Genesis 26:1-7 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.
(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." (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.
Genesis 26:1-7 contains a remarkable contrast between
the faithfulness of God and Isaac’s lack of trust in God. In verses two through
five, God appears to Isaac and speaks to Isaac, restating the covenant promise
that He made with Abraham. God now applies this covenant to Isaac, promising to
be as faithful to Isaac as He was to Abraham, promising to Isaac that he too
would be protected and prospered by God’s gracious hand. What an incredible
event this must have been in Isaac’s life!
Tragically, the impact of this encounter with God is
short-lived, for when Isaac’s trust is put to the test he follows in the poor
example of his father, lying about his wife and stating that she is his sister.
Isaac has been given every reason to trust God. God had faithfully provided a
wife for him in Rebekah, God had answered their prayer for a child, in fact God
gave them two children. God had answered Rebekah’s prayer when she was pregnant
with Jacob and Esau, revealing His sovereign plans and purposes. Now in this
passage God had actually appeared to and spoken with Isaac, declaring a
wonderful covenant-promise to him and his family. Isaac fails to bring any of
these things to mind when he believes that his life is under threat because of
the beauty of his wife. Isaac’s forgetfulness leads him to trust in himself and
leads him into sin.
As Christians this is a problem that plagues us all,
forgetfulness. We are constantly reminded of the wonderful covenant-promises
that God gave to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are reminded of them when
we read His Word, pray, speak with fellow believers, and attend church or Bible
study. Yet despite these many reminders, we quickly forget, and thus when faced
with decisions and choices we fail to keep in mind God and the promises He has
made to us. The results of this forgetfulness are disastrous, for they lead us
to trust ourselves and often that quickly leads to sin. We demonstrate that we
have greater faith in our own ability than in God’s ability. Furthermore, it
shows that we do not trust in the many promises God has made to us, rather we
doubt and question them, choosing to work our own salvation from that situation
instead of trusting in God to deliver, give wisdom, to protect, to provide and
to lead us through it. We need to constantly remember that we have a faithful,
promise-making, promise-keeping God, who can be trusted in all things and at all
times.
Merciful Lord of heaven and earth, we praise You for You
are a God who keeps His covenants and His promises through thousands of
generations. What You have spoken, You will perform. Help us to trust in Your
promises and to constantly remember them so that they may guide us when we are
faced with situations in which we may be tempted to trust in ourselves, instead
of in You. Keep us ever mindful of the fact that You are our Father, who has
given us all things through Christ and who withholds no good thing from His
children. Amen.
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