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Gen. 26:17
"And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his
tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt
there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells
of water, which they had digged in the days
of Abraham his father; for the Philistines
had stopped them after the death of Abraham:
and he called their names after the names by
which his father had called them. 19 And
Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and
found there a well of springing water. 20
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with
Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours:
and he called the name of the well Esek;
because they strove with him. 21 And they
digged another well, and strove for that
also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
22 And he removed from thence, and digged
another well; and for that they strove not:
and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and
he said, For now the LORD hath made room for
us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."
"And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his
tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt
there." Isaac did not argue with Abimelech
or pick a fight with Abimelech. Isaac did
not say that it wasn't fair that he had to
leave, but rather Isaac knew that he was
dwelling in Abimelech's land and that
Abimelech was the king of that land and that
he should respect the wishes of the king of
that land. This principle of submission is
taught to us in 1 Peter:2:13, 14: "Submit
yourselves to every ordinance of man for the
Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as
supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them
that are sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers, and for the praise of them that
do well."
"And Isaac digged again the wells of water,
which they had digged in the days of Abraham
his father; for the Philistines had stopped
them after the death of Abraham: and he
called their names after the names by which
his father had called them." Since the wells
were good and valuable in Abraham's day,
they would still be good and valuable in
Isaac's day.
The Philistines envy of Abraham was the
cause of their stopping the wells after the
death of Abraham. They did not want to
recognize the work of Abraham and his
greatness. Likewise, today we see the envy
and persecution against the work of the
Lord's true church. The enemies of the
church are envious of the Lord's blessings
upon the church. If these enemies had their
way they would stop the wells of the Lord's
true church. They would stop people from
drawing water out of the wells of salvation.
They would stop the flow of the true gospel
of the grace of Christ and would instead
offer water from the broken cisterns that
they had dug.
Just as Isaac called the names of the wells
the same as his father Abraham had named
them, so today, when we dig again the wells
that our forefathers had drawn from, the
names of God's grace, mercy, love, election,
predestination, effectual calling are still
used by those who have dug again the wells
that were previously dug by our forefathers.
"And Isaac's servants digged in the valley,
and found there a well of springing water."
This is similar to what we read in the New
Testament: John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life." When we
dig into God's word, we uncover in our
knowledge this well of springing water
within us and drink of that which the Lord
has given us and we never thirst for a
redeemer again.
"And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with
Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours:
and he called the name of the well Esek;
because they strove with him. And they
digged another well, and strove for that
also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.
And he removed from thence, and digged
another well; and for that they strove not:
and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and
he said, For now the LORD hath made room for
us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."
It is apparent that Isaac was seeking for a
place where he could be alone without
strife. He was not trying to pick a fight
with the Philistines, though it seems they
were trying to pick a fight with him. The
Lord's people in his true church have
generally been a peace loving people who
desire to have a quiet habitation. While
their enemies often seek a fight against
them, yet they strive to dwell peacefully
and seek a place separate from strife. When
we find such a quiet habitation, we can do
as Isaac and be fruitful in the land. |
