The heir of the promise didn't do anything to deserve God's blessings.
Genesis 26:10 “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”
It seems that God really wants us to know that we don't do anything to deserve his promises. Looking at the life of Abraham and Isaac we learn that the school of faith is never closed and the test keep coming until the Lord takes us home.
Right after the death of his father, Isaac received confirmation from God that he was next in line for the promises and he would have his favor but it didn't take long to prove that he isn't any better qualified for those promises than his father was.
Struggling to Trust in God’s Promises: Isaac Lies about Rebekah
(Genesis 26:1-17)
- Isaac didn't go to Egypt but he still had problems with his ungodly peers that brought him a lot of fear and grief.
- Just like Abraham, Isaac feared for his life because of his beautiful wife and he repeated his father's lie.
- Abraham and Isaac were both reprimanded by ungodly men for their sin and it seems like neither of them repented.
- Sometimes God's people seem less like their father than the people around them.
Struggling to Live with Sinful Men: Isaac Quarrels with the Men of Gerar
(Genesis 26:18-25)
- Isaac was well known by the elites of his day but not well liked by them. Sometimes God's blessings will bring hate and resentment from the people around us that don't have the blessings.
- Isaac's neighbors didn't tell him to his face to get out of town but they did make it impossible to stay. Isaac kept the peace and moved on each time there was a dispute.
- To Isaac these wells were a necessity for survival, but to the Philistines these were a claim to the land and a means to support his growing household and livestock.
- Isaac may not have realized it but it was the disputes over the ownership of the wells he dug or reopened that served to guide him in the direction of the land of promise.
Struggling to Recognize the Sovereignty of God: Isaac Makes a Covenant with Abimelech
(Genesis 26:26-33)
- God came through greatly on his promise to prosper Isaac if he resisted the urge to move to Egypt to get away from the famine.
- Abraham and Isaac both offended Abimelech and they were both approached later to make a treaty with him.
- Maybe Abimelech wanted God's favor and blessings and he thought that he could get it by becoming Isaac's friend.
- Isaac had nothing to gain by making the covenant with Abimelech. Isaac already learned that his safety and his prosperity came from God and not the king.
God's covenant with Abraham was passed on to another undeserving sinner that had many flaws. Thankfully God's covenant was an unconditional one that did not rely on the faithfulness and good works of Abraham, Isaac or any of us.
Galatians 3:2-3, 9 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
Thankfully the new covenant that Jesus offers (Luke 22:19-20) is also given freely without needing to deserve it. God's blessings and care for us is based on what the ultimate promised son (Jesus) did for us instead of what I have or have not done. God's promise of redemption that he made way back in Genesis is still good no matter how bad mankind has become and how little we deserve them.
Thank you Lord for the new covenant with the better high priest that paid the final sacrifice for every sin for those that believe in him. (Hebrews 8:1-13)
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