Genesis 26.26-33-Isaac's Blessed-Non-Aggression Pact with Abimelech and Water at Beersheba

Thursday May 25, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 26:26-33-Isaac’s Blessed-Non-Aggression Pact with Abimelech and Water at Beersheba

Lesson # 151

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 26:26.

This evening we will study Genesis 26:26-33, which records Abimelech with his advisors suing for a non-aggression pact with Isaac after seeing that the Lord prospered him in the midst of famine.

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.”

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.’”

Finally, 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.”

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.’”

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.”

Genesis 26:26, “Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army.”

The name “Abimelech” means, “my father is king” and is not a proper name but rather a title for royalty among the Philistines, just as the term “Pharaoh” and “Caesar” were.

“Gerar” was near the coast about twelve miles south of Gaza and about fifty miles south of Hebron, in the land of the Philistines.

Isaac was residing at Beersheba when Abimelech arrived from Gerar to visit him according to Genesis 26:23.

The name “Ahuzzath” (tZ^j%a&w^) (akh-ooz-zath) literally means, “possession” and is said to be Abimelech’s “advisor,” which in the Hebrew is the noun merea (u^r@m@) (may-ray-ah) and denotes a “chief political advisor.”

The fact that Abimelech, is bringing his chief political advisor to this meeting with Isaac to sue for a non-aggression pact demonstrates the importance that the Philistines placed upon these negotiations.

Like the name “Abimelech” the name “Phicol” (lk)yp!W) (pee-kole) is a title for the chief military commander in Gerar and is not a proper name as indicated in that this same name appears with the Abimelech who forty years prior to this treaty forged a non-aggression pact with Abraham that is recorded in Genesis 21:22-24.

The name “Phicol” would be the equivalent to the “Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff” in the United States of America.

Genesis 26:27, “Isaac said to them, ‘Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?’”

Isaac remembered the unjust treatment he received from the Philistines and their deporting him from Gerar and so he was suspicious about their desire to meet with him and challenges them to tell him the reasons for coming to him.

“Hate” is the verb sane (an@c*) (saw-nay), which expresses an emotional attitude toward someone or something, which is abhorred, disdained or opposed and which desires to have no relationship or amiable reconciliation.

Therefore, Isaac is saying to Abimelech that he and his people have expressed an emotional attitude toward him, in which they abhorred, disdained or opposed him and desired to have no relationship with him or amiable reconciliation with him.

Believers are commanded by the Lord to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them.

Matthew 5:43, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’”

Matthew 5:44-45, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Only those who have responded in faith to God’s love for them in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ while yet enemies of His have the capacity to love their enemies, their neighbor as themselves and to love one another as Christ loved.

Genesis 26:28-29, “They said, ‘We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.’”

Abimelech’s statements to Isaac that “the Lord has been with you” and “you are now the blessed of the Lord” reveals the principle that even unbelievers, pagans can recognize God’s blessings in the life of a believer.

Abimelech’s statements to Isaac that “the Lord has been with you” and “you are now the blessed of the Lord” validates the Lord’s promises to Isaac, which are recorded in Genesis 26:3-4.

These statements made by Abimelech regarding Isaac parallel the statement his predecessor made of Abraham as recorded in Genesis 21:22.

Abimelech’s flattering statements and acknowledgement that the Lord is with Isaac indicates that Abimelech now views Isaac as his superior.

“Oath” is the noun `alah (hla) (aw-law), which denotes a lower concept than the noun shevu`ah (hu*Wbv+) (she-voo-aw), which appears in Genesis 26:3.

The noun `alah refers to a “curse-oath” indicating that Abimelech is proposing that the one who breaks this non-aggression pact will become a curse, i.e. under God’s judgment.

“Covenant” is the noun berith (tyr!B+ ), which is a compact or agreement between two parties binding them mutually to undertakings on each other’s behalf.

A foundational concept of a covenant is the notion of a legal contract, which established and regulated a relationship where none previously existed.

Therefore, we see Abimelech seeking to establish and regulate a peaceful coexistence between Isaac and himself.

Abimelech’s statement “we have not touched you and have done nothing to you but good” is a reference to the royal decree he issued after he discovered that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife and not his sister, which stated that if anyone touched either Isaac or Rebekah, they would face the death penalty and is recorded in Genesis 26:7-11.

Abimelech’s statement “we sent you away in peace” refers to Isaac’s deportation and also implies that he did not attempt to inflict any punishment on Isaac after he deceived him and the Philistine people.

Genesis 26:30, “Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.”

Genesis 26:31, “In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace.”

As an expression of good will and as a celebration of the covenant Isaac prepares a state banquet for the Philistines as a result of this reconciliation between himself and the Philistines.

Sharing a meal together was a sacred rite in the days of Isaac and was a further expression of friendship between Isaac and his people and the Philistines.

Then early the next morning the two parties confirmed their mutual non-aggression pact by swearing to each other that they would keep it.

The Lord has brought this peace to Isaac as a result of Isaac’s obedience and magnanimous behavior, which was a result of his faith in the Lord’s promises to be with him and bless him, thus, fulfilling the principle taught in Proverbs 16:7.

Proverbs 16:7, “When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

Genesis 26:32, “Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, ‘We have found water.’”

Genesis 26:33, “So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.”

The prepositional phrase “on the same day” is very significant since it indicates a casual relationship between the name “Beersheba” and the oath taking ceremony just completed between Isaac and Abimelech.

The name “Beersheba” means, “well of seven” or “well of oath” and memorializes the seven ewe lambs that were used to ratify the non-aggression pact between Abraham and the predecessor of the present Abimelech, which is recorded in Genesis 21:22-34.

The discovery of water expresses the feeling of security that Isaac’s servants felt since it demonstrates a pledge from the Lord of future security in the land.

“Shibah” is the proper noun shiv`ah (hu*b+v!), which means, “oath” or “seven” since seven ewe lambs were sacrificed when the covenant was cut.

Isaac gives the name shiv`ah to this well to express his awareness of God’s hand in the non-aggression pact that he just forged with Abimelech just as Abraham did years before.

We would expect that the well would be named shevu`ah, which is the Hebrew term for oath rather than shiv`ah.

This deviation demonstrates that the story of this mutual non-aggression pact between Isaac and the present Abimelech presupposes knowledge and renewal of the pact made between Abraham and the present Abimelech’s predecessor that is recorded in Genesis 21:22-34.

Therefore, the name “Shibah” memorializes the mutual non-aggression pact forged between Isaac and Abimelech, which renews the agreement between Abraham and the predecessor of this Abimelech.