GENESIS
Lesson 26 - Chapter 26
Patterns. We see patterns, here in Genesis 26, that we’ve seen in earlier chapters. And, some
of these patterns are built-upon and further developed in the narrative of Genesis 26. We’ve
talked about patterns quite a bit in this class, because they are crucial in understanding
Scripture. Because God has created a Universe and system of life that emulates Himself, it is
of course orderly and not chaotic. Secular humanists know instinctively that if our Universe and
the system of life on our planet are NOT chaotic and random, then it DOES have order. And, if
it has order, who or what has created that order?
Relatively new theories of physics….. which, by the way, are now the generally accepted
theories….. have shown that 1) many more dimensions of existence than the 4 we are familiar
with (length, width, height, and time) are a mathematical reality, and 2) our Universe and
system of life IS orderly and not random or chaotic. It is full of patterns and cycles that seem to
repeat infinitely.
Therefore, faced with the inevitable conclusion that if the Universe has been ordered, by
definition there MUST be a central order-er. Yet, the same scientific community that subscribes
to these new theories cannot bring themselves to use the term “God”; so, they have coined
the term “Intelligent Design”……refusing to discuss just WHO the intelligent designer might be.
Unfortunately for the scientific community, using the rather detached and neutral terminology of
Intelligent Design has not allowed them to avoid the controversy their findings have caused. A
school in Pennsylvania has been teaching its students about the decade old (or so) finding of
intelligent design of the Universe in it’s science classes…along, of course, with the obligatory
theory of evolution; the result is a huge court battle over whether the students can even be told
of the intelligent design discoveries. Keep an eye on this battle and read what you can about it.
You will be astounded at the twisted claims and mental gymnastics that those who brought the
lawsuit are alleging. You will be astounded at the institutions and people who you might never
have associated with atheism and vehement secular humanism. Even more you will learn just
how much of a minority you (as a Believer) are in our nation and our world, and to what extent
the spirit of the Anti-Christ now dominates mankind’s thinking.
I point this out to you, because most of us have been taught to read and study the Bible using
secular humanist methods…..it's just that we don’t realize it. That is, it is required that for every
lesson, or principle, or law, or happening in Scripture, we MUST ask WHY? And, we are
required to draw our conclusions based on the scientific method. If there are not good and
largely complete answers as to “why”, then the Biblical lesson, or principle, or law, or
happening is discarded as myth, legend, and fantasy.
The Bible is not a secular humanist document, and it does not present the material in a
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scientific way. Therefore, the search for “why” when studying Scripture can lead us down dead-
end trails, in the same way that the rapidly-becoming-obsolete field of physics called Quantum
Mechanics has led scientists down a road to a dead end that has amounted to nothing. The
Quantum Mechanics approach to physics is to try to rationalize chaos; to try and find
mathematical formulas able to PREDICT the unpredictable, and to explain how randomness
can eventually produce order. The theoretical principles of chaos and randomness are the
foundation of atheism and secular humanism. And, after more than 4 decades, the Quantum
Mechanics approach to the operation of the Universe has proved utterly futile.
We are a Universe and life system of patterns…..because we are Universe and life system of
order; we see patterns because God’s principles of order are rock-solid and they never
change. This produces repetitions and predictable cycles….and I call these Biblical repetition,
patterns.
Let’s read Genesis 26, now, uncover some more patterns, and watch history, even at this
early date, repeat itself.
READ GEN 26 all
The fickle weather of Canaan had once again plunged the land into a state of hunger such that
Isaac was forced to move on. Apparently, remembering his father, Abraham’s, similar plight
and resulting sojourn into Egypt, Isaac was about to do the same. His route to Egypt took him
into the territory of the Philistines, because the well-established trade route between Canaan
and Egypt ran directly through the Philistine’s land. Even more, as verse 1 states, he went to
the royal city of Gerar, because it was a known stores-city; that is, it was a place where the
king resided, so the city had warehouses with food storage. It was common practice
throughout the known world in that era to have both emergency and regular food warehouses
AT THE CITY where the king of that region lived….obviously so the king could keep his eye on
them and so he would have first shot at the best food as he wanted it.
This system of stores-cities and warehouses existed primarily because the “taxes” every king
extracted from his people came….for the most part….. in the form of grain or some other kind of
produce. So, huge amounts of wheat and barley brought in as taxes had to be stored and
controlled by the king’s men, under the king’s watchful eye. The result was the need for
enormous warehouses and underground silos for safekeeping the king’s property.
There, Yahweh appeared to Isaac and told him NOT to go down to Egypt, but rather to stay
right where he was! In other words, despite what his eyes told him…..despite the fact that all his
human instincts told him they must go elsewhere or perish from starvation, God told him to
stay in the land God had set aside for Abraham and his descendants. That God would take him
THROUGH the trouble, not out of it. How often we choose to do just what Isaac was about to
do……cut and run, instead of listening to, and trusting, God to take us through the hard times
and challenges of our lives.
This was no easy decision for Isaac; he was an owner of flocks and herds. He, by now, had an
enormous clan to oversee and care for. To choose to stay in an area that was now under a
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famine was a most serious one; it could mean the end of his clan. One can only imagine the
shock and disbelief of his clan members at this decision. This was to be a test of faith in his
father’s God.
Let’s do a little housekeeping. First, the timing of chapter 26 necessarily occurs BEFORE
chapter 25. So, the twins Esau and Jacob had not yet been born to Isaac’s wife, Rivka. We
can know this because there is no mention of them, AND, the king of the Philistines never
would have inquired about Rivka if he knew she was married; children being the dead
giveaway that she WAS married.
Let’s also talk for a moment about the first words of verse 2, where it says, “The Lord
appeared to him….”, referring to Isaac. What does this mean, “the Lord appeared”? Does this
indicate a theophany? Did God make a PHYSICAL appearance before Isaac? BTW, as in most
cases in the OT, the word translated as “lord” is actually Y-H-W-H…..God’s personal name.
The Hebrew word used here, and normally translated as appearance, is va-yerah’; and this
word IS indicative of divine revelation. Another Hebrew word for a kind of divine intervention is
very similar: va-yo’mer. Va-yomer invariably is referring ONLY to divine speech….words,
something audible. Va-yerah is most commonly used in the Bible in reference to the
Patriarchs….Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is indicative of a more direct and intense receiving of
communication from God. It is a communication with the Lord that is not questioned. Visions,
another form of communication with Yahweh, are often questioned; was it God or just a
dream? Do I understand correctly what He said? What does it all mean? The word form va-
yerah’, on the other hand, indicates an unquestionable, unmistakable contact with God that
includes a crystal clear message……that could, but does not necessarily, include a visual
experience. So, the word “appearance” should not be taken to mean that the Lord, in some
way, made Himself visible; it’s more of an expression of near-ness of a human to God’s
presence.
Final piece of housekeeping: the Abimelech that we see here is NOT the same Abimelech that
Abraham encountered. Abimelech means “father-king”, or “my father the king”. It is an
epithet, and a title. It was probably a name that many Philistine kings chose for themselves.
We really shouldn’t have to wonder about this: we find modern Catholic Popes choosing
names for themselves of past Popes. We find kings of England and France doing the same
thing: Henry the 8th was called that because there were 7 royal Henrys before him. Same idea
here.
So, beginning in verse 3, God renewed the covenant promises He had made with Abraham,
with Isaac. Let us never forget, all the Bible characters were real human beings; Isaac would
naturally wonder, over extended periods of time, if God was still with him. He’d look at his
circumstances, as we all do, and question whether he fully understood what God had told
him……because little, if any, of those covenant promises seemed to be coming to pass. And, the
one promise that was so valuable to a clan, in that era…..land…..certainly hadn’t materialized.
Isaac NEEDED the reaffirmation from the Lord, so he got it.
We must not just quickly skip by what is said towards the end of verse 4, though it seems we
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have heard it before. In fact, the form of the promise “ so that all the nations of the earth shall
BLESS THEMSELVES by your heirs……” ADDS a small nuance from the earlier promise that
“all the nations of the earth will be blessed by you”. The idea is that ALL humanity will have
their hopes and well being somehow organically connected to Israel. General mankind’s fate
is dependent on Israel’s fate.
What, exactly, does that mean? Well, even though we are so far along in the process of God’s
plan of redemption that we have a greater picture and understanding of how this is all playing
out than those who came before us…..much of it is still to come, and therefore much is still a
mystery. When we get to Genesis 48, 49, and 50, more information is added that both sheds
light AND adds to the mystery of just HOW all the nations of the earth will be blessed by
Abraham’s descendants. And, remember, the word “nations”, in Bible speak, is referring more
to PEOPLE than to territory. Don’t necessarily equate the words nation and country; in our
modern vocabulary, we use the words nation and country interchangeably. But, that is NOT the
case in the Bible. Nations, for the most part, means definable groups of people along with their
government….their leaders.
Isaac obeyed; like his father, Abraham, he listened to God and did what He was bid to do. But,
Isaac carried in him a trait similar to his father: fear. Now in the midst of famine, and currently
residing upon a people he didn’t particularly trust, he felt insecure.
And, as a result, here we find Isaac sporting another familiar family trait……a problem with
being truthful…..especially when it comes to his wife. No doubt Isaac had heard the tales of his
father Abraham’s trip into Egypt, and so he now mimics Abraham’s behavior by telling the city
folk of G’rar that Rivka is his sister.
One day, Abimelech looks out his window and spots Isaac caressing his lovely wife Rebecca;
having heard the scuttlebutt that Rivka was Isaac’s sister, what he witnessed says otherwise,
and so Abimelech figures out the deceit and confronts Isaac. Isaac admits his lie, and the
furious Abimelech warns his people that nobody is to touch her, or they’ll die. A lesson he had
likely learned from HIS father.
Now, although there are many obvious patterns playing out here that we saw with Isaac’s
father Abraham, the outcomes are quite different. Abraham encountered famine, determined to
go to Egypt to ride it out, and did so. Isaac encountered famine, determined to go to Egypt to
ride it out, but did NOT go.
The king of the Philistines spotted Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was told she was Abraham’s sister,
and so he more or less kidnapped her for his harem. The king of the Philistines spotted
Isaac’s wife, Rivka, had been told she was his sister, BUT NOTICED that she obviously was
not, and so did NOT take her. In fact, he warned his people against doing anything as regards
Rivka.
It is quite interesting to me, that whenever this king of the Philistines makes reference to
Isaac’s God, He calls Him by name; that’s right, the original Hebrew doesn’t have Abimelech
referring to Isaac’s God as “Lord”, as most of our Bibles do; rather, each time Y-H-W-H is
present. Abimelech obviously had familiarity with Isaac’s God, and had fear and respect for
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him. And, in fact, it was the fear of the God of the Hebrews that drove Abimelech’s decisions
in the way he dealt with Isaac and his clan.
We find in verse 13, that apparently the extended famine caused Isaac to decide to plant crops
to supplement, and likely to feed, his herds, flocks, and family. Ancient historical records prove
the truth of this. Often keepers of flocks and herds would plant the equivalent of a large garden
so as to have grain and herbs for their families. And, there is also record of shepherds growing
crops to supplement their food supply in hard times, so this act of Isaac doing so is completely
consistent with both his culture and profession; in no way does planting crops indicate an intent
to settle down and stay in a spot permanently.
God blessed Isaac for trusting Him to stay in Canaan, by causing the crops to produce 100
times what was sowed. In that day, planting methods were primitive and the yield of the seed
was small; generally, something on the order of 25 times the amount of seed sown became
harvestable. A great year was 50 times, and 75 was extraordinary. 100 times yield was only
possible supernaturally. We’re told in V13 that Isaac’s wealth kept compounding, and the
local Philistines became bitterly jealous. And, from Abimelech’s instructions to Isaac, we can
also understand that there was fear coupled to that jealousy by the Philistine people of both
Isaac’s God, and of the already sizeable number of people that formed Isaac’s clan. Isaac
was a threat, as the Philistines saw it.
This is a scenario that will be played out time and time again with the Israelites, and then the
Jews, as God’s blessing upon them with plentiful food, longevity, fertility, and wealth also
served as a cause for envy and then persecution by whatever peoples they lived among. The
P’lishtim, the Philistines, showed their anger and frustration by filling in water wells so vital to
Isaac’s clan’s well being. Abraham had dug these wells years earlier.
So, Isaac’s clan had grown so large and powerful, that they represented a threat to the
Philistines, and Abimelech asked them to leave his land. Yet, we must understand that we
have the weaker asking the stronger to leave. Isaac could have refused, and a war might have
resulted with Isaac the likely winner. In those days, as now, however, Abimelech knowing that
he could not have defeated Isaac, would have made some type of power and wealth sharing
pact with Isaac. Isaac well knew this; but, instead, chose to comply and so he gathered his
clan left, moving to the bank of the G’rar River (Vadi, or Wadi, means “river”), and began
unclogging some the water wells that had been filled with dirt by the Philistines. When the
water began flowing again, the Philistines claimed it was their water, and the conflict started
anew.
So, Isaac took his tribe and moved further away to Be’er-Sheva. Abimelech, an able
politician, knew it was wise to try and mend fences with this growing clan that could, if it
wished, come back and overrun his land. So, he renewed the pact that he had made so many
years earlier with Abraham.
Beer-Sheva means well of the seven. And, recall, it was a place well known to Isaac, because
it where Abraham moved after Isaac had his near-death experience on the altar at Mt. Moriah.
So, Isaac was simply going back to comfortable familiarity. Also, we must understand that this
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was simply an oasis. There was no city, there. It would be long into the future before a city was
established at that spot, and the city’s name was taken from the ancient name Abraham had
given it.
Beginning in verse 23, upon Isaac taking his large clan to Be’er-Sheva, God again comes to
Isaac….the text says Y-H-W-H “appears” to Isaac, and it uses the same Hebrew word va-
yera’, that is common in describing many of the Patriarch’s communications with the Lord.
Isaac had just come through a pretty troubling time. He may have felt like he failed, because
he left an area of land, without putting up a fight, that God said would go to Abraham’s
descendants. And, Yahweh comes to Isaac as a comforter; he says, “fear not”. Why fear not?
Because Isaac was fearful…..
Emulating his father, Isaac builds an altar, sacrifices to Yahweh, and has his men start digging
a new well; something he was sure to need. And, during the process of digging the well,
Abimelech shows up along with his chief of staff, Ahuzzath, and the general of his army,
Phicol. Isaac is annoyed. His statement to Abimelech is something on the order of “what
now!….. I did everything you asked in order to maintain peace between us, and here you are
again.”
But, Abimelech has not come to make trouble; he is coming with his hat in hand. He wants a
peace treaty with Isaac. Isaac is setting up shop right on the border of Abimelech’s influence.
He feels he has pushed Isaac as far away as he can get away with, but he still feels insecure. I
suspect that Isaac knew full well why Abimelech was there, simply by who came with him. If
Abimelech were there to make war, he would not have had his civilian chief of staff with him.
No, this was the usual entourage necessary for two nations to make a pact.
And, the nature of the pact is spelled out in verses 28 and 30; it is too live side-by-side,
peaceably. The pact is concluded in the usual manner, with a ceremonial meal, and some
oaths in the name of the gods each worships are spoken; Abimelech and his men depart. The
same day, the men digging the water well struck water. This was always interpreted as a good
sign…..a sign of blessing…… and I have no doubt that is exactly as God intended it.
Peace and prosperity, and room to grow were now Isaac’s; life was good. But, trouble was
brewing; his unwise, petulant son Esau did the VERY thing Isaac and Rebecca most dreaded:
he took two Hittite women as his wives. God knew what He was doing when, 40 years earlier;
He had assigned the first-born birthright to Esau’s twin brother Jacob, while they both were yet
in their mother’s womb.
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