Stay in the promised land
Gen 26:1-33
Good morning. Happy Sunday. In Abraham’s time, there was a famine. He went down to Egypt. At that time, God did not say anything to him. He was silent.
But in today’s passage, there was another famine in Isaac’s time. Many people went down to Egypt to survive. Isaac planned to go down to Egypt too. But God appeared and commanded him, ‘do not go there but stay in the land where you are’. Why did God treat Abraham and Isaac differently even though it was the similar famine? Through this message, let us learn about the reason. Also, let us learn about how Isaac responded God’s direction.
Part 1. Stay in the land.
Let’s look at verse 1. There was a famine in the land. Famine means extreme scarcity of food. What do people do during famine? They save up food for themselves. They also look for a place where there is enough food and water. When they find such a place, they move there to survive. Like others, in famine, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. Why did he move there? Because in Genesis 21, Isaac’s father Abraham and Abimelech (not the same person) made a treaty that his descendants and Abimelech’s descendants show kindness to each other. So, Isaac went down to Abimelech expecting some help from him in the time of famine.
But look at verse 2. Shall we read verse 2-3a? The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while”. Isaac planned to go down to Egypt. Probably he did not get enough help from Abimelech. So, he wanted to go down to Egypt. You know, at that time, Egypt was a well-advance country like America today; lots of food and water. It was a perfect place for Isaac since he had many servants and animals.
However, God commanded him, “Do not go down to Egypt; Stay in this land for a while”. ‘wow, this is very challenging’. Isaac might be very uncomfortable with this command. Nevertheless, what is the reason Issac should stay in the land? Let’s read verse 3b-5, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.
It was because God had a vision for Isaac in the land. God had a plan for him. What was God’s vision for him? For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed. This is very familiar where we heard before. Yes. God promised these things to Isaac’s father Abraham. God gave those promises to Abraham first. Now, God wanted Isaac to maintain God’s promises and pass down to his descendants. Especially, God wanted to implement his promises step by step with Isaac. It is like God invited Isaac as his partner.
At this point, Isaac must have realized ‘wow, God had a vision for me. He wanted to use me to fulfill his promises given to my father Abraham.’ When famine happened, Isaac only thought about food: how can I and my father survive? It was a very important matter. But while he was occupied with survival issue, he did not think about God’s plan for him; what God would do through me in the promised land. So, God shared his vision with him.
And also, God promised Issac that I will be with you and will bless you. This means God will take care of Isaac and his family in the middle of famine. This is the most comforting and encouraging thing. If God is with him, even in the middle of famine, there will be nothing he can be afraid of. Who is God? He is the one who gave food to Israel (over 2 million of people) in the desert for 40 years. He is the one who gave the prophet Elijah bread and meat twice a day by the ravines in famine (1 Kings 17). The same God promised Isaac that I will be with you and will bless you. I will care about you. You just trust me.
Look at verse 5. God mentioned about Isaac’s father Abraham’s obedience. It says because Abraham obeyed me. Abraham was an ordinary man. But when God called him a blessing and commanded him to leave from his father’s household, he found God’s vison for him that he obeyed God. Also, when God told him to get rid of Ishmael, he kicked Ishmael out of his house. When God challenged him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, he did what God said. Though Abraham had his own thought and his own plan, when God told him to do something, he obeyed God. Now God challenged Isaac to have God’s vision and obey his direction.
How did Isaac decide? Shall we read verse 6? So Isaac stayed in Gerar. He obeyed God’s command. He decided not to go down to Egypt but to stay in the land. He chose God’s vision more than food. ‘wow, there is God’s plan for me in this land. I want to see how God fulfills his promise in my life. I must stay in this land though I may have some financial losses.’
Like Isaac, in the Bible, there are many people who obeyed God’s direction in spite of their own plan when they saw God’s vision for them. For example, in the book of Esther, Jews was in danger to be killed. Queen Esther was a Jew, but she hid her identity. She was concerned only about her safety. Then, her uncle challenged her, he said “who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Then she realized the reason God made her queen was to save her people. She obeyed her uncle. She said, ‘if I perish, I perish’. Then, she went to the king and pleaded with him to save her people. In the end, the Jews were saved.
We have prayed for Belize UBF. Dillon is an ancestor of faith to Belize UBF. One time, I asked him how he decided to stay in the ministry. He said he used to be a Sunday church goer. But in Genesis 12, he found that God had a vision for him: you will be a blessing to college students in Belize. So, he made a decision to stay in Belize UBF now he is the ancestor of faith there.
My life is similar. When I graduated college with a computer science degree, I had a hard time finding a job. Then, I found a temporary full-time job. As an international student, I was so desperate. But first I talked with Pastor Jacob about my plan. He shared this story with me and prayed for me: stay in the land by faith. I was very fearful. But at the same time, I realized God had a plan for me in Maryland. When I found God’s vision for me, I could have hope and faith. So, I decided to stay. Then, months later, God blessed me to get a good IT job at the University of Maryland.
Like Isaac, Esther, Dillion, me, in the same way, God has called you, God has come to UD ministry. He has a vision for you. He has a great plan for you to use you for his salvation work on the UD campus. I really pray for each of you that God may bless you to find God’s vision that you may stay in the UD ministry and continue to experience what God can do through your obedience.
Part 2. God was with Isaac and blessed him.
In this part, we are going to see how God is with Isaac and bless him as he obeyed God’s direction.
Look at verse 7. When Isaac stayed in Gerar, the people saw the beauty of Rebekah. They asked him about her. He said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid that they might kill him on account of her. Then, one day, Abimelech happened to see that Isaac was caressing his wife. He found out that Isaac lied to him. This was not a small matter. What if you lie to President Joe Biden and when he finds you lied to him? Isaac might be imprisoned. He was very afraid of. But what did Abimelech do? Look at verse 11. It says, So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” Abimelech addressed a nationwide speech, “do not harm Isaac and his wife”. Instead of punishing Isaac, rather, he protected Isaac and his wife because God was with Isaac.
Look at verse 12. Shall we read it? Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. In the middle of famine, Isaac planted crops in that land. This must be crazy. Probably his experienced servants tried to stop him. ‘Sir, this is not the right time. We got to wait’. But Isaac planted crops in that land. He believed God’s promise: I will be with and bless you. Then, what happened? the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. God really blessed him. Isaac really experienced that God was with him and blessed him. He reaped more than enough food to survive in the famine. If Isaac went down to Egypt, he would never experience this kind of God’s blessing in his own life.
Now let’s look at verse 13. When Isaac became super rich, the Philistines began to envy him. They were jealous of him. So, they filled all Isaac’s well with dirt. Even Abimelech ordered him to move away from his territory. They were mean to him.
Thus, Isaac had to move to the valley of Gerar. In verse 19, Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water. They must have thanked God. However, the herders of Gerar came and claimed, “The water is ours!” They took Isaac’s well. Then, Isaac’s servants dug another well, but the people came again and took the new well too. Where is God’s promise with Isaac? He has been going through tough times. But look at verse 22. It says, He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[e] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” Rehoboth beach name must have come from here. God was with Isaac. Finally, no one bothered him. His patience and endurance were rewarded richly. God really blessed him to find a new fresh water every ti e when he dug the well.
Look at verse 23. Isaac moved up to Beersheba. Where is Beersheba? The place is a historical place. In Genesis 22, after Abraham offered Isaac as a burnt offering to God, he moved to a new place; that is Beersheba. When he moved there, what happened? Let’s read verse 24 together. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” God knew Isaac was still afraid of the people. ‘What if they would come and harm me and my family?’ So, on that night, God appeared and assured him, “Isaac, do not worry. I am the God of your father Abraham.” Issac’s father Abraham lived in Canaan for 100 years. During that time, there was famine and war, and people’s jealousy. But God protected him from any harms. One time God said to him, “Do not be afraid of, Abrham. I am your shield”. Abraham lived in peace. He lived a long full of years. Now the same God comforted and encouraged Isaac “do not be afraid”. Continue to put your trust in God.
Look at verse 26. Abimelech suddenly visited Isaac. Why did he come? Shall we read verse 28-29. 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 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.” Abimelech was an unbeliever. He did not care about God. Yet, he could not deny what he saw in Isaac’s life: he confessed, we clearly saw that God was with you. Maybe after Isaac left, he planted crops in the same land which Isaac had reaped hundredfold harvests. But he gained nothing. He also heard every time how Isaac dug a new well and found fresh water, he must have thought ‘wow, this guy is something different. If God is not with him, this can’t happen’. Then, he began to be afraid of Isaac. He was afraid of God behind him. So, he came to Isaac to make a peace treaty.
Through these all incidents, Isaac really experienced how God was with him and how God blessed him after he obeyed God. He was second gen. His parents were Abraham and Sarah (ancestors of faith). From his childhood, he must have heard of God. He had big head knowledge about God. But now through having God’s vision in his life, obeying God’s direction and staying in the promised land, he experienced God personally. God became the God of Isaac.
While I was preparing for this message, I have kept thinking what is my Egypt? What is my land I should stay? Then, John 15 came to my mind. Jesus said, “remain in my words, remain in my love”. That reminds me of God’s vision for me. There are 20,000 UD students. God wants to save them from their sins. God wants to do his task through me and Delaware UBF. As long as I remind in God’s words and his love, he will be with me and bless me to bring many young college students back to God.
In conclusion, when fame occurred, Isaac only thought about food. He planned to go down to Egypt. But God challenged him ‘not to go down to Egypt but stay in the promised land’. God showed him God’s vision: How God wanted to fulfill his promise through Isaac. When Isacc found God’s hope for him, he decided to stay in the land. Then, God was with him and blessed him in many ways. In this way, Issac really experienced who God is very personally. I earnestly pray that God may show his vision to each of us that we may not only think about food, job, career, but have God’s plan and his hope for us. Then, we can be ambitious in God and obey his direction that we can experience how God is with us and how he blesses us. May God bless our UD spring break and the Easter conference.