You see, most folks have life too easy. Take the matter of this drink of cold pure spring water. Sweet, wasn’t it? You never knowed before how turrible sweet water could be, did you? It’s the difference between life an’ death.”
–Zane Grey (The Hash Knife Outfit)
“And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].”
–Psalm 1:3 (Amplified)
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“And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them… They dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also… And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it…”
–Genesis 26:18, 21-22 (NKJV)
“There was a famine in the land,” sound familiar? Remember the first famine, Abraham went down to Egypt. This time the Lord appeared to Isaac warning him not to go to Egypt, but to live in the land and that He would be with Isaac. Isaac thus dwells in Gerar, the land of the Philistines of whom Abimelech is the king. Now, when I read verse 7, I shake my head in wonder. The men in the region were asking about Rebekah, so what does the “man” Isaac do? “‘She is my sister’; for he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife,’ because he thought, ‘lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah because she is beautiful to behold.'” (26:7)
Abimelech became quite concerned and confronted Isaac. He recognized that Isaac’s actions could have led to one of the men taking Rebekah. Abimelech, and I think it was in rebuke, said, “you would have brought guilt on us.” (26:10). Then Abimelech warned his people, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” (26:11) Was Isaac just a pretender, or was he a wuss, or just plain fearful? Whichever, Abimelech does not throw him out of the country. The Lord blessed him, and “The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.” (26:13). In fact, so prosperous that the Philistines envied him and Abimelech finally told him to leave the land.
There was a problem, however, with the growth of his herds–the lack of water. For some reason the Philistines stopped up all the wells that Abraham had previously dug. Isaac had his men begin to dig and they uncovered water. The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s men, so instead of fighting, Isaac had his men dig another well. The same happened again. Isaac moved and again began to dig for water, and again found it and this time the Philistines did not challenge him. Isaac “names it Rehoboth, because he said, ‘For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (26:22)
Would it have been worth the fight? Was Isaac timid, or meek? Was he fearful or wise? The Philistines had been envious of Abraham, hence the wells were stopped up. Now Isaac, being blessed by the Lord opened them and finds water. Envy, fear, anxiety, all come to rest upon the Philistines. Isaac shrugs his shoulders, and moves to dig another well. See, this was faith, he knew that it was the Lord blessing him, and he remembered that he was the child of promise. Isaac simply picked up, no fuss, not bother–a man of peace, he moves.
The Lord spoke to Isaac, perhaps not in the same manner as Abraham, but we do see that Isaac and God spoke with each other. And, importantly, Isaac listened. Isaac, the well-digger, rebuilt and restored the wells of Abraham, but after the Lord met with him, he built his own altar. When he built the altar at Beersheba, he called upon the name of the Lord. Abimelech was fearful of the prosperity and power of Isaac, but moreso, he was concerned because he recognized the hand of God upon Isaac. He went to Isaac and made a pact with him. The same day that Isaac was sent away in peace, his men came to him with the news that they had dug another well that was full of water.
There are many lessons we can gain from this portion of Scripture, but I want to point out two. The first is the water. Water, especially in the desert, is more valuable than gold. Without water there can be no life. Water is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. It denotes blessing, refreshing, growth, and thus–life. It is up to us to seek after this “water” to “work out our own salvation.” The Holy Spirit is there waiting and wanting us to seek Him in all His fullness. The second lesson, I see that goes along with Isaac’s meekness is that of persistence. He continued to dig the wells. He continued to pursue that life-giving source of water (i.e., the Holy Spirit) When the enemy came to bring strife and quarreling, Isaac refused to get involved with the scrabble, but instead followed the guidance of God and persisted in digging another well. He persisted in trying to find that life-giving “water.”
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“And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them… They dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also… And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it…”
–Genesis 26:18, 21-22 (NKJV)
“There was a famine in the land,” sound familiar? Remember the first famine, Abraham went down to Egypt. This time the Lord appeared to Isaac warning him not to go to Egypt, but to live in the land and that He would be with Isaac. Isaac thus dwells in Gerar, the land of the Philistines of whom Abimelech is the king. Now, when I read verse 7, I shake my head in wonder. The men in the region were asking about Rebekah, so what does the “man” Isaac do? “‘She is my sister’; for he was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife,’ because he thought, ‘lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah because she is beautiful to behold.'” (26:7)
Abimelech became quite concerned and confronted Isaac. He recognized that Isaac’s actions could have led to one of the men taking Rebekah. Abimelech, and I think it was in rebuke, said, “you would have brought guilt on us.” (26:10). Then Abimelech warned his people, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” (26:11) Was Isaac just a pretender, or was he a wuss, or just plain fearful? Whichever, Abimelech does not throw him out of the country. The Lord blessed him, and “The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.” (26:13). In fact, so prosperous that the Philistines envied him and Abimelech finally told him to leave the land.
There was a problem, however, with the growth of his herds–the lack of water. For some reason the Philistines stopped up all the wells that Abraham had previously dug. Isaac had his men begin to dig and they uncovered water. The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s men, so instead of fighting, Isaac had his men dig another well. The same happened again. Isaac moved and again began to dig for water, and again found it and this time the Philistines did not challenge him. Isaac “names it Rehoboth, because he said, ‘For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (26:22)
Would it have been worth the fight? Was Isaac timid, or meek? Was he fearful or wise? The Philistines had been envious of Abraham, hence the wells were stopped up. Now Isaac, being blessed by the Lord opened them and finds water. Envy, fear, anxiety, all come to rest upon the Philistines. Isaac shrugs his shoulders, and moves to dig another well. See, this was faith, he knew that it was the Lord blessing him, and he remembered that he was the child of promise. Isaac simply picked up, no fuss, not bother–a man of peace, he moves.
The Lord spoke to Isaac, perhaps not in the same manner as Abraham, but we do see that Isaac and God spoke with each other. And, importantly, Isaac listened. Isaac, the well-digger, rebuilt and restored the wells of Abraham, but after the Lord met with him, he built his own altar. When he built the altar at Beersheba, he called upon the name of the Lord. Abimelech was fearful of the prosperity and power of Isaac, but moreso, he was concerned because he recognized the hand of God upon Isaac. He went to Isaac and made a pact with him. The same day that Isaac was sent away in peace, his men came to him with the news that they had dug another well that was full of water.
There are many lessons we can gain from this portion of Scripture, but I want to point out two. The first is the water. Water, especially in the desert, is more valuable than gold. Without water there can be no life. Water is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. It denotes blessing, refreshing, growth, and thus–life. It is up to us to seek after this “water” to “work out our own salvation.” The Holy Spirit is there waiting and wanting us to seek Him in all His fullness. The second lesson, I see that goes along with Isaac’s meekness is that of persistence. He continued to dig the wells. He continued to pursue that life-giving source of water (i.e., the Holy Spirit) When the enemy came to bring strife and quarreling, Isaac refused to get involved with the scrabble, but instead followed the guidance of God and persisted in digging another well. He persisted in trying to find that life-giving “water.”