Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 26:17-25

Redigging Our Fathers’ Wells

 

Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar and settled there.

* *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.

* *But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.”

So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

* *Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.

* *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.”

From there he went up to Beersheba.

* *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.”

* *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.[1]

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saac was the ordinary son of a great father, and the ordinary father of a great son.

Though he lived longer than any other of the patriarchs, less is recorded of him than of any of those venerated luminaries who surround him in time.

His was a quiet, commonplace life, pedestrian and undistinguished in virtually every respect.

Throughout most of the chapters of Genesis in which he appears, he is a mere necessary backdrop to lend understanding to the account of someone else's life.

Only in *Genesis 26* do we read of Isaac's actions, and even then, his life is more significant in likeness to the early years of his father, Abraham than for anything he may or may not have done.

The Sins Of The Fathers [*26:1‑11*] — The second of the Ten Commandments forbids worship of any idol.

The reason God gives for this prohibition is that, /I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me/ [*Exodus 20:5, 6*].

Punishment for the sin of the fathers is usually taken to be some inevitable consequence of the father's sin, which is no doubt correct.

It is also possible that punishment for the father's sin may be that sin itself.

The children may repeat the parent's sin and suffer for it.

That was Isaac's case, and it may well be our case.

The noted Anglican divine, W. H. Griffith Thomas, outlines this chapter as though presenting a study of response to difficulties.

The following outline is provided by Canon Thomas.

*Verses** 1 *through* 5*, according to this fine scholar, address the issue of *Difficulty met by Divine Guidance*.

*Difficulty met by Human Sin* is his understanding of *verses** 6 *through* 11*.

*Verses** 12 *through* 17* expresses *Difficulty met by Divine Blessing*.

*Difficulty met by Human Patience* is the theme of *verses 18 *through* 22*.

Finally, Griffith Thomas says *verses** 23 *through* 33* present the theme of *Difficulty met by Divine Favour*.[2]

Difficulty and the response of God and man is the theme according to Griffith Thomas.

It is a good outline, and one which would no doubt prove beneficial to our understanding, I am certain.

I dissent from his outline in the initial aspect, however.

Listen carefully to the words of *Genesis 26:1-5*.

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.

And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

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.

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, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

God specifically instructed Isaac not to go down to Egypt in response to the famine then plaguing the land.

Appended to God's instruction is the longest iteration of God's promise to give the land of Palestine to the offspring of Isaac, and therefore to the descendants of Abraham.

Underscore one singular thought in your minds: God would not have commanded Isaac not to go to Egypt if that had not been where he was headed.

Isaac was guilty of forsaking the promised land God had reserved for Abraham's seed.

Isaac was guilty of desertion.

This is not a new sin to readers of Genesis.

Abraham twice deserted the land of Canaan, though God told him to stay put.

In *Genesis 12:10‑20*, he left for Egypt because there was a famine in the land, entering into one of the most sordid episodes in his life when he reached a spiritual low.

In *Genesis 20:1‑13*, he travelled to Gerar where he again distinguished himself through lack of faith.

In each instance, Abraham was led into ever-deeper sin, just as Isaac was to shortly be led into ever-deeper sin.

It is an extraordinary observation that we are frequently most prone to sin after great blessings.

Isaac had only received the rich promise of God that he would be progenitor of a great race.

By implication, he should have deduced that God was pledged to preserve him.

Yet, his fear of the peoples living in Gerar, where he was by divine permission rather than command, was greater than was his fear of God.

Instead of relying of God to protect him and to preserve him, he resorted to a stratagem of his own making, thus revealing an even greater lack of faith than was seen in his journey toward Egypt.

It is difficult to know if his sin was faithlessness or cowardice, both are related.

He was fearful; thus, he was faithless.

His lack of faith led him to lie.

Fearing that the Philistines would kill him and take his wife into the harem of the king of that region, he said of her when questioned by the men of that place that she was his sister [*verse eight*].

Where have we heard that before?

Twice, Abraham resorted to a similar device of lying to preserve his life.

The first time was in Egypt when he instructed Sarah to present herself as his sister rather than as his wife.

When he was about to enter Egypt, [Abram] said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’

Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.

Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”

When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh.

And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels [*Genesis 12:11‑16*].

In the other instance, while sojourning in the same region of Gerar where Isaac now encamped according to our text, Abraham himself presented Sarah as his sister.

Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”

And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah [*Genesis 20:2*].

In each instance, the Friend of God acted out of fear of the people of the land instead of exercising faith in the Lord.

Take special note of two explanations.

When he was about to enter Egypt, [Abram] said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’

Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.

Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”

[*Genesis 12:11-13*].

The other passage is that which is recorded in *Genesis 20:11* where Abraham attempts to explain his actions.

Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.”

The father of the faithful revealed himself to be faithless in each of these instances.

Abraham feared for his life, judging his life more precious than his integrity.

In fear, he jeopardised his wife and slandered innocent people by judging them before they had opportunity to prove themselves.

Through fear he openly denied and disobeyed His God, thus giving opportunity for unbelievers to ridicule God.

The pagans surrounding him come off better than he does in each of these instances.

They demonstrated integrity, and, when confronted by God in each instance, they are quick to avoid even the appearance of evil.

Truly has the Lord spoken by Solomon:

 

/The fear of man lays a snare,/

/but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe/.

!

Proverbs 29:25

 

Before we condemn Abraham, we need to examine our own response to threats.

Do we trust God?

When pressure comes upon the church, do we first look to God?  Is it not rather that we endeavour  to resort to our own stratagems and devices in an attempt to make things right without any pain?

When threats come against our home life, do we react by trusting in the Lord?

Or do we think we can work matters out through our own efforts?

When our ability to earn an income is threatened, do we react with confidence that we belong to the Lord?