Genesis 26:12-25 – Persisting with God despite difficulties

The issue that Isaac had with Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, concerning Rebekah had now been resolved. Isaac had a sense of security. He made good use of the well that Abraham his father had dug. What he planted yielded plentifully and he reaped a hundred fold. The Lord blessed him bountifully and he increased in herds and cattle and the Philistines were jealous. So they came against Isaac by resorting to fill the well that Abraham had dug with earth. Isaac was forced to move and he did. People may be envious of what we have, but we can remain unfazed so long as the hand of the Lord is with us. He has never forsaken us nor will he leave us unprotected. We must remain trusting even if we have to uncover new ground. We can retrace and take the proven path of seasoned believers of God. This was what Isaac did. He went back to the path his father had taken. We will re-discover the riches of the God-given resources that they had enjoyed.    

So we are told of an area with wells that Abraham had dug, but the Philistines stopped Isaac from using after his father’s death. It appeared that he moved to that area and re-opened the well. Isaac knew the importance of having proper irrigation. He even called the well by the same name that his father called it. Here the servants of Isaac who re-dug the well had discovered that the water was still flowing. Unfortunately, the herdsmen of Gerar made it difficult for Isaac. They claimed that the water belonged to them. So Isaac called the place Esek, meaning contention or challenge. Without being difficult, Isaac had another well dug, but he again was opposed by the herdsmen of Gerar. So he called this second well Sitnah, meaning opposition. Not wanting to have any quarrel, Isaac moved away to a place further from the herdsmen of Gerar and dug a well. Perhaps due to the distance he did not face any opposition. So he called this place Rahoboth, meaning wide spaces. He called it by this name because he recognized the hand of the Lord upon him and trusted that he would be fruitful.

Sometimes, the Lord leads us through circumstances that we would encounter, just as He did with Isaac. We must learn to be sensitive to what is happening to us. Do not be discouraged by the difficulties we encounter in the journey of life. It could be God’s way of helping us to move to where he wants us to go. Everything we experience in life is a divine appointment. Isaac had the capacity to overcome the Philistines. He could have fought and overcome them each time that they had opposed him but he chose a peaceful route. He chose to move away from where they wanted to start a quarrel. Many a times, the best way to avoid a conflict is to learn to walk away without being offensive. The Lord had wide spaces in His universe for our life and there are enough for us to flourish in Him. Let’s not fight over the little and forget the much that we still have in God. 

Remember there was a famine and God had instructed Isaac to remain in Gerar and not to move to Egypt. This Isaac had obeyed. And now the famine was over so he returned to Beersheba. On the night of his return, the Lord appeared to him. In what He told Isaac, we are also reminded that we serve a faithful God. He never forgets the promises He had made. So we see in verse 23, God re-iterated to Isaac, the promise He had made to Abraham. He said:

“I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

Here Isaac built an altar to God and called upon Him. And there he remained, by pitching his tent and his servant dug a well. The way to go in life is to remain with God, pitch our tent by His presence and find great fulfilment in connecting with Him. What a life!