Isaac & Abimilech: Sins of Thy Father

Andrew Dyck

Child of Promise: Isaac's Story • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

Genesis 26

Deceit

Retention of Sins

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Intro

I’m sure you have all heard the phrase, “Like father; like son.”

Speaks to the uncanny way in which children can emulate parents

Share how the boys use their imagination for sports, just like I did

But what are children emulating?

I love the fact that they would read like me...

… but there are other parts of my life that I want them to do BETTER

In his life, Isaac points out the truth of the saying, “like father, like son.”

Also points out the truth that some behaviour is worth repeating, while other behaviour is not

Pray

Sourjourning

Story begins with a famine in the land (Beer-lahai-roi)

Different than the famine in the days of Abraham

This happened in Gen. 12, and Abraham went to Egypt

We are invited to see the parallels in these stories… lots of them.

As a nomad Isaac needs food and water for his family and livestock

So he journeys northward to Gerar and Abimelech, king of the Philistines

Show on map

Difference: God warns him NOT to go to Egypt like his father

Similarity: Isaac goes to Gerar and Abimelech (where Abraham went in Gen. 20)

This Abimelech was not the same person that Abraham encountered (90 - 100 years apart)

Abimelech means “My Father is King”

Probably a throne name or popular name in this dynasty of rulers (Abimelech Jr.)

As Isaac prepares to go, God gives Him a command and a promise

Read Genesis 26:2-5; focus on God appearing to Isaac (unique to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)

Command = Sojourn in this land (Gerar and area)

“Sojourn” means to dwell as an alien; temporarily; passing through

This was not Isaac’s home, but a safe haven during a time of famine

Promise = I will be with you and bless you and give this land to your offspring

“I will be with you” = first time God makes this promise to someone in Scripture (certainly not the last)

Even though the land was not Isaac’s home, it would become home for his descendants

Part of the Promised Land that was tied to the covenant

Israel did not permanently settle here until after the Exodus and Conquest

So Isaac goes to Gerar, and continues to follow in his father’s footsteps

Not just in obedience to God’s commandments, or choice of destination, but in deception as well

The Deception

Read Genesis 26:6-7.

Isaac claims that Rebekah is his sister (instead of wife), because he is afraid they will kill him because she is so attractive

Sound familiar? Abraham did the same thing when in Egypt (Gen. 12) and with Abimelech Sr. (Gen. 20)

In all of these instances, the deception was not a God-honouring course of action; it was cowardly and selfish

C’mon pastor, whats the big deal? Just a little white lie? It’s a big deal because:

Deception threatens others

When Abraham first tried this in Egypt, Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s house (read: harem)

The Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with a plague in retribution

When Abraham did this again to Abimelech Sr., Sarah was again taken into the house (read: harem) of the king

The Lord appeared in a dream threatening to kill Abimelech if he did not return Sarah

Yet he was merciful and kept him from touching her because he had been tricked

And what about Sarah and Rebekah?

In both cases, they were put in harm’s way by husbands more worried about saving their own skin

Sarah had to endure being brought into the houses of 2 foreign kings; Rebekah was also at risk

When we are deceitful, it almost ALWAYS seeks to save ourselves at the expense of others

Talk about backing into Tim and Heather’s car -> episode outside of bowling alley in Stonewall

Are you more worried about being caught, or are you worried about the consequences that threaten those around you?

Deception threatens God’s blessing

Ironically, Abraham and Isaac used deception to preserve themselves (and God’s blessing), but it always blew up instead

In Isaac’s case, he was caught in an… intimate moment with Rebekah

Abimelech Jr. saw Isaac “laughing” with Rebekah

“Laughing” = “fondling” = “conjugal caresses”

So yeah, the gig was up

Abimelech must have remembered this happening before, and his response was much the same as his father’s: anger

Read Genesis 26:9-11.

All rulers were infuriated by this deception

All rulers had the motive and opportunity to take the lives of Abraham and Isaac

All rulers (thankfully), sent them on their way

Not only put their lives at risk, but the promise of God’s blessing as well

We may not have a specific covenant to protect like Abraham and Isaac, but deception threatens God’s blessing in our lives too

Talk about how deceit in a marraige undermines the blessing that relationship is designed by God to be

At the heart, deception is a way of getting what we want out of people and situations

The alternative is to trust that God will come through and we don’t need to deceive

Abraham and Isaac had been told of blessing; why did they not just trust? Why did they feel the need to take matters into their own hands?

Sins of Thy Father

Sinful habits have a way of repeating themselves

Deceit and trickery started with Abraham, but became something of a family trait down through the generations

While Abraham was the first in this family to practise deception, this incident from Isaac’s life begins to show that trickery is on its way to becoming a family trait. Later, Rebekah and Jacob will dupe Isaac into giving his blessing to his younger son (27:1–40). Jacob’s uncle Laban will hoodwink him (29:13–30). Jacob will be tricked by his sons into believing that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal (37:31–35). Simeon and Levi will deal deceitfully with the men of Shechem (34:1–31). Judah’s daughter-in-law will trap him into impregnating her (38:1–30). These repeated acts of deception serve as a warning to parents about the bad examples they can be to their children who learn behaviours by observing them. (Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 1, The Tyndale Commentary Series (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019), 258.)

Generational sin is not mystical, it is psychological

Read Richardson, 37.

Our family forms us more than ANY other factor

It can result in repeating behaviour

Like Isaac with Abraham; divorce numbers:

Research shows that children of divorce are more likely to experience a divorce themselves. The statistics vary, but one study by researchers Paul Amato and Danelle Deboer indicated that if a woman’s parents divorced, her odds of divorce increased 69%, while if both a husband and wife’s parents divorced, the risk of divorce increased by 189%. They cite 10 other longitudinal studies over 20 years that reached similar results. Put plainly, they explain that, “parental divorce is one of the best documented risk factors for marriage dissolution” (Amato & Deboer, 2001, p. 1038). (Sarah Epstein in Psychology Today)

Sometimes, it can result in polar opposite behaviour

i.e., someone who grows up with alcohol abuse refuses to drink at all

How has your family formed you?

What type of behaviours (good or bad) do you see carrying on?

How are you driven to be different than the example you saw?

How are you forming your family?

Parenting is tough, and this only serves as a reminder of the importance of setting our children up for success

It is possible to break generational cycles of sin (with God’s help)

It is a good goal to desire your children to succeed even where you fail (with God’s help)

This all seems quite daunting, but there is one more important note in Isaac’s story:

God keeps His promises despite these shortcomings

Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary (Steinmann) D. Isaac among the Philistines (26:7–33)

But more importantly, this pattern of behaviour demonstrates that Genesis is not engaged in presenting the patriarchal families as ideal clans who merited God’s favour. On the contrary, God’s favour is given despite the dreadful misbehaviour of these people in order to teach that God’s grace is freely given to sinners.

How we parent matters. How we follow Jesus makes a difference. How we set up our children for success or failure can affect the trajectory of their lives

But it ALL takes place under God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness

His plans and promises are unconditionally true; this is proven in Jesus

Share about my Mom’s struggles with “have I done enough.” The question is, “has Jesus done enough?”

Remember the grace of God during your journey

Remember grace for your family as you sort through how they have formed you

Remember grace for yourself as you form others in your family

Remember to teach grace to your children as they learn what it means to grow into a family of their own

Remember that the question is not, “have I done enough?” The question is, “has Jesus done enough?”

And the answer is yes!