So there are three things that stuck out to me.
1. People seem to love to hang around you or love to have you around unless their ego is challenged. It seems people want to be known as the more powerful one or better than everyone. Why are we envious when someone is better than us? Why is it so hard to rejoice when someone does so well in an area that we do well? Pride so easily gets in the way.
2. I was surprised to see how Isaac repeated the ways of his dad with the sister / wife incident. Which got me thinking, what habits do I do that I learned from my parents that I need to stop?
3. Following the Lord can be very busy and trying and challenging. Isaac had to travel a lot. Had to dig several wells. Deal with opposition. Our walk with the Lord is a trust walk. We will face opposition so we have to stay close to the Lord. God says he will be with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us and that we don't have to be afraid.
My Wife Challenge is that I will rejoice with and compliment my wife on something she does well today.
Isaac seems to be following in the steps of his father as God reminds him of the promise that He made to his father and then Isaac does the same thing with lying about his wife. I thought about generational sin when I read this and how every generation has to deal with sin and temptation that they face. Sin may be presented in different forms over time, but it all has the same roots. We have to take responsibility for our choices and not just blame our parents or others in the family tree. Each person has to deal with their own sin and personally receive Christ and His forgiveness. God only has children. He doesn’t have grandchildren. While we may see similarities in their lives, Isaac couldn’t just depend on Abraham’s relationship with God for him to get by. He had to have his own relationship with God as well just as we all need to. God has so much for us in His Word!
(Check Out) The Book.
https://youtu.be/-vu8m4yQIMQ
v7-11 It’s hard as a parent not to be convicted and challenged by this part of Isaac’s story. What example are we setting for our children?
The difference between this and Abraham’s familiar story is that Rebekah hasn’t been taken away by men as in Sarah’s case. Remember even when Sarah had been taken, Abraham didn’t speak up. When Isaac’s sin was exposed, he confessed and moved forward. (By the way, this Abimelech is not the same man as chapter 22; he is probably a son of the man that Abraham interacted with. Abimelech was a family name.) Anyway, this is a story we desire for our lives … we stumble, we fall, but by God’s grace we get back up and move forward and grow.
I was also struck by the fact that Isaac committed the same sin as his father and I wonder how much certain sins tend to run in family lines. At the end of the chapter it also mentions how Isaac and Rebekah were grieved by Esau’s choice of wives. This is such an important decision and I hope and pray that my boys will choose godly wives.
I like all 3 of your points PB
1. Verse 28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you
I’m thinking Abimelek saw God with Isaac and was like ….yeah a… I want on his team.
The thing is you don’t just wear the jersey, you have to play in the game.
2. I was thinking the same thing, father like son
Someone has to break that cycle
It’s like alcoholism running in the family
And , come on boys, love and protect your wives
3. I’m digging out wells everyday, and trying to be the best dad I can be
Like many of you I also recognized Isaac fell into the same deceitful sin as Abraham. It forces the question, what is my son seeing me do? He will follow in my footsteps, so am I leading him down the right path?
I also am noticing that Isaac shows patience and restraint when it comes to the wells. Instead of arguing with the herdsman who are quarreling over them, he simply moves on to the next well. It may have been tempting for him to say he is the son of Abraham and has favor with the Lord and the king and he will have those wells if he wants. He doesn’t do that though, he chooses to move on until he finds the wells where no one contends with him.
How often does this happen in my life? When something is not meant for me do I listen and move on like Isaac did, or do I put up a fight to have what I want. Do I allow pride to take over and become focused on what I think I should have? I hope to walk away from things not meant for me, in a peaceful way, without a fight.