(6/10/15) Abimelech is probably a dynastic name like Herod (Herodian dynasty) and not his personal name.

Transcription

1 Genesis 26:1-27:46 (6/10/15) Genesis 26:1 (NKJV) 1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Abimelech is probably a dynastic name like Herod (Herodian dynasty) and not his personal name. Gerar is located in Canaan on the border of Egypt. There are many Christians who haven t gone back to the world (Egypt) but are content to live on the border. Their attitude seems to be How carnal can I be and still get into heaven? How close to the world can I live and still have God bless my life. Genesis 26:2-5 (NKJV) 2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Canaan (the Promised Land) was God s will for His people when they were in the land His promises would be fulfilled and His blessing would flow. 1

2 If they left the land (or were removed by God in judgment) they were cut off from the flow of His blessings and promises. In a spiritual sense the land of Canaan represents the life of the Spirit God s will for all of His people (living in fellowship, obedience, and walking by faith). When a child of God is in his or her spiritual Promised Land God s blessings will flow and His promises will be fulfilled go back to the world and believers will be cut off from these things. Genesis 26:7 (NKJV) 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, "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." As the old saying goes the apple doesn t fall far from the tree or like father like son. This was the same thing that Abraham had done a hundred years earlier when there was a famine in the land he went to Egypt and told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister. Also Gerar was the same place where, years earlier Abraham went and lied to another Abimelech telling him that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 20:1 18). Genesis 26:8-11 (NKJV) 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, 'She is my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of her.' " 10 And Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us." 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." 2

3 One author said, We must understand that we are being watched. When you sin, you may be sure that a nonbeliever is watching through some window. Twice Abraham was rebuked by an unbelieving king (Pharaoh Gen.12; Abimelech Gen.20) for saying Sarah was his sister and not his wife (she was his half-sister). Here Isaac does the same thing (a total lie since Rebekah wasn t his sister at all) and another pagan king has to rebuke him. What really makes me uncomfortable about this story is that a pagan king seems to have more morals and a greater fear of God than most of our leaders in America today. (Elaborate) Genesis 26:12 (NKJV) 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. God showed Isaac that, even though there was a famine in the land of Canaan, if he obeyed God (stayed in the land) and trusted Him to provide He would provide all they needed and more (a hundredfold harvest). Genesis 26:13-15 (NKJV) 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. Wells were difficult and expensive to dig therefore why in a desert land would the Philistines want to fill up wells that were dug by Abraham which would provide life giving water? 3

4 Well, first of all to erase the memory of Abraham from the land and in particular the memory of Abraham s God just like we see ISIS doing today. (Explain) Secondly, the world (Philistines) always want to fill up (get rid of) the wells of living water Christians have dug (churches, ministries, businesses etc.) anywhere the gospel and God s truth are made available to the people of this world. These are wells the world wants to get rid of so as to erase the influence God s people have in this world, to remove God from our society. We see it in the way Christian businesses are being attacked and shut down for not servicing gay weddings. And soon how Christian churches will be attacked in an attempt to shut them up and even shut them down by the government for not performing gay weddings and for preaching against homosexuality (hate speech). Genesis 26:16-18 (NKJV) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." 17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 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. Isaac went back to the same resources the same sources of life (wells) that had sustained his father for so many years. There is a great lesson here for all of God s people when the world is really attacking God s truth we need to return to the truth (wells) that sustained previous generations of Christians. 4

5 I think it s time to go back to the teaching and preaching of the days of the Great Awakenings in America (Finney, Whitefield, Wesley and others) We need to reopen those wells and drink deeply from the truth of God that brought such spiritual power and revival to our nation that touched so many for Him. Genesis 26:19-22 (NKJV) 19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek (contention), because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah (opposition). 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth (enlargement or roominess), because he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." Isaac seems to have been a man of peace. As Christians we are commanded If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men (Rom. 12:18). However I realize that it s not always possible and so then, like Abraham when Lot was taken hostage, we need to fight. I just read how that Franklin Graham is admonishing Christians to fight against those companies that are promoting and supporting the gay agenda by not doing business with them. I think that is a legitimate way to fight against those who want to silence us. Isaac just wanted to have room in the land to live his life and that s all I want in America for my Christian faith. 5

6 I tolerate homosexuals but they don t tolerate anyone that disagrees with them and so we are forced to stand up and fight. Genesis 26:23-25 (NKJV) 23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And 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 My servant Abraham's sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well. There are four things that are a necessity for any pilgrim of Christ: 1. Make sure you are in God s will the place where He can bless you 2. Build an altar make it a place of worship 3. Pitch your tent (abide in fellowship) 4. Dig a well (drink daily from Jesus and His Word) Notice what happens when Isaac did this Genesis 26:26-29 (NKJV) 26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?" 28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.' " 6

7 One author put it this way It is when Isaac definitely separates himself from the men of Gerar that they come to him seeking blessing from God The Christian best helps the world when living in separation from it Genesis 26:30-35 (NKJV) 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." 33 So he called it Shebah (oath or seven). Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba (well of the oath or well of the seven) to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. There is nothing that will give Christian parents grief of mind and heartache more than to have one of their children marry an unbeliever (although Esau was himself an unbeliever also). Chapter 27 Thirty-seven years pass from the end of chapter 26 to the beginning of chapter 27. If there was ever a chapter in the Bible that painted God s people warts and all it s this chapter. We get a clear look at how dysfunctional Isaac s family was and yet they were still believers saved by grace (all except Esau) just like many Christian families. 7

8 Genesis 27:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." And he answered him, "Here I am." 2 Then he said, "Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die." Why Isaac thought he was on the verge of death we re not sure. He is 137 years old at this point Ishmael died at 137 and so maybe he feels, because of it, that this is the year he s going to die as well. Or maybe he s just a hypochondriac ever have a parent or grandparent or someone in your family that was always taking about how their time was short year after year?! Isaac winds up dying at years later!! At this time Esau and Jacob are 77 years old. Genesis 27:5-10 (NKJV) 5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.' 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death." Isaac knows that God told Rebekah 77 years earlier that the younger would be blessed over the older and that the older son (Esau) would serve the younger son (Jacob). 8

9 However it seems Isaac either didn t care what God had said or didn t believe Rebekah really heard from the Lord on this all he knew was that Esau was his favorite, he was the oldest and so he was the one that was going to get the blessing! Rebekah on the other hand did believe what God had told her that Jacob (her favorite) was going to be blessed over Esau and yet she didn t believe God could do it unless she deceived her husband. Her motive was right (to see God s will done) but her method was wrong (using deception to accomplish it). Genesis 27:11-12 (NKJV) 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing." Jacob didn t really mind being a deceiver he just didn t want his father to think of him as a deceiver. There are a lot of people like this they don t mind deceiving others they just don t want others to think of them as deceivers. Also, Jacob was the kind of man that didn t mind scheming and conniving if it would benefit him. Here he is worried that his scheming might backfire and bring a curse upon himself. Forget the fact that he d be deceiving his father and defrauding his brother the only thing he s worried about was how it was going to affect him. 9

10 Genesis 27:13 (NKJV) 13 But his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." This is sad to me Rebekah has not aged well spiritually or morally. When we first saw Rebekah she was a teenager living in Haran way back in Genesis 24 a hundred years earlier. At the time Abraham sent Eliezer his eldest servant to Haran to get a wife for Isaac. When he first encountered Rebekah she seemed to be the very picture of sweetness, kindness and grace. (Explain) And now she seems to have aged into a scheming, conniving, controlling person. There are many Christians that don t age well they seem to go backward instead of forward in their faith and character. (Explain) Genesis 27:14-20 (NKJV) 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he went to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." 20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God brought it to me." 10

11 This is disgusting! Not only is Jacob lying through his teeth to his father Isaac he brings God into his lie claiming that God blessed him by bringing the animal to him so quickly. How many of God s people use deception to get what they want and then claim that, because the outcome was good, God actually blessed them! However Isaac is suspicious Genesis 27:21-29 (NKJV) 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am." 25 He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son." 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!" Once again this is basically a reaffirmation of the promise God gave to Abraham back in chapter 12 which was passed down to Isaac and now to Jacob by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 27:30-33 (NKJV) 30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me." 32 And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him--and indeed he shall be blessed." 11

12 Is Isaac just remembering what God had told him many years earlier through Rebekah or is he realizing how, regardless of what he wanted, God s will was going to be done (which is what I believe)? Genesis 27:34-36 (NKJV) 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me--me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing." 36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!..." It isn t true that Jacob took away Esau s birthright Esau sold it to him for a bowl of beans (lentil stew) because the birthright wasn t important to him. (Explain) Many read this and say, What s the big deal? Why didn t Isaac just take the blessing back and give it to Esau? It was because the blessing was permanent and irreversible which is why Rebekah and Jacob went through this elaborate scheme. You see they knew that once the blessing was given it couldn t be revoked! Doctrinally the lesson being taught here is that the older (the old nature which we inherited from Adam) will serve the younger (our new nature which we received from the Holy Spirit as children of God) And once God has pronounced a person blessed in Christ that blessing (salvation/eternal life) can never be revoked! Romans 11:29 (NKJV) 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 12

13 Genesis 27:36-38 (NKJV) 36 He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?" 38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me--me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. At this point the writer to the Hebrews talks about this scene Hebrews 12:14-17 (NKJV) 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. John Bunyan was initially very troubled and even stumbled by this idea that Esau wanted to repent so badly that he sought it diligently with tears and yet God refused his repentance. Until the Holy Spirit showed him that it wasn t repentance Esau diligently sought with tears it was the blessing the blessing that only accompanied being a part of the covenant people of God. But you see Esau didn t care about being a part of the covenant people of God he didn t care about his birthright (a spiritual person born into the family of God by faith) all he cared about was living for his flesh but he still wanted the blessings of God upon his life and eternity. On the Day of Judgment all unbelievers, like Esau, will weep and wail not because they didn t live for God on the earth but because they will not get the blessing of heaven for eternity. 13

14 Unbelievers don t want to live for God in this life but they still want the blessings of going to heaven Esau discovered (and so will they one day) that you can t have both you can t live for the flesh and still be blessed with eternal life Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV) 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Genesis 27:39-40 (NKJV) 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck." Not much of a blessing but then again God can t bless unbelievers too much that are determined to live for their flesh instead of for Him (maybe some common grace ). This blessing suggests that the Edomites would live in desert places, would be warriors, would be subject to the Israelites, but would one day rebel against this rule this latter prophecy was fulfilled in the reign of Joram, King of Judah (2 Kgs. 8:20 22). Genesis 27:41-45 (NKJV) 41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, "Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, 45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?" 14

15 Rebekah realized that by her deception she had lost Esau he probably never forgave her completely and moved away to make his own way in the world. But at least she still had her favorite, Jacob! He would go to her brothers for a few days until things blew over and Esau cooled down and then he would come home to her. However a few days turned into 20 years during which time Rebekah died. Her deception would make this the last time she laid eyes on Jacob for the rest of her life. When we take things into our own hands, even if our motives are good, and use deception to get what we want the price is often not worth the product. If Rebekah had simply trusted God to do what He had promised without her using deception she would have learned how big her God was in fulfilling His Word and she would have had the company of her favorite son until the day of her death. And yet in the sovereignty of God, He knew what she was going to do, and He used it to get Jacob to Laban s house where he wound up marrying Laban s two daughters Leah and Rachel. Genesis 27:46 (NKJV) 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?" 15