The Lord Accompanies and Blesses His People

THE LORD ACCOMPANIES AND BLESSES HIS PEOPLE

An Exposition of Genesis 26:1-33

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: June 25, 2023

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹ 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. ² And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. ³ 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. ⁴ 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, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

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.”

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. (Genesis 26:1-33)

THE LORD REAFFIRMS THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT WITH ISAAC

Earlier chapters in Genesis had prepared us for this moment when Isaac would receive the mantle of leadership. God had previously established His covenant with Abraham, and now God reaffirms that covenant with Isaac.

The parallels between Genesis 26 and earlier passages are noteworthy. Abraham faced a famine in Genesis 12 and decided to go down to Egypt (Genesis 12:10); Isaac faces a famine in Genesis 26 and is instructed to “not go down to Egypt” (Genesis 26:2, italics added). Abraham spent time in Gerar and had dealings with King Abimelech in Genesis 20; now Isaac spends time in Gerar and has dealings with King Abimelech (Genesis 26:1-33) – given that the events of Genesis 20 and Genesis 26 are separated in time by 75 to 100 years, the two chapters are probably referring to two different Abimelechs, two different kings by the same name. In both Egypt and Gerar, Abraham had led others to believe that Sarah was his sister but not his wife (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18); now Isaac leads others to believe that Rebekah is his sister but not his wife (Genesis 26:6-11). In part due to his sojourn in Egypt, Abraham became very wealthy (Genesis 12:16; 13:2); now Isaac becomes very wealthy during his time in Gerar (Genesis 26:12-13). Abraham had a well of water that was seized by Abimelech’s servants in Genesis 21:25; now Isaac’s servants dig wells only to have them quarreled over by Gerarian herdsmen (Genesis 26:19-21). Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech in Genesis 21:22-32; now Isaac makes a covenant with Abimelech (Genesis 26:26-31). In fact, Abraham and Abimelech sealed their covenant at Beersheba (Genesis 21:32); now Isaac rediscovers Beersheba as his men find a well of water in that place (Genesis 26:32-33). These parallels are impossible to miss, and they highlight the fact that Isaac is walking in his father’s footsteps.

Isaac is walking in his father’s footsteps not only on a practical experiential level, but also on a covenantal and spiritual level. God reaffirms to Isaac the promises that He had made to Abraham: “Go… to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1; Genesis 26:2); “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2; Genesis 26:3); “all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever” (Genesis 13:15; Genesis 26:3); “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them…. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5; Genesis 26:4); “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4). What God began to do through Abraham, He is continuing to do through Isaac. The Lord told Abram, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield” (Genesis 15:1). Now the Lord tells Isaac, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Genesis 26:24).

But even as Isaac is walking in his father’s footsteps, even as Isaac takes his place as the Lord’s covenant partner, the Lord makes it clear to Isaac that Isaac is indebted to Abraham. Isaac isn’t an independent contractor who stands on his own apart from Abraham; instead, Isaac is profoundly dependent on Abraham’s faithfulness. Isaac is the beneficiary of Abraham’s obedience. The Lord told Abraham: “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18, italics added). Now the Lord tells Isaac: “in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice” (Genesis 26:4-5, italics added). Then later He says to Isaac, “I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake” (Genesis 26:24, italics added). Isaac stands on his father’s shoulders. Isaac must steward his father’s legacy. Isaac is a son of the covenant.

One of the common temptations that entraps sinners is the temptation to become your own self-made person. But God’s way is for us to be people who yield ourselves to be made by God – to be God’s handiwork, shaped by His Word and sanctified by His Spirit. And one aspect of being God’s handiwork is to allow ourselves to be shaped by the godly people who have come before us. Isaac is a man whose life is shaped by the godliness of his father.

THE LORD ACCOMPANIES AND BLESSES HIS PEOPLE

I titled this sermon, “The Lord Accompanies and Blesses His People”. I could have titled it, “The Lord Accompanies and Blesses Isaac”, since Isaac is the focus of our passage, but I wanted to emphasize application: the way in which God relates to Isaac is instructive for how God relates to us.

So how does the Lord relate to Isaac? The Lord promises to accompany and bless Isaac two times in this passage: “I will be with you and will bless you” (Genesis 26:3); “I am with you and will bless you” (Genesis 26:24). Taking the whole passage into account, what we see is that the Lord accompanies and blesses Isaac in adverse circumstances in order to accomplish His purposes through Isaac. The Lord’s presence with His people doesn’t mean that our life is all prosperity, no adversity. The Lord oversees our circumstances and gives us whatever measure of prosperity and whatever measure of adversity that He sees fit to give us. And yet, it is often in adversity when the Lord’s grace is magnified in our lives.

Isaac in Gerar (v. 1-14)

The first section of Chapter 26 covers verses 1-14, when Isaac lives in Gerar. The first adverse circumstance that Isaac faces is famine. After Abraham’s death, “Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi” (Genesis 25:11). Perhaps that is where Isaac still lived when famine descended upon the land. Because of the famine, Isaac packed his bags and “went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines” (Genesis 26:1). It is at this point that “the LORD appeared to him [Isaac]” (Genesis 26:2). The Lord instructed Isaac not to go to Egypt, but to “dwell in the land of which I shall tell you”, which corresponds to the land that the Lord had showed Abraham (Genesis 12:1, 7) – which is the promised land.[1] Then the Lord declared the covenant promises to Isaac. Ponder this: Isaac received the lavish covenant promises about God blessing him and blessing all the nations through his offspring, not in the midst of prosperous circumstances, but in the midst of famine and in the midst of moving. Isaac was not to be oriented to outward security, but instead he was to find his security in the presence and promise of God.

When the Lord told Isaac that “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” (Genesis 26:4-5), this must have been at least an implicit way of summoning Isaac to walk in like manner. We also see that the Lord invites Isaac to trust His promises concerning the future. Though Isaac only has two sons, he is told that his offspring will be as numerous “as the stars of heaven” and that through his offspring God’s blessing will reach “the nations of the earth” (Genesis 26:4). Isaac is part of something a lot bigger than himself and his own immediate family, and he must trust God to work out all the details in due course.

The adverse circumstance of relocating to a different place in the midst of famine is compounded by fear of the locals. Isaac’s fear may or may not have been justified, but he was afraid that his own life could be jeopardized if the men in Gerar knew that Rebekah was his wife. He thought that some of the men might desire the beautiful Rebekah and kill him in order to get her. So he thought it was safer for himself to be known as her brother. In this, Isaac regrettably followed the same course of deception that his father had pursued. Eventually Abimelech could plainly see that Isaac related to Rebekah as a man would relate to his wife, not as a man would relate to his sister. Abimelech called out Isaac for his deceit and reprimanded him for it. Then Abimelech issued a protective order that no one should harm Isaac or Rebekah in any way. God’s providential hand is behind the scenes, protecting his servant Isaac even though Isaac had acted in an anxious, dishonorable, and selfish way. When God is resolved to bless a man, God’s resolve proves greater than the man’s folly, and thank the Lord for that.

As we come to verses 12-14, the adversity gives way to prosperity: Isaac enjoys a bumper harvest; the Lord blesses him; and Isaac gains great wealth, including “possessions of flocks and herds and many servants” (Genesis 26:14). Beware of people who like to reduce God’s blessing to a formula. If you’re in one camp, you assume that God’s blessing always means financial prosperity and success. If you’re in another camp, you assume that God’s blessing always means suffering and persecution. But if you read the whole Bible and take the whole Bible seriously, then you have to conclude that we cannot funnel the promise of divine blessing into either one of those formulas. Sometimes God’s blessing takes the form of material abundance, and when that happens we should be grateful and generous stewards of it. Sometimes God’s blessing takes the form of suffering and persecution, and when that happens, Jesus says: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:12) God mingles measures of success and measures of suffering for each and every one of us, and we must receive all of it with humble faith.

Isaac in the Valley of Gerar (v. 15-22)

Now what happens as we shift from the end of the first section to the second section, which covers verses 15-22, is what so often happens in life: one season of prosperity actually sets the stage for the next adversity. Verse 1 began with Isaac moving due to a famine. By the time we get to the end of verse 13, Isaac had become “very wealthy” (Genesis 26:13). But then what happens? Isaac’s vast wealth turned him into an object of envy: “the Philistines envied him” (Genesis 26:14). And that envy turned into an act of expulsion against him: “And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”” (Genesis 26:16)

Thus Isaac faces another adverse circumstance. These Philistines are not friendly toward him. They envy him (Genesis 26:14). They had previously “stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father” (Genesis 26:15). We are not told why the Philistines did this, but given that verse 15 is sandwiched between the Philistines’ attitude of envy and the king’s action of expelling Isaac from the land, it would seem that filling Abraham’s wells wasn’t the friendliest course of action.

In any case, Isaac is kicked out of Gerar. So Isaac was on the move again, leaving Gerar and settling some distance away “in the Valley of Gerar” (Genesis 26:17). When you are on the move like this in the ancient world, and when you have to settle in less populated areas, finding water sources is of great importance. Isaac had plenty of food, with all his flocks and herds, but he needed access to water. The search for water involved Isaac’s household in conflict with local herdsmen.

But first, there is a general statement in verse 18 that Isaac was in the habit of re-digging the old water wells “that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham” (Genesis 26:18).  This is a very practical way in which Isaac is walking in the footsteps of his father Abraham, not only re-digging the old wells but also giving these old wells the same “names that his father had given them” (Genesis 26:18). The contrast is remarkable: the Philistines intentionally or unintentionally sought to stop the legacy of Abraham’s labors, but Isaac is rediscovering and honoring his father’s labors.

Turning to verse 19, “Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water”. The word spring in “well of spring water” literally means ‘alive, living’. Isaac’s servants found a well of living water – the water was moving, running, springing forth. However, “the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.”” (v. 20) This isn’t the friendliest gesture: let others do the hard work of digging the well, then claim that it is yours! Isaac named the well “Esek” (v. 20), which means Contention. Thereafter Isaac’s servants dug another well, and the herdsmen of Gerar “quarreled over that also” (v. 21). So Isaac named this well “Sitnah” (v. 21), which means Hostility. Notice that Isaac didn’t put up a sustained fight to hold onto Contention and Hostility, but kept looking for a water source that wouldn’t be met with opposition.

So Isaac moved on “and dug another well, and they [the herdsmen of Gerar] did not quarrel over it.” Isaac named this well “Rehoboth” (v. 22), which means Broad Places. The name “Rehoboth” testified to the Lord’s gracious provision: “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” (v. 22)

Don’t miss two things. First, there is no incompatibility between the Lord’s gracious provision and our hard work. Isaac and his men had to work hard, endure opposition, move from place to place, and persevere through the digging of multiple wells before being able to settle into Broad Places. And yet, for all that, Isaac recognizes that the Lord is the decisive provider: “For now the LORD has made room for us”. Work hard and depend on the Lord’s gracious provision. Unlike the Israelites who complained about the lack of water in the wilderness, Isaac kept a level head, kept his nose to the ground, and eventually received the Lord’s provision.

Second, we again see that the Lord is blessing Isaac after a season of adversity. In the first section, the abundance came to Isaac after the famine and the relocation. In the second section, the water and the spacious land came to Isaac after being expelled from Gerar and after facing opposition from the Gerarian hersdmen. We usually want to skip the adversity and fast forward to the abundant provision, but that’s not how life typically works for God’s people in this fallen world. The Lord has appointed adversities and trials for us, that we might learn to trust the Lord and persevere in obedience and grow in character and wait patiently for the Lord to take action.

Isaac in Beersheba (v. 23-33)

In the first section, Isaac settled and lived in Gerar (v. 1-14). In the second section, Isaac settled and lived in the valley of Gerar (v. 15-22). Now in the third section (v. 23-33), Isaac “went up to” (v. 23) and dwelt in Beersheba. We don’t know why Isaac “went up to Beersheba” (v. 23). But he did go to Beersheba, and it proved to be a place of significant activity.

First, the Lord visited Isaac: “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.”” (v. 24) Abraham features prominently in this passage. Abraham had lived in Beersheba. Abraham and Abimelech had “made a covenant at Beersheba” (Genesis 21:32). Abraham had “planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.” (Genesis 21:33) And now Yahweh, the Everlasting God, the God of Abraham, the same God that Abraham called upon, speaks to Abraham’s son Isaac tells him to fear not. Don’t be afraid of food shortages or water supply shortages. Don’t be afraid of untrustworthy men, ill-tempered kings, or contentious herdsmen. Don’t be afraid at the lack of permanence in this present world. Don’t be afraid of King Abimelech and his two staff members who are about to pay you a visit. “Fear not”! The command to ‘fear not’ implies another command: ‘Trust Me!’ Trust the Lord! Through all the ups and downs, twists and turns, apparent successes and unexpected setbacks, the Lord says: “I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” The Lord accompanies and blesses Isaac in adverse circumstances in order to accomplish His purposes through Isaac.

Second, the Lord’s appearance and words to Isaac prompts Isaac to worship the Lord. This is the way it should always be: when the Lord speaks His promises to us, our response should be to render praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Don’t hear today’s sermon and run out the door and forget what you heard. Instead, hear today’s sermon and then stand up and sing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”. Hear the faithful word and promise of the Lord, and then respond by calling upon His name and singing His praise and living in the reality of God’s promise.

After worshiping the Lord, Isaac pitches his tent in that place and his servants get on with the business of digging another well.

Then a third thing happens. Abimelech, the king who had sent Isaac away back in verse 16, pays Isaac a visit. Abimelech is accompanied by both “Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army” (v. 26). Isaac views their visit with some cynicism and suspicion: “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” (v. 27) Nevertheless, Abimelech and his officials give Isaac a good answer:

“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, 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.” (v. 28-30)

It is fascinating that Abimelech testifies to the reality of the promise that the Lord had just spoken to Isaac. The Lord said to Isaac, “I am with you”. Abimelech said to Isaac, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you.” The Lord said to Isaac, [I] will bless you”. Abimelech said to Isaac, “You are now the blessed of the LORD.” This encourages us to consider something: if the Lord’s gracious presence and promise of blessing is upon us, thenit should bear visible fruit that is evident even to pagans. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16): the light is supposed to be visible, and the salt is supposed to be impactful. The way in which the Lord’s presence and blessing are made manifest might vary from person to person and from circumstance to circumstance, but others should see evidence of God’s gracious hand upon our lives.

There is something beautiful about Abimelech’s visit to Isaac. Isaac regards Abimelech as an enemy (“seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you”), and yet the apparent enemy’s heart seems to be honorable toward Isaac. Someone might object that Abimelech is just speaking hypocritically, but I doubt it for several reasons. Reason #1: The encounter is prefaced by the Lord telling Isaac to “Fear not”. The Lord knows what is about to happen and prepares Isaac for it. Reason #2: Abimelech speaks the truth about several matters. Abimelech had actually protected Isaac and Rebekah back in verse 11. And even though Abimelech sent Isaac away in verse 16, it should be noted that, as far as we know, no attack was made on Isaac’s life or property while Isaac lived in Gerar. Reason #3: Isaac is sufficiently settled in his own heart to show hospitality to Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol: “So he [Isaac] made them a feast, and they ate and drank.” (v. 30) Reason #4: Isaac was sufficiently settled in his own heart to make a covenant with Abimelech: “In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths” (v. 31). Reason #5: After the covenant was solidified, Abimelech and his companions departed in peace: “And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.” (v. 31, italics added) All this reminds us that we ourselves, like Isaac, are called to be peacemakers and conduits of blessing to other people: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:17-18) Frankly, I’m not so sure that Abimelech was ever an enemy of Isaac in the first place. But even if Isaac’s evaluation that Abimelech hated him had a measure of truth in it, we remember this proverb: “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7)    

Finally, on the same day that Abimelech and his men departed, Isaac’s men found another well of water (v. 32). Isaac named this well “Shibah” (v. 33). Why? I think here we may have a concrete example of what we learned in verse 18, that Isaac gave the re-dug wells the same “names that his father had given them”. Abraham was responsible for naming the land around this well “Beersheba” back in Genesis 21:30-31. Now in Genesis 26:33 Isaac, intentionally or unintentionally, revives the old name: “He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.” Isaac is walking in the footsteps of his father Abraham.

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Brothers and sisters, Scripture declares that the Lord accompanies and blesses Isaac in the midst of adverse circumstances in order to accomplish His purposes through Isaac. The application is straightforward: the way that the Lord relates to Isaac is the same way that the Lord relates to all of His redeemed children.

God’s purpose is set forth in Genesis 26:4 – “And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”. As a means to that end, God built a great nation out of Abraham, and out of Isaac, in order to steward God’s promises and preserve the messianic line. Eventually our Lord Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham and Isaac, came forth in order to secure blessing for all the nations:

“For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” (Romans 15:8-9)

Through His atoning death and victorious resurrection, Jesus saw to it that believing Gentiles are included alongside believing Jews as brothers and sisters in God’s forever family. Looking at Genesis 26:4, we are participants in that promise in two ways. First, we are blessed in Isaac’s seed, that is, we are blessed in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, we get to share in the work of bringing the blessing of the Messiah to all people-groups: through preaching and teaching, through local evangelism and outreach, through bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit and showing the world that the Lord is with us, through conversations with neighbors and friends, and through missionaries and missionary partnerships, we get to participate in God’s plan to bring His gospel of grace to the world.

The Lord accompanies and blesses us in order to accomplish His purpose of bringing the gospel of salvation to every people-group on earth. But this purpose is accomplished through all kinds of adversity: the Lord accompanies and blesses us in adverse circumstances in order to accomplish His purposes through us. These adverse circumstances could include famine, relocation, becoming the object of envy, being kicked out of a place, lack of running water, having to deal with quarrels or property disputes. Sometimes the governmental power, as illustrated by King Abimelech, might seem to be for us and at other times it might seem to be against us. To these adverse circumstances we might add financial pressures, job insecurity, ailing bodies, uncertainties about the future, and persecutions. It is challenging for weak and vulnerable people like us to navigate this sinful and unpredictable world. However, at the same time, we recognize that the Lord is with us: “I will be with you and will bless you”; “Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you”. Although those promises had a specific application to Isaac, they do capture the general way in which God always relates to His redeemed people. He knows how to make Broad Places for us in a constricted world. He knows how to make us fruitful in a barren world. He knows how to guide us, protect us, and provide for us from one day to the next, from one place to the next, from one adversity to the next. He knows how to bring us into a state of peaceful relations with our pagan neighbors.

Therefore, let’s not fail to remember and cherish God’s promises to us. Let’s not fail to call upon His name and to trust Him to come through for us. Let’s not fail to walk in the footsteps of the faithful fathers and mothers who have come before us. For the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is with us, and He will never leave us, never forsake us, and never fail us.

ENDNOTES

[1] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020: p. 370-373.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Assohoto, Barnabe and Samuel Ngewa, “Genesis.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Zondervan Edition (first edition published in 2006).

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.

Morris, Henry M. The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976.

Steinmann, Andrew E. Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019.