he had done and why he did it.
Like his father Abraham before him, Isaac erroneously thought that the kidnapping of women and the killing of their husbands was commonplace in Gerar indicating he did not have a good view of the heathen.
Genesis 26:10, “Abimelech said, ‘What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.’”
Abimelech rebukes Isaac for his conduct and his presumptuous behavior, which put Abimelech and his people in great danger before God.
The question, “what is this you have done to us” expresses Abimelech’s shock as to Isaac’s conduct and indicates that he has an awareness of a moral code in his conscience.
This question indicates that Abimelech had a fear of God in him, which involves general revelation regarding moral standards known by believer and unbeliever alike through conscience and accepted by them out of fear of God’s judgment.
Notice that Abimelech shows great leadership over and concern for his people, more than Abraham did as demonstrated by his question to Abraham, “what is that you have done to US?”
Notice that Abimelech considered committing adultery as “guilt” indicating that adultery was considered evil even by this heathen king and his countrymen.
The Word of God prohibits adultery.
Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.”
Abimelech’s statement “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us” demonstrates his awareness of a moral code even among the unbeliever.
The apostle Paul taught that God has instilled an awareness of a moral code in the conscience of every human being, believer and unbeliever alike.
Romans 2:14, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves.”
Romans 2:15, “in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
Genesis 26:11, “So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, ‘He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.’”
Abimelech issues a royal decree, which states that anyone in his kingdom who commits any violent act against Isaac or sexually molests wife will be subject to the death penalty.
Therefore, we see that all of Isaac’s fears are shown to be without foundation.
The Lord as He had promised Isaac, was protecting him.