You Are Blessed!
Greatly Blessed!
(Genesis
26:6-35, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 15, 2015)
[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. [8] When he had been there a long time, Abimelech
king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing
with Rebekah his wife. [9] So Abimelech called Isaac and said,
“Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my
sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die
because of her.’” [10] Abimelech said, “What is this you
have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your
wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” [11] So
Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man
or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
[12] And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, [13] and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. [14] He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. [15] (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) [16] And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
[17] So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. [18] 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. [19] But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, [20] the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. [21] Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. [22] 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.”Isaac was the child of promise following in the line of the promise to Abraham. Like his father before him, Isaac is presented as a man who experienced the fear of man and who struggled with his neighbors. How did Isaac survive and even thrive? He had the blessing of Almighty God (26:14), and was willing to acknowledge the same and move forward in confidence (26:22).
[12] And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, [13] and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. [14] He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. [15] (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) [16] And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
[17] So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. [18] 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. [19] But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, [20] the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. [21] Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. [22] 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.”Isaac was the child of promise following in the line of the promise to Abraham. Like his father before him, Isaac is presented as a man who experienced the fear of man and who struggled with his neighbors. How did Isaac survive and even thrive? He had the blessing of Almighty God (26:14), and was willing to acknowledge the same and move forward in confidence (26:22).
[23] From
there he went up to Beersheba. [24] 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.” [25] 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.
[26] When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, [27] Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” [28] They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, [29] that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” [30] So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. [31] In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. [32] That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” [33] He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
[34] When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, [35] and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.God Himself revealed this blessing to Isaac, and his neighbors had to admit it as well.
[26] When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, [27] Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” [28] They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, [29] that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” [30] So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. [31] In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. [32] That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” [33] He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
[34] When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, [35] and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.God Himself revealed this blessing to Isaac, and his neighbors had to admit it as well.
Put
the Word to Work: Agree with
God! You are greatly blessed in Jesus, despite bitter trials.
Memory
Verse from the Songs of Ascents—Psalm 128:5-6 – The
LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all
the days of your life! May you see your children's children! Peace be
upon Israel!
Gospel
Reading—Matthew 19:16-30 –
The rich young man
posted by Pastor Magee at 4:18 AM
<< Home