Genesis 26.23-25-The Lord Reassures Isaac at Beersheba and in Response Isaac Prays
Wednesday May 24, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 26:23-25-The Lord Reassures Isaac at Beersheba and in Response Isaac Prays
Lesson # 150
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 26:17.
This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 26.
Thus far, we noted in Genesis 26:1 that like his father Abraham, Isaac faces an adversity test and undeserved suffering at the hands of the Philistines in order to test his faith.
In Genesis 26:2-6, we saw that Isaac received reconfirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
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.”
Then, in Genesis 26:7-11, we saw that Isaac, out of fear, of the Philistines, says that his beautiful wife Rebekah is his sister.
As we have noted in our study of Genesis 26:2-5, the Lord promised to be with Isaac and bless him.
In Genesis 26:7-11, we see the Lord fulfilled His promise to be with Isaac in that He protected Isaac from the Philistines.
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.’”
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.”
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.’”
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.’”
Genesis 26:11, “So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, ‘He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.’”
In Genesis 26:12-16, we saw that the Lord blessed Isaac in that He prospered Isaac even in the midst of a famine, which led to the Philistines envying Isaac and finally deporting him from Gerar.
This deportation was unjust since there was an agreement between Abraham and Abimelech’s predecessor pertaining to the wells Abraham dug (See Genesis 21:22-33) but this injustice was permitted by God to take place in order to test Isaac’s faith.
Genesis 26:12-14, “Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.”
Genesis 26:15, “Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth.”
Genesis 26:16, “Then Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.’”
In Genesis 26:17-21, we saw that the problems that Isaac had with the Philistines persist as they block up the wells Abraham dug and dispute ownership of the new wells that Isaac’s servants dig.
Genesis 26:17, “And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.”
Genesis 26:18, “Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.”
Genesis 26:19-20, “But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, ‘The water is ours!’ So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.”
Genesis 26:21, “Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah.”
Finally, in Genesis 26:17-22, we saw the magnanimous behavior of Isaac towards the hostile Philistines, which the Lord rewards by giving him plenty of territory for his numerous flocks and herds.
Genesis 26:22, “He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, ‘At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.’”
This evening, in Genesis 26:23-25, we see the Lord appearing in a theophany to Isaac at Beersheba and gives him reassurance and in response to this revelation, Isaac builds an altar in order to pray to the Father.
Genesis 26:23, “Then he went up from there to Beersheba.”
“There” refers to “Rehoboth,” which was located approximately 19 miles southwest of Beersheba.
This location places the well a good thirty to thirty-five miles from Gerar, which would be sufficiently far from the Philistines’ economic or political interests.
The name “Beersheba” means, “well of seven” or “well of oath.”
The name “Beersheba” bears witness to the treaty between Abraham and Abimelech and Abraham’s right to the well.
“Beersheba” was located in the flat southern part of the Negev, which extends roughly from a line drawn from Gaza through the modern political boundary of the southern West Bank, extending south to the mountain ranges of the Sinai and through the Arabah to the Red Sea.
Genesis 26:24, “The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.’”
The fact that the Lord “appeared” to Isaac is a “theophany,” or “Christophany, which are theological terms used to refer to either a visible or auditory manifestation of the Son of God before His incarnation in Bethlehem (Gen. 32:29-30; Ex. 3:2; 19:18-20; Josh. 5:13-15; Dan. 3:26).
“Lord” is the proper noun Yahweh, which is the covenant name of God indicating that Isaac had a covenant relationship with God.
The term “Lord” also emphasizes the “immanency” of God meaning that the Lord was involving Himself in and concerning Himself with and intervening in the life of Isaac and blessing him in fulfillment of His promises to Abraham.
The divine promise “do not fear for I am with you” is reconfirmation of the Lord’s promise to be with Isaac, which is recorded in Genesis 26:3 and is reassurance for Isaac that the Lord will be present with him and protect him from his enemies and give him victory.
“Bless” is the verb barakh (Er^B*), which means that the Lord promised to endue Isaac with power for success, prosperity, fecundity (offspring in great numbers) and longevity.”
The Lord promised to bless Isaac in the sense that the Lord would multiply Isaac’s descendants so that his posterity was great in number both, racially and spiritually.
The promise “I will multiply your descendants” reconfirms the Lord’s promise to Isaac that is recorded in Genesis 26:4.
Since the promises to Isaac in Genesis 26:4 are a reconfirmation of the promises made to Abraham in Genesis 15:4-5 and 22:17, the promise “I will multiply your descendants” not only pertains to Isaac’s “natural” progeny but also refers to his “spiritual” progeny (cf. Rom. 4; Gal. 3:29).
“Your descendants” refers to Isaac’s “biological” descendants, which would be the nation of Israel and it refers to his “spiritual” descendants, which would be anyone, Jew or Gentile who believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The phrase “for the sake of Abraham my servant” echoes the phrase used in Genesis 26:5, “because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
The phrase “for the sake of Abraham my servant” indicates to Isaac that the promises that Isaac has received from the Lord are a reconfirmation of the promises made to Abraham in Genesis 15:4-5 and 22:17.
The phrase “for the sake of Abraham my servant” also indicates that the promises that Isaac received from the Lord are based upon his father Abraham’s obedience, which would be a reminder to Isaac that his participation in the “blessings” of the Abrahamic covenant is conditioned on his obedience.
Genesis 26:25, “So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.”
“Altar” is the noun mizbeach (j^B@w+m!) (miz-bay-akh), which was composed of material constructed of earth and stones and was the place Isaac, was to perform his act of worship.
“Called” is the verb qara (ar*q+) (kaw-raw), which is a reference to the act of praying to the Father in order to worship Him.
“Name” is the noun shem (sv@) (shame), which refers to the authority, majesty, power, excellent character and nature of the Person of the Lord.
The term “Lord” is applied to the Father (Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21; 20:42) and to the Son (Rm. 5:11; 1 Cor. 15:31) and the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17).
In Genesis 26:25, the Father is in view since all prayer must be addressed to the Father (John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 2:18; 3:14; 5:20; Col. 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 1:6).
Prayer must be made in the name or Person of or through intermediate agency of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:13-14; 16:23-24; Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:17).
Prayer must be made in the power of the Spirit or by means of the power of the Filling of the Spirit (Eph. 2:18; 6:18; Jude 20).
Prayer is an expression of the believer’s worship toward God, as well as an expression of his confidence and total dependence upon the character and integrity of his heavenly Father to meet both the spiritual and temporal needs of himself and others.
In Genesis 26:25, we see Isaac worshipping God the Father in prayer in response to the revelation he received, which gave him reassurance of God’s provision and protection and reconfirmed the divine promises that he just received from the Lord in Genesis 26:4.
Like his father, Isaac builds an altar in response to God’s revelation (See Genesis 12:7-8; 21:33).
The building of the altar was designed so that Isaac with his family and servants could publicly worship the Lord.
Worshipping publicly at the altar expressed Isaac and his household’s total dedication and devotion to the Lord.
The worship of the Lord at the altar publicly expressed their submission to the will of the Lord and recognition of the Lord’s faithfulness to His promises.
Beersheba was the home of Abraham and the place where he received the covenant promises and here in Genesis 26:25, we see that it becomes the home of Isaac as well.
Beersheba was hallowed ground for Abraham who according to Genesis 21:33 planted a tamarisk tree and also called on the name of the Lord there after making a non-aggression pact with Abimelech and Phicol and securing ownership rights to the well he dug there.
Genesis 21:33, “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.”
The planting of a tree by Abraham at Beersheba is significant since it indicates his faith in the Lord and that he finds his security in the Lord.
To plant a tree in Beersheba presupposed a constant supply of water and indicated a determination to stay in the region.
The planting of the tree by Abraham indicated his faith that the eternal God would bless and supply him with well water and that he was determined to stay settled in the land.
The latter is substantiated in that Genesis 21:34 records that Abraham “sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.”
Also, it is significant that in Old Testament Israel dwelling under one’s tree was a sign of peaceful security (see Zechariah 3:10).
So we see Isaac again following in the footsteps of his father Abraham and settling in Beersheba, worshipping the Lord in prayer by thanking Him for prospering him in the midst of the famine Canaan and protecting him from the Philistines.