The following is a teaching transcription. It has not been checked for complete transcription accuracy.

The Promise!

All right. Let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 25. We're in a section in the Book of Genesis where a shift is occurring from Abraham to Isaac. And of course, the promises of God have been stated to Abraham in places like Genesis chapter 12 and following. And we've been journeying with Abraham through the course of his life to watch how God reconfirmed his promise to Abraham over and over again. That he would become a blessing to all nations. That one of his descendants specifically would be a blessing to all nations. That his descendants would become as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. So of incredible number. And also, that he would be given the Land of Canaan and given military victory over the Canaanite people, or at least his descendants would at some point.

Now at this point, Sarah has died. Abraham is still alive. And as we saw in chapter 24, he's arranged for the marriage of his only son Isaac, the child of promise. And of course, we've seen the miraculous hand of God in providing Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. But at this point, Abraham is still alive, but the story is shifting. And we're watching the promise of God now move to Isaac as it will then flow through him to Jacob, to the tribes of Israel, and ultimately on down the line into Jesus himself who would die for the sin of the world.

1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

Keturah

Now this is an interesting development for the reader of the Book of Genesis, because of course the relationship between Abraham and Sarah was a prized relationship. And God confirmed over and over again that the promised child would flow not just from Abraham, but from Abraham and Sarah to the next generation.

And the last time we saw another woman come into Abraham's life, it was Hagar. And Hagar of course, with her son Ishmael threatened the whole promised plan of God. So the reader might naturally be a little concerned at this moment. We'll talk about that in a second. But here, there are some ambiguities concerning the timeline of this event. It appears that Moses isn't all that concerned about a harsh or sharp chronology. And part of the reason I'm saying that is because in the next episodes, we're going to see Isaac and Rebecca struggle to have children. And at 60 years of age, Isaac will have his sons, Jacob and Esau. It will almost appear to the reader because we're about to read of Abraham's death, that Abraham is not on the scene when those births occur. But he actually is. It's just that Moses is including some of these details before that moment. Abraham was 100 years older than Isaac. He died at 175 years of age. So when Isaac was 60, Abraham was 160. So he was alive when Jacob and Esau were born. But Moses seems concerned about tying up the narrative about Abraham so that he can move on to Isaac.

Timeline?

So like I said, it's a little bit of an unclear timeline at this point, why it's being mentioned right here. But part of the point of including this other relationship with this woman Keturah. And there is a passage in First Chronicles that calls Keturah one of Abraham's concubines, and that causes some people to think that that's all that Keturah was. Although later, it shows that there were other concubines. So it does seem that she was brought in after Sarah's death as a full fledged wife. And that Abraham is now enlivened again. And they end up having six sons together. And these six sons Moses is careful to include their names. And then some of their children, because these individuals would go on and populate the regions around Israel. In other words, the Israelites would know these names. They would know these people groups. And this was actually part of God's fulfillment of his promise on Abraham's life.

Nations

You might remember back in chapter 17 in verse four, God had made a promise to Abraham that he would make him a multitude of nations. It was another wrinkle to the plan that God had for him. Not just that the nation of Israel or the God's people would grow numerous and unable to be counted, but also that from Abraham would come various nations. And apparently, his relationship with Keturah after Sarah's death was what enabled that to occur. So is partly the promise of God being fulfilled, as unhappy as it might make us with our modern romantic ideas and all of that. It kind of saddens us to see after the Sarah and Abraham narrative, this new relationship with Keturah.

5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

Safeguarding The Covenant

Now here, what Abraham is doing is Abraham is safeguarding the promise of God. As we've been seeing, of course the promise of God has been declared to Abraham. And then secondarily, over the years it's been confirmed that it will flow through Isaac, as I've already said today. And Abraham now is working hard to make sure that that promise of God is focused in the right direction. He's thinking about the next generation.

Now Abraham loves these other sons that he's had just as he loved Ishmael previously. This is not his way of treating them poorly. This is not his way of treating them prejudicially. This is his way of saying, "In faith God, I believe that through Isaac, you are going to bless even my other sons and their offspring if Isaac becomes the recipient of the promise." So he's safe guarding the covenant. To me, this is an expression of Abraham's faith. He's saying, "God, I trust you. And I trust this thing that you said would occur through me and through Isaac. I trust in it. I believe in it. So much that even though I can't see it, and even though it might seem wise to just sort of diversify my assets so to speak and invest equally in all of my sons as I send them away. I'm going to send these sons to a distant land so that Isaac alone can be the recipient of your promise and dwell here in the Land of Canaan."

The Next Generation

And in a sense, what Abraham is doing is something really beautiful. He's saying, "I am going to do things that lead to the betterment of the next generation." And I think I've already mentioned that in our study through the Book of Genesis, that constant focus of God's people in thinking about the next generation. Abraham was not willing to be the kind of man who just thought about himself, his own experience, his own blessings, his own issues. That is the Mark of a carnal person, but a spiritual person says, "No. I'm concerned about those who will come after me."

There was a king in the Old Testament era who was told of great evil that would come upon the kingdom after his death. And he said, "Well, at least there will be peace in my days." But someone who cares about the next generation, someone who cares about the people coming along after them would not say words like that. They would instead say, "No, I want to fight hard today so that the future generation can be blessed." And I think this goes for families. This goes for churches. This goes for disciple makers. That we would be people who say it's not about just how I'm doing, but about the generations, the people that are following after me. I want to pour into them. And Abraham was that kind of man.

All right. So he set things up, even though he had these additional sons. He set things up so that Isaac could thrive.

7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

Full Life

Now there's a little phrase I want to draw your attention to first from that paragraph we read. It's just the simple phrase. "These are the days of the years of Abraham's life 175 years." The man lived a very long time. As we've talked about in our study of Genesis, it seems that the life spans of the patriarchs this side of the flood was often double our modern idea of what a healthy lifespan would be. At 175 years, Abraham died. But Moses is careful to talk about the days of the years of Abraham's life. You see though, he lived nearly two centuries, his life was comprised of days. Days of walking with God, days of sometimes monotony, days of silence. We have various episodes that are detailed to us in Abraham's life. The time when God spoke to him originally to depart from his home country. The time when God led him into battle against the armies that had overtaken other cities, including the city of Sodom, where Lot had been lodged.

The time that he met with Melchizedek. The time that he took matters into his own hands and lied about Sarah's identity before Pharaoh and before Abimelech. The time that he stumbled with Hagar, the time that God fulfilled his promise with Isaac's birth. The time that God visited him at the tent and spoke with him. The time that he interceded for the people of Sodom. There are many episodes that we are able to learn from the life of Abraham.

But when you think about it in the grand span of a 175 year life, we just have a small little snapshot of this man's long journey of faith. There were exciting moments. There were powerful moments, times that God spoke to him. But there were many days of just walking and slugging it out here on earth before his Lord.

So the man lived 175 years. Genesis is clear that it was a good life. He died in good old age it says there. An old man, and full of years, this is Genesis speak for he lived a full life. Keep this in mind because later in the Book of Genesis, when Jacob whose name had been turned into Israel meets Pharaoh in the land of Egypt, because he's reconnected with Joseph, his son. He'll tell Pharaoh, "My days have been few and evil." Here Abraham's life is said to have been long and good.

Afterlife

And he was gathered it says there in verse eight to his people, he was gathered there to his people. Now, this is an important phrase because some people will say that in the Old Testament, the people of Israel or the people of faith did not have a concept about life after death. That it was only in the New Testament era and only in the early years of the church, that the idea of heaven or the idea of life after death began to occur. And some of these ideas are based on some of the Psalms, which do have lines that indicate the idea of hope in this life and in this life alone.

But phrases like this actually combat that kind of concept. "He was gathered to his people," it says. Now this is an idea or a phrase that's repeated throughout the Pentateuch. And when it's spoken, it's not always meant to say that he was brought home to his physical place of origin, but that they were brought home to where their ancestors were. That they went into eternity itself.

Job who many regard, or the Book of Job, which many regard as the first book in the Bible actually written. Written even before Genesis, even though the content of it occurred after the events in the early chapters of Genesis. Job himself said of his own life that one day his skin would be destroyed, and then he would see God. So it appears from the very early days, there was a concept of going home to be with God after death. And here we see that described of Abraham. That he was gathered to his people.

Only A Cave

Now when they buried Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, they got together. There was a truce together, so to speak. And these two sons of Abraham, they bury their father in the Cave of Machpelah. We visited this cave for the first time in chapter 23. Abraham purchased it inside the Land of Canaan. It was sort of a message that Abraham was speaking to say, "I'm not going to go back to my country of origin. God has promised us the Land of Canaan. I'm going to buy a cave, be buried here, bury my wife here, because this is the land that God has promised to give us."

He had to buy the cave. God didn't give him the cave. He had to buy the cave. But in faith, he's trusting that God is going to give this land to his descendants. At this point, he still doesn't have any other land, but Ishmael and Isaac are faithful to bury their father in this cave.

Can you imagine the great father of faith, 175 years old, all these incredible promises from God? And he dies only owning a cave in this Land of Canaan. It just speaks to us of the long, drawn out process that God will take us through to fulfill his purposes and his promises in our lives. I wonder if part of the reason for this, part of the reason of God developing our faith in this way. His slowness, so to speak, though it really isn't slow because his timing is perfect. But I wonder if our perception of God is working slowly at times is actually something that God is doing so that we would have a healthy relationship with him rather than a genie in the bottle kind of relationship with him. One where we think that if I walk with God, then today, then tomorrow, literally tomorrow, his blessing is going to come. No, instead we should say, "I know that it pays to walk with God. He will unfold his promises in my life, sometimes even over decades. But I will cling to and trust in him."

11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

God's Actions

Now this is an important little line. I wanted to look at it all by itself because what it's telling us is that we've already seen Abraham work really hard to make sure that Isaac is the son who is blessed. He's sent away all his other sons. He gave Isaac everything that he had. He's trying to say with his actions Isaac is the son of promise. But now Abraham's dead. Abraham can't make any more decisions regarding Isaac's life. But with Abraham off of the scene, God steps in and God begins to bless Isaac, Abraham's son.

This is so important for us to recognize, so important for us to see. You see so often, we think that we need to be the ones to prop up the people around us. Someone you're discipling or someone you're ministering to, you've got to be there for them so they can experience the blessing of God. But so often when you're not around, it is God who has direct access into their lives to minister to them and build them up himself. And here God confirms yeah, it's Isaac whom I'm going to bless.

The Place God Speaks

Now Isaac goes back to a place called Beer-lahai-roi, it says there in verse 11. This was a place that Isaac had been to previously. We actually saw it in the previous, chapter 24, when the servant of Abraham brought Rebecca back from Abraham's home country. Isaac was out here in Beer-lahai-roi meditating when Rebecca showed up. So it's kind of a place of seeking the Lord or prayer for Isaac.

It was also a place of prayer for Hagar in a previous episode, in chapter 16. When she was in a place of desperation as a younger woman and Ishmael seemed that he was going to perish. They'd been driven from Abraham's home. Hagar had been filled with a bit of pride. She's humbled out there in the wilderness, and she cries out to the Lord, and God hears her voice. That's the meaning of Beer-lahai-roi. God sees, God hears.

So Isaac, he goes to the place where he knows God will hear him. He's seeking the Lord in other words, by going to this geographical place. "I've heard the voice of God here. Hagar heard the voice of God here. I can go here to seek the Lord."

12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

Toldot: Ishmael

Now in verse 12, we have the generations of Ishmael. Now in a sense, the whole Book of Genesis, as I've mentioned to you at various points is a collection of these books of generations. They're called toldots in the Hebrew. But these books of generations, and this one that we're going to look at right now, though not exciting, is one of the briefest books of generations in the Book of Genesis. And we actually only have a few more to go after the Book of Ishmael's generations. We have the Book of Isaac. We have the Book of Jacob. We'll then actually have a brief little book that declares Esau's family tree. And then we'll see the end of the Book of Jacob, which is really going to be a long story of one of Jacob's sons, Joseph. So we're in a sense kind of getting, even though we're only halfway through the Book of Genesis, we're coming to the end of the Book of Genesis when you look at it from the vantage point of how many books of generations it records.

Now, why are these in there? Well, imagine it like a tree that is growing. As that tree grows up, there are different branches from the family of faith that God needs to deal with. And some branches branch off. It's not really the main story. So God will detail them for a little bit, end their story, and get back to the main trunk of the tree so to speak. And way back in Genesis chapter three, God told Adam and Eve that one day a serpent crusher would come who would crush Satan under his feet. And we're following the line from Adam and Eve, through Seth, through Noah, through Abraham, through Isaac, Jacob. We're following this line to get to the serpent crusher. That is Jesus Christ. But there are little offshoots that need to be dealt with. So here, the author Moses is going to deal with the Book of Ishmael. So let's read it together.

So here we have just the genealogy or the family tree of Ishmael himself. Now, like I said, this is partly so that Moses can wrap up Ishmael's story and get back to the story of Abraham Isaac, and just keep it moving forward. But there is another secondary purpose in mentioning Ishmael's story.

A Promise Fulfilled

Remember back in Genesis chapter 21, a second time when Hagar and Ishmael had to flee into the wilderness. They cried out to the Lord. God told Hagar, "I heard the voice of the Lord. And then God told Hagar that he would make Ishmael into a great nation." Genesis 21 verse 18. This little episode, or this little family tree shows us that God fulfilled his promise. He made Ishmael into a great nation. All these different sons that he had became tribal leaders who lived in various villages. And they had princes and many people. So God has fulfilled his promise in other words to Ishmael.

Gathered To His People

You probably also noticed there at the end of verse 17, that Ishmael was gathered to his people. It's a similar line to what happened to Abraham. Abraham when he died was also gathered to his people. Now some of you might be thinking to yourself well, there you have it. You have Ishmael, a non-believing man brought to his ancestors. It's just superstition that is being spoken of.

But I'd say not so fast. I'm not entirely convinced that Ishmael did not become a believer at some point in his life. That same episode where Ishmael and Hagar were in the wilderness, God said to Hagar, "I've heard the voice of the boy." He was a late teen at that point in his life. It sounds like prayer to me that Ishmael had been humbled by God and was crying out to the Lord. And of course, as the son of Abraham, you would have to suspect that Abraham taught him about the ways and the things of God. And it's possible that Ishmael himself died as a believing man and was gathered to his people, which would be God's people.

Over Against His Kinsman

Also in verse 18, the end of Ishmael's generation, it ends by saying that he settled over and against all his kinsmen. It's kind of a hostile phrase. There's just this animosity between Ishmael and those around him, over and against all his kinsmen.

But this is actually also a fulfillment of God's promise for and about Ishmael's life. He had said in chapter 16 verse 12, that he would be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him. And he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. So this was fulfilled. God knew what would happen in Ishmael's life. But that's it, that's the end of the Ishmael story. And God is now moving on. We've wrapped up Abraham, we've wrapped up Ishmael. And now we're moving on into the story of Isaac.

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

The Generations Of Isaac

Like I said, we're now moving into another book of generations. This one verse 19, the generations of Isaac. It actually won't last that long. The Book of Isaac really doesn't even have a lot of details about Isaac. The whole point of Isaac's life is to kind of drive towards the life of Jacob, Isaac's son. And a lot of the life of Isaac is actually talking about the life of Jacob and his older brother Esau. But that's where we're at. We're looking at the generations of Isaac.

Conflict: Barrenness

There's a conflict though, right away. We learn in verse 21 that his wife Rebecca, his beloved wife that he met and married in the previous chapter, chapter 24. We discover that she's barren. She can have no child. Because they have children, in verse 26, at Isaac's age being 60. We know then that for 20 years, Rebecca was barren. For 20 years, she had no children, even though we don't know her exact age. We know that it was 20 years of barrenness.

Now this is a theme throughout scripture. And especially throughout the Old Testament. The idea of God having to work with the barren womb. Sarah of course had already been barren. Now we have Rebecca who is unable to have a child. Jacob's wives, Rachel and Leah will go through the same difficulty. And the idea here is really simple and in a sense, beautiful. It's like this.

Isaac, he's clearly the guy. He's clearly the child of promise. He's a miracle baby. God keeps confirming over and over again he is the one. And Rebecca for her part, she's got all the right credentials. She did not come from the Land of Canaan. She came from Abraham's hometown, from Abraham's own family. His brother Nahor had a son named Bethuel, and Bethuel had Rebecca. So she's got all the right credentials. These two have everything going for them. You would think that they are able to produce the necessary offspring and heir for God's promise to keep going. But this barrenness gets in the way. It's like a way for God to communicate look, it's not about human effort. It's not about what you bring to the table. It's not about your qualifications. This brings us back to the gospel of course. It's not about that. It's about the effort of God himself. What will he do to fulfill his promises and create a people for himself? It draws us to the cross.

Isaac Prays

Now the beautiful thing here is that Isaac, what does he do? Well, he prays. It doesn't tell us whether there were 20 years of barrenness and then he prayed, or whether he prayed right at the beginning. But Isaac, he prayed. He cried out to the Lord. He did not do what his father Abraham had done and connect himself to someone like Hagar to have a child. No, instead he cried out to the Lord. He prayed. He interceded for his wife. And God moved. The Lord answered his prayer. Again, God would be the one to fulfill the promise. God would be the one to do the work.

The reality I think in our modern era and world is that so often in the body of Christ, we're able to identify hurdles, problems, obstacles, things that need, solving dilemmas that must be dealt with. But so often we will not pray. We will not cry out to the Lord to help us in our time of need, but will instead try to solve the problem with our own ingenuity. Maybe it's the curse of our modern scientific era, where the brilliance of mankind has produced great innovation. Maybe we trusted a little too much to get the job done. But here Isaac cried out to God. He said, "God, I don't know what to do with this. This is beyond me. And I need your help." And God moved for this man who humbled himself in that way.

22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

The Struggle Begins

Now verse 22 goes on to say that the children struggled together within her. Now when it says that, as readers, if this was your first time reading the Book of Genesis, you might be shocked. The children, there's been no mention of her having twins at this point. But remember, the original readers were Israelites. They knew that Jacob and Esau were born as a result of Rebecca's pregnancy. So the author Moses, he just throws it in there. The children struggled together within her. And she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb. And two peoples from within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other. The older shall serve the younger."

So Rebecca, she goes and prays to the Lord herself. She's got this struggle in the womb. She's wonders what's happening here inside me. If I'm so blessed, why is this occurring within? The children struggling by the way, is a theme that will follow out the rest of Israel's history with the descendants of Esau. Jacob and Esau are wrestling as a little babies in the womb. They are going to wrestle in life itself as brothers. But then their descendants are also going to be perpetually against one another. When the people of Israel try to go into the promised land, they'll ask Esau's descendants, the Edomites for safe passage through their land and the Edomites will refuse them. And eventually later on in Israel's history, the Edomites will join the Babylonians in attacking the people of Israel. And when Jesus is born in Bethlehem and the wise men come from the east to inquire in Jerusalem about the birth of the Messiah. King Herod, who is an Edomite through his jealousy, orders the slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem, two years old and under.

So all throughout scripture, there is this struggle between Jacob and Esau. The people of Israel and the Edomite people. But this struggle situation is also very common in scripture. All throughout the Book of Genesis, the struggle of brothers in other words. You've got Cain versus Abel. You have Shem, Ham and Japheth, the brothers that came from Noah, Noah's sons. You've got Abram, his herdsmen versus Lot's herdsmen. You have Ishmael versus Isaac. And then the whole back half of the Book of Genesis, the back third of the Book of Genesis is about a conflict between the 11 brothers with the one brother, Joseph. This is just a constant theme throughout the Book of Genesis, the struggle of brothers.

The Oracle

So Rebecca prayed. She cries out to God. And God gives her this powerful prophecy, this powerful oracle. Now it doesn't say how she received this oracle. And I don't know how she received this oracle, but some have speculated that since Abraham was still alive at this point, even though Moses has chosen to deal with Abraham's death before this event. He's still got 15 years to go when these two children are born. So he's still alive. Some have wondered if Abraham is the one that Rebecca inquired of when she inquired of the Lord, and that Abraham spoke this prophecy to Rebecca. Someday we'll know, but right now we don't.

But the oracle is fascinating because God said, "There's two nations in your womb. And the older will serve the younger." This is another one of those ongoing themes throughout the Book of Genesis, the older serving the younger. Now you have Abel and Cain. And then who ended up being the promised line? Well their younger brother, Seth. You have Isaac and Ishmael. The younger brother Isaac being the child of promise. Joseph, who I spoke about will end up being the chosen one who blesses his entire family. And Joseph's own sons, Ephraim and Manasseh when they were brought to Jacob for a blessing, the older was refused. And the younger, Ephraim was blessed by God. David who became the greatest King in Israel's history, he was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. And of course this all speaks of Jesus himself who Isaiah 53:3 says, "Was despised and rejected." When Jesus came along, he was overlooked. He was dismissed. And so often in this culture, the younger was dismissed. But God would reverse that plan. And the older he said would serve the younger.

This highlights God's sovereign choice. He can do what he wants to do.

#### 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Jacob And Esau's Birth

So these two baby boys, the twins are born. And they couldn't be more different in their birth. Esau comes out like a little manimal. He's red, he's hairy. He just looks like a little furball as he comes out. And then Jacob comes out and he's holding on to Esau's heel. So they named these two boys accordingly. The name Esau meaning red or hairy. And the name Jacob meaning heel grab her or reaching out. Likely they didn't have an evil kind of connotation in their minds when they named him such. But as time goes on, we'll discover that both of these names are appropriate, especially Jacob's name. He really ends up being a man who through deceit is tripping up other people.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Contrasted

So again, not much is shown of the boys' childhood. But still the contrast between Esau and Jacob that you saw at their birth, it follows them into adulthood. When they grew up, Esau became this skillful Hunter. He liked being outside. He was a man of the field. You just can imagine him always dirty, always hunting, always on the go, always full of energy. Brimming over with testosterone.

Jacob though was a quiet man. He just wasn't loud, boisterous, aggressive, like Esau likely was and he dwelled intense. This does not mean that Esau lived outside, everybody dwelt in tents. But the idea is that Jacob just spent a lot of time indoors. And Isaac, the father ended up loving Esau it says, because Esau made good food. He loved his game. He loved to eat the meat that Esau had hunted. But Rebecca, she loved Jacob. She gravitated towards Jacob. Partly because he was around more I'm sure. And perhaps even partly because she knew that the older would serve the younger, that Jacob was the child of promise.

Now again, the Bible describes things that it does not prescribe for God's people. This is not a parental prescription. This is not saying that parents should choose their favorites. That the dad should pick one child, the mother should pick another child, or anything like that. This is actually a harmful thing that they're doing. And we'll see that in a future episode. But this is just what happened there in that family.

Now all of that said, there is an episode that needs to be focused on that is very important for the development of the story.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

A Man Of Impulses

Now I think Esau was being overly dramatic in this whole thing. He comes in, he says kind of to this effect, "I'm starving to death. I need to have some of that red stew." And Jacob, well he proves to be not all that bad of a hunter himself. And he looks at Esau and says, "Well, give me your birthright." Now in that culture, the birthright could be bartered for. Esau thinks about his birthright, his position as the first born by seconds. But he's still the first born. And he says, "What is this birthright to me? I'm about to die." Like I say, I think he's being overly dramatic. I doubt that he's actually about to die. But that's the way the logic works in his mind. So he quickly trades his birthright by swearing to give it to Jacob for a bull of red stew.

Now, I don't know if Rebecca and Isaac had told Jacob about the oracle from God, that Jacob would be the one who received the blessing. I don't know if this was Jacob's way to try to make the plans of God unfold in his life and manipulate things for himself. But this would not be the way that God needed to give Jacob the blessing.

It really isn't so much about Jacob though as it's trying to show us the unsuitability of Esau as the one who would be the promised line. He's portrayed here as a carnal man who falls prey to his affections, his impulses, his hunger, his appetite, his whims. He comes onto the scene, he smells the food, and he is drawn to it to the point that he throws away the best thing he has going for him.

Now, even if he didn't know that the birthright that he'd get from Isaac was the one that God had given to Abraham, one of the most incredible blessings and promises in all of human history, even if all Esau thought of it was simply that this promise or this blessing is the natural blessing that fathers in that culture would bestow on their firstborn son. And the wealth that they would give to them, the land they would give to them, all of those blessings. Even if it was only that, not the promise of Abraham, even if it was only that, it still is a terrible trade. But nonetheless, Esau made that trade.

Hebrews chapter 12 warns us to not be like Esau, who gave in to the fleshly bodily impulses. Actually in Hebrews 12, the author uses Esau as an example to say that we should not give into sexual immorality, the impulses of the body. That's what Esau was giving into, a hunger pain that he felt he had to have satisfied.

You know what the problem is with Esau of course. He's self-diagnosed. He said, "This is what I need," rather than looking at God and saying, "God, what do you say I need?" He had no control of his impulses, but instead gave in to these impulses, and it led to his demise.

1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

A Repeated Scene

Now in the passage here that we're going to look at, and we'll be able to move through it fairly quickly. There are a lot of repeated themes. Abimelech is mentioned, a famine has mentioned. Gerar is mentioned. This all sounds kind of familiar. And the reason it sounds familiar is because in a previous episode of course, Abraham 75 or so years before this had gone down to Gerar, had gone to Abimelech, lied about his wife. A lot of these same themes are going to be repeated right here in this story.

Now through this story in chapter 26, we're going to see this figure named Abimelech. Later in the chapter, we'll see a man named Phicol. These are men who were around it appears many years earlier in the interaction with Abraham. But more than likely, Abimelech is not the name of an individual, but a title of kings in that area. And Phicol is likely not a man, but a title or a designation of a kind of man that was a military force for Abimelech. So these are not the same guys that we saw before, but they are the descendants at the very least of those previous figures that we saw.

So there's a famine in the land. It's not bad enough for Abraham to have to flee to where everyone in that era or area would go to during a famine. Everyone in that area would go down to Egypt during a time of great famine because Egypt was fairly famine proof because of the blessings of the Nile River. So it hadn't gotten bad enough for Isaac to have to go down to Egypt yet. But he's, it seems struggling or will be tempted to go there.

Now here, what we're going to see is that the problems that Abraham had, they follow Isaac. Abraham had to deal with famine. Isaac has to deal with famine as well.

2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring 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.”

Tempted To Go To Egypt!

So there he is Isaac in the Philistine territory with Abimelech, but God appears to him and says, "Hey, don't go down to Egypt. That's a temptation for you. The famine might grow more severe, but don't go down to Egypt." This would have spoken of course to the people of Israel, as they thought about their life in the wilderness, or as they thought about their life in the land of promise. And when they had difficulty, so often what they wanted to do was run down to Egypt.

Egypt was often thought of as the escape valve, the place that you could go to find respite and rest. The place where the pressure could be taken off. The financial difficulties or the war, you could escape all that by running to Egypt. That was so often the temptation that the people of Israel felt. And Isaac would have felt that temptation as well during this time where the famine was growing worse. So God says, "Don't go to Egypt."

This should also always be for us a constant encouragement in our own lives. We are so often tempted to turn to Egypt, so to speak. To turn to the easy way to cash in the blessings that come with walking with God for the way of the world. And trying to get the worldly blessings to take the heat off a little bit in the pressures of being a person of faith or a child of God. So God urges him. "Don't give in to the temptation to go back down to Egypt."

And then God says to him, "If you don't, here's everything I'm going to do for you." And he just lists promises, as we saw in verse two through verse five that were connected also to Abraham. So God is again re-affirming or confirming that his promise from Abraham is for Isaac.

Blessings Attached To Obedience

Now look at the fifth verse with me before we move on. We already read it, but look at it with me again. It says, "Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." This was God's way of showing Isaac that the blessing was in one sense attached to his obedience. That this is like a covenant that he's been brought into. That there's a certain code of conduct that is fitting all these promises and blessings that he said he would pour out upon Isaac. The people of Israel needed to see that. Because what would they receive when Moses went up to the mountain top? They'd received the law of God. They'd received the statutes, the commandments of God. It's not a way for them to earn God's blessing, but it was a way of living that a covenant person would agree to live. And that God's blessing would unlock in a sense, it's covenant or law terminology.

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.

Failing Like Dad

Now this is fascinating, of course to us. Because we've seen Abraham do this twice already. He did this in Egypt. He did this in the same area to a previous Abimelech. He had given into fear rather than faith. And Isaac does the same thing. Rebecca is a knockout. She's beautiful. And he's fearful for his own life. So he tells the king there that Rebecca is his sister. He says that he feared. He thought the men of this place might kill me because of Rebecca, because he knew how beautiful she was.

Now this is fascinating because Isaac needs to be a man of faith. But it's also fascinating because what you're seeing here are the sins of the father being passed down to the son. This is often how it works. This is often how it takes place. Things that we don't even really know that we're guilty of, but by habit almost because they've been ingrained in us. Either through the absence of a father, or the inactivity of a father, the rebellion of a father. Whatever means, so often a father will pass on his tendencies to the children who come after him. It's a warning to fathers for sure, to make sure that fathers are holy, godly, setting a good model and example for their children. But it's also a warning for children of whatever age to think about the way that they were raised and some of the tendencies that they might be giving into without even thinking about it. Isaac had entered in to the sin of Abraham.

8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’ ” 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.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Abimelech Teaches Israel About Marriage's Importance

Now Abimelech looks out the window one day it says, and he sees Isaac laughing with Rebecca. That's a very innocent word in English to us, but we've actually talked about this word laughing before when we saw Ishmael laughing at baby Isaac. And that word laughing, it's difficult to translate. It could mean just pure laughter. It could mean a little bit of teasing or mockery. So maybe with Isaac and Rebecca, it was a playful, flirtatious kind of teasing that would be inappropriate for a brother and sister, but appropriate for husband and wife. But it also has within it, the possibility of some kind of sexual contact, which of course would be very inappropriate from Ishmael, a teenage boy, to a toddler Isaac. But would be a tender, appropriate thing from Isaac to his wife Rebecca.

Somehow though, whatever it was, when Abimelech saw it, it just computed. It translated immediately. That's not his sister, that's his wife. And he confronts Isaac about it and then says, "Hey, why are you doing this to us? Somebody might've taken Rebecca for themselves and brought great sin upon us, wrath upon us, guilt upon us. Whoever touches this manner or his wife," Abimelech then warns, "Will be put to death." Now this is again, very similar to the previous episode where the previous Abimelech kind of rebuked Abraham. "Hey, how have you done this to us?" And then talked to him, sort of lectured him about the sanctity of marriage. This would be shocking to the people of Israel. Reading about these Philistine kings who are so concerned about making sure that adultery doesn't happen on their watch. They're watching over the marital unit and wanting to defend it. Even with laws that are trying to protect and defend the sanctity of marriage.

It's Abimelech the Philistine teaching Isaac and teaching the people of Israel about how important it would be for them to honor marriage. Now that might not sound like a big deal to us. But when you think about it, the people of Israel, what got them into trouble over, and over, and over again. Well, one of the big problems in Israel over time in the Old Testament pages was unfaithfulness in their marital vows. And that just broke down their society. It broke down their godliness. It broke down their faithfulness. Confusion and paganism entered in. And pretty soon, they were carried off into captivity as a result, partly of unfaithfulness in marriage. Marriage is something that's worthy of protection, worthy of fighting for. It helps create the society of God himself. So Abimelech rebukes Isaac.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Conflict

Okay. Here, we see the blessing of God on Isaac's life is reconfirmed. God blessed him 100 fold that year. In the Old Testament pages, often the blessing of God is financial in nature. So Isaac is abundantly blessed by God.

But the Philistines, they respond to this blessing with a few things. They're envious, first of all it says. They're envious of his wealth. Secondly, they go and stop up some of the wells of Isaac, kind of as a way to drive him out of the land.

And then eventually, Abimelech comes and just asks Isaac to leave. "You're much mightier than we are." He says, "Go away from us."

17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

Re-digging The Old Wells

So Isaac does depart from Abimelech's presence and goes back into the place that Abraham had been previously. And he starts re-digging all the wells of his father, Abraham.

And the idea here is that Isaac, he's just this magical wealth finder. Now of course, we know that this is God doing this in his life. And in that era and area, to be able to dig a well and be successful, it was just a sign of God's blessing upon your life. But I think there's something beautiful and devotional about Isaac going and digging up the old wells that his father Abraham had previously dug. I don't mean to overly devotionalize scripture or spiritualize scripture. But there is something to going to your spiritual forefather so to speak, figuring out where were they at, and re-digging those wells. The wells of prayer, the wells of Bible study, the wells of devotion to God, the wells of prayer and fasting. Different areas that we've blocked up over the years and maybe ignored. And then to go back and say, "Hey, we've kind of left this area of Christianity or of the faith untouched for awhile. Let's re-dig that well, let's get back into it." So often as we're in the word, we discover those things that stand out as different from our experience. We need to re-dig those wells.

19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Peaceful Solution

Now this whole section is a conflict section obviously. The Philistines have asked him to leave. He leaves, he starts re-digging wells, but they claim the water for themselves. And Isaac just keeps moving further and further away. He names the well with names that indicate the conflict. Esek means quarrel, Sitnah means enmity. And then finally Rehoboth the third well, the one that he's able to actually own for himself. It means spaciousness. So there's enough space for us now.

Now the interesting thing here is that Isaac, he has the blessing of God, but he refuses to fight back. He doesn't push back against the Philistines, but instead submits to the Philistines. And some would see this as a sign of weakness on Isaac's part. But this is more than likely biblical peacemaking and biblical meekness that is coming out of Isaac's life. This is like Jesus said, turning the other cheek. He knows that God is going to bless him. He knows that God is going to take care of him. He knows he doesn't need to defend himself. So he moves on and he trusts the Lord.

But also beyond that, he just keeps on digging more and more wells until he finally finds one that he can dwell at peacefully. And I don't know how to say this in any other way, except to just say hey, sometimes we have to keep on digging. We just have to keep moving on, keep pressing on, keep digging until that blessing of God that we can enjoy comes up in our lives.

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” 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.

The Altar Of God

Okay so here, Isaac goes to Beersheba. Abraham had lived there for a while. You might recall the episode where Abraham worship God by planting a Tamarisk tree. That was in Beersheba. Here, Isaac worships God in a way real similar to Abraham's normal way of worshiping God. He builds an altar to the Lord and worships God, praises God.

Now God appears to him here. And he reaffirmed the covenant again. "Here's all these things I'm going to do for you. You have the blessing of Abraham." But he says, "Fear not, for I am with you." What an encouraging word to so many of us during this season. Fear not, God is with you. Fear not. If you're in Christ, you have the blessing of Christ upon your life. He is with you.

And I love this because in building the altar before the Lord, like I said, he's imitating Abraham's style of worship. He's already imitated less savory things about Abraham. This is him imitating a right and good thing about Abraham. Building an altar, which means worship. Calling on God, which indicates prayer. And then at the end of the whole episode, it says, "And there Isaac's servant dug a well." So they prayed. They worshiped, but they also got it to work. They moved out in obedience to the Lord.

26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 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.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

Nothing Stops God's Blessing

So Abimelech has second thoughts. After sending Isaac away, he realizes Isaac is infinitely blessed by God. So he decides we need to make a peace treaty with this man. So he comes out with his generals, and they broker a peace treaty between them and Isaac. And Isaac is willing to enter into this peace treaty. They make an oath early in the morning, they have a meal. And Isaac sends them on their way. They departed from him in peace. The relationship is healed. The relationship is solid.

The idea for Israel in reading this would be that opposition cannot stop the blessing of God. And even though the Philistines had come against Isaac here, now the opposition is over with, peace has come. God is clearly on his side.

32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

Confirmation!

So the very same day he made the peace treaty with Abimelech, his servants dig up a well. I'm sure it served as confirmation to him. I'm sure you've had this type of thing happen in your life. You take a step of faith. Am I doing the right thing? And then some confirming word or confirming news comes into your life. And it just gives you this. I think I made the right decision.

And Isaac goes through that same kind of experience. So he celebrates the oath by naming it Beersheba, which sounds like the place of seven or the place of the oath.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Not Suited For The Promise

Again, Esau is not the child of promise. And Moses is trying to show as part of the reason why he isn't. Remember when Abraham wanted Isaac to get married? He's 40 years old. He sends his servant far away from the Land of Canaan to go back to Abraham's home country because he did not want Isaac to marry any of the local women. Esau does the exact opposite thing. He goes out himself to the local women, finds not one wife, but two Hittite women, and marries them.

And they were bitter. They made life bitter. It says there for Isaac and Rebecca. These women made life hard for Isaac and Rebecca. Their family was in conflict because Esau chose a terrible marital situation, polygamy, but he also chose terrible women to be with. And it led to great pain in their lives.

Later on in Esau's life, he'll actually add insult to injury and he'll marry a third local Canaanite woman. So he clearly should not be the child of promise. And that's what Moses is attempting to point out to us.

And really in a sense, this concludes the real story of Isaac. He will appear in chapter 27 as a significant figure, but all with the goal of pointing towards Jacob the chosen son. But let's rejoice that God is on the throne carrying forward his plan and his kingdom. And no human being can mess up what God is doing. He will get the job done with us or without us. God bless you, church.